Victoria Thomas

Victoria was called to the English Bar in 1995 when she joined the Chambers of Sir Hugh Bennett at QEB in the Middle Temple and quickly established a High Court career focusing on public childcare work and complex private family work.  At the time of her move to St. Louis she was Standing Counsel to three county local authorities and also undertook work for the Official Solicitor.  The effect of her work was to change the laws on local authority jurisdiction limits and on the fiduciary duties of local authorities for children in care.  She also advised the Police force on best practice in questioning suspected child abusers.  She moved to St. Louis and completed her PhD in English & American literature at WashU while having her three children, combining her interests in law and literature in a dissertation on “Piers Plowman, legal authority and the law of subject status.”  Her focus on rhetoric and argument leads naturally to questions of authority in writing, and she particularly enjoys leading students to find their own authoritative voice with which to join the academic conversation.  Victoria teaches courses in Argumentation, Writing and the Law, and Exposition: Exploring Cultural Identity.  She also teaches in the Prison Education Project.