Ruth is a qualified Solicitor and practised for 13 years, specialising in personal injury litigation and child protection. She completed a Masters in Human Rights Law at the University of Nottingham and is currently a PhD Candidate funded by AHRC/Midlands 3 Cities DTP. Her research is on children's rights in refugee and asylum law, focusing on the development of the best interests principle in international children's rights law and its role in protecting the rights of the child seeking international protection. The central theme of her thesis is to consider a child refugee's protection needs through the lens of the Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989 rather than focusing on the child’s refugee status under the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees 1951.