Ursula Cheer Professor

Ursula Cheer graduated with Honours from Canterbury Law School, Christchurch, New Zealand in 1982 and practised as a lawyer for six years. She then moved to Wellington as a speech writer to the Minister of Justice and later became legal advisor to the Prime Minister.

In 1989, Ursula moved to the United Kingdom and spent a year completing her Masters degree at Cambridge University, in which her thesis was on censorship. Appointment in the UK civil service followed, as a Senior Legal Advisor to the Lord Chancellor, in the UK Law Commission.

In 1994, Ursula returned to New Zealand, where she took up appointment as a Lecturer in Law at Canterbury Law School, and is now a Professor specialising in media law.

Ursula completed her PhD in 2009, which was published as the book: Reality and Myth: The New Zealand media and the chilling effect of defamation law, (LAP Lambert Academic Publishing 2010). She is also co-author, together with Emeritus Professor John Burrows, QC, of Media Law in New Zealand (6th ed, LexisNexis, 2010).

Ursula is a Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand and is admitted to the Solicitors Roll in the High Court of England and Wales.

Professional Contact

• ursula.cheer@canterbury.ac.nz

Speaking Engagements

• 'The Impact of Law on Media Reporting of Earthquakes in Christchurch 2010-2011,' Centre for Media and Communications Law 'Media, Communications, Publics' conference, University of Melbourne Law School, 25-26 February 2013.
• Invited speaker at International HKU Conference, 'Media Law and Policy in the Internet Age', Hong Kong, 18-19 October 2013.

Awards and Recognition

• Canterbury Fellow Cambridge University, 2014
• University of Canterbury Teaching Award, 2013
• Canterbury Fellow University of Oxford 2011
• Visitor at Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, Oxford, 2011.
• Senior Fellow of University of Melbourne Faculty of Law 2005.
• Visiting Fellow at Centre for Media Law, University of Melbourne Faculty of Law, 2005
• Senior Fellow of University of Melbourne Faculty of Law 2004.
• Visiting Fellow at Centre for Media Law, University of Melbourne Faculty of Law, 2004.
• 1990 Commemoration Medal for Services to New Zealand

Memberships

• Member of the editorial committee of the Journal of Media Law (Hart Publishers, UK)
• Member of editorial committee and international contributing editor of the Media & Arts Law Review (MALR) (LexisNexis Butterworths) Centre for Media and Communications Law, Melbourne Law School, Melbourne, Australia.
• Independent Chair of the Public Relations Institute of New Zealand Ethics Complaints Committee 2008-present.
• Radio New Zealand Media Law Commentator, Nine to Noon with Kathryn Ryan, 2009-present.