Nicholas Burgess is a Lecturer in Law in the School of Business and Creative Industries. He holds degrees from the University of Aberdeen and the University of Glasgow. He taught at the latter institution for several years prior to joining UWS, and has also worked at the Scottish Law Commission.

Nicholas' principal research interest is criminal law, including its theory, history, and relationship with public health. He is also interested in evidence and procedural law, and the criminal justice system more broadly. At UWS, Nicholas is a core member of the Social Change Through Law Research Group, and is an associate member of the Crime, Justice and Security Research Group. 

Most of his research to date has concerned the criminal law's approach to drugs and the sentencing of offenders. He has also been involved in projects examining legal responses to domestic abuse, international criminal jurisdiction, and criminal responsibility. While at the Scottish Law Commission he worked primarily on the Mental Element in Homicide and the Damages for Personal Injury projects.

His PhD research (at the University of Glasgow) explored the development of drug laws in Britain from the 19th to the 21st centuries, and the degree to which drug laws have aligned with contemporaneous understandings of legitimate criminalisation. He is currently part of the writing team on the Criminal Law Reform Now Network's Regulation of Drugs project, focusing on the nature and scope of drug sentencing reform.

Nicholas' current teaching responsibilities include: Foundations of Law; Scots Criminal Law; Advanced Criminal Law; and Honours Dissertation. He has also taught International Criminal Law; Evidence (both Scots and common law); Media Law; and Agency and Partnership Law.