- Emeritus Fellow, All Souls College (from 2001 to 2019)
- Senior Research Fellow, All Souls College (from 1993 to 2001)
- Professor of Law and Dean, Faculty of Law (1984–8), University of Bristol (from 1984 to 1993)
- Law Commissioner (from 1978 to 1983)
- Fellow and Tutor, Exeter College, Oxford (from 1969 to 1978)
- Lecturer, Southampton University (from 1968 to 1969)
- Lecturer, Kenya School of Law, Nairobi (from 1966 to 1967)
- Solicitor, Macfarlanes, London (from 1959 to 1965)
- Undergraduate, Magdalen College, Oxford (from 1956 to 1959)
- Family law
- The legal system
- Modern legal history
- Same Sex Relationships from 'Odious Crime' to 'Gay Marriage' (OUP, 2006)
- Family Law in the Twentieth Century: A History (OUP, 2003, pbk 2005)
- (jointly authored) Principles of Family Law (Sweet and Maxwell, 7th edn, 2002)
- Law, Law Reform and the Family (OUP, 1998)
