Rate My Professor Lisa Ward

Lisa Ward is a Lecturer in the School of Law at the University of New England, where she teaches business law, contract law, corporations law, and related units. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Sociology from the University of New South Wales, a Bachelor of Laws from the University of New England, a Graduate Diploma in Communications from the University of Technology Sydney, and a Master of Arts in Communications from the University of New England. Prior to academia, she worked in leading law firms and with barristers, as a Communications Consultant, and in media including television and radio from 1992 to 2010. Ward has also written and directed film and theatre, receiving the award for Director of Most Popular Play in 2010 and runner-up Actor in Most Popular Play in 2011. She earned UNE Teaching Commendations from 2011 to 2018.

Her research specializations include media law and policy, freedom of speech particularly defamation, human rights, media representations, social media, business law, and defamation in social media and international contexts. She has contributed submissions to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety and presented on topics such as comedians, journalists, and freedom of speech at an international media law conference. Key publications comprise co-authorship of Business Law in Australia, 3rd edition (Thomson Reuters, 2020) and 4th edition (2024) with David Parker, and the chapter 'Defamation and Social Media Law' with Julia Day in the Research Handbook on Social Media and the Law (Edward Elgar, 2025). From 2021 to 2023, Ward produced and hosted the Law School's podcast Law in the Bush, featuring colleagues' research on regional, rural, and remote legal issues. She is available for Master’s supervision and PhD co-supervision. She is a member of the Australasian Law Teachers Association, Communications & Media Law Association, Corporate Law Teachers Association, International Association for Media and Communication Research, and Media Law and Policy Scholars Conference.