Dr Iain Field

Researcher biography
Iain is a Senior Lecturer in the TC Beirne School of Law and an Honorary Associate Professor at Bond University. His primary research and teaching interests lie in the area of tort law, with an emphasis on defences and damages. Iain's most recent work focusses on claimant accountability in tort law, the relationship between remedial rules and rules of liability, and the intersection of public and private law. Specific issues addressed include: whether provocation ought to afford a basis for the reduction of compensatory damages in trespass; the nature and function of contributory negligence and its relationship with the rules of mitigation; the relationship between the principles of statutory interpretation and theories of vicarious liability; and whether the standard of the reasonable person ought to be applied 'equivalently' to claimants (for the purposes of establishing contributory negligence) and defendants (for the purposes of establishing negligence). Iain has also written extensively on statutory good faith protections in tort law and their connection with underlying theories of vicarious liability, and bereavement damages.
Iain's work has been accepted for publication in leading law journals, including the Modern Law Review, Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, Melbourne University Law Review, University of New South Wales Law Journal and Sydney Law Review. He has also co-authored articles with senior members of the judiciary and the academy and presented at both domestic and international legal conferences.
Iain was the recipient of a 2022 Australian Legal Research Award, in the category Article/Chapter (General), for his article 'The Problem with Provocation in Trespass' (Modern Law Review). He also recieved the 2017 Faculty of Law Emerging Research Excellence Award (Bond) for his work on Good Faith Defences.
Iain was also awarded the 2018 Law Students' Association Teaching Award (Bond) and the 2015 Stanley Shaw Bond Prize for Teaching Excellence (Bond).
Iain is an editor the University of Queensland Law Journal. He was the General Editor of the Bond Law Review from 2015–2019.