27/10/2025
Celebrations at October graduation
Her PhD dissertation, Towards the Jurisprudence of Evil Law, explores what Anna terms 'evil law': laws that are extremely morally iniquitous, like those of Nazi Germany, the Stalinist Soviet Union, and slavery in the antebellum United States.
She acknowledges that some readers find the phrase 'evil law' challenging, given the emotional, subjective, and even religious connotations of the word evil. To this end, Anna's research and writing on the subject is wide-ranging: from Soviet law and the promise of a stateless society, to the writings of Saint Thomas Aquinas on the supernatural order governing angels and demons, and even to imaginary realities, like the jurisprudence of video games such as The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
"I do a lot of different things," Anna says, "but they all come under the same thought that even in unusual circumstances, we still need law to a certain extent, and the law persists."
Anna's interest in law started early on. "I became interested in law when I was fourteen, initially wanting to practice criminal law as a prosecutor," she recalls. "At some point, I realised that I really enjoyed reading and writing, sometimes on very abstract topics. When I was around fifteen, I decided that legal philosophy was the path for me." She smiles. "I haven't really changed my mind since then."
Before completing her PhD at Wolfson, Anna studied for her BA and BCL at Oxford University before completing an LLM at Harvard Law School. Reflecting on her doctoral experience, Anna notes that one of the main challenges of pursuing a PhD is its solitary nature.
"You're largely on your own," she says, "and you really have to create a schedule for yourself and motivate yourself. There's a lot of self-discipline involved. I think it's something that even people who are very self-reliant sometimes struggle with."
Anna currently teaches 'Civil Law in Context', a compulsory first-year course focusing on Roman Law. "It's actually the oldest subject to be taught at Cambridge when it comes to legal matters," she says. "So it has a very long history, and I'm trying my best to make my students appreciate it and be interested."
For Anna, the most rewarding part of teaching is seeing her students evolve. "One of my students from two years ago participated in the Oxford and Cambridge Roman Law Moot, and she won, so I felt very happy for her. And last year, a supervisee of mine got the best exam result across the entire cohort," she says.
"I'm delighted when my students end up liking the subject, and honestly, it's a pleasure to see my students grow. It is really something special."
When asked what she values most about Wolfson, Anna doesn't hesitate.
"There are always people that I can talk to," she says. "Even total strangers, I can just come up to them, I can introduce myself, and we can have a conversation that lasts for hours. I feel like Wolfson maybe deserves more praise, because I found the atmosphere here amazing, and very conducive to living my PhD life and now my postdoc life and really thriving here – not just academically, but also socially."
She adds: "I also feel that Wolfson is full of interesting people precisely because it's a mature student College. You have people who've lived all sorts of fulfilling lives before joining, and I find it very inspiring."
Anna's advice to new students – whether undergraduates or PhD candidates – is not to overdo it, to relax, and not to feel guilty about taking breaks. "It's impossible to be 'on' all the time, right? Instead of associating rest with laziness and procrastination, you should think: "Okay, I need to recharge. I might take a nap, hang out with friends, go to a concert or a football match.' It's very important, and it actually makes you more productive."
Her second piece of advice is to be open to opportunities. "With all projects, you don't get in unless you apply, and you should give it a shot even if you think it's not for you or that you're not the strongest candidate. Do things, even if you feel like they’re out of your comfort zone."
Anna's latest article, 'Making Sense of Evil Law', is open access and can be read on the Law and Philosophy website.
