Tina Popa

Dr Tina Popa is a Senior Lecturer in Law at the Graduate School of Business and Law, RMIT University.
Tina's research and teaching interests are in tort law, health law, psychiatric harm and alternative/appropriate dispute resolution. Tina researches legal issues in medical negligence compensation, no-fault compensation systems and psychiatric harm, as well as the role of non-adversarial approaches to justice in tort/health law. Tina's PhD thesis explored the challenges in the litigation and mediation of medical negligence and mental harm claims in the post-Ipp era. Tina is a passionate lecturer and her contribution to L&T has been recognised through university, school and student-nominated awards.

Tina's research has been published in leading Australian journals, including the Torts Law Journal, Tort Law Review and Journal of Law & Medicine, and she regularly presents her work at national and international conferences. Tina has had international visiting fellowships in medical law, including with the University of Ottawa in Canada and the University of Antwerp in Belgium. Tina is presently the General Editor of the Tort Law Review (Thomson Reuters), a refereed journal containing coverage of contemporary issues in tort law, within Australia and internationally.

Tina has maintained ongoing relationships with the legal industry. Between May 2020 and May 2022, Tina practised as a consulting solicitor at McDonald Milnes Lawyers (McDonald Legal). In 2019 Tina was part of an interdisciplinary team working on an industry research project in medical law, with the team receiving the school’s Research Impact Award in November 2019.

Tina is presently the course coordinator and lecturer for the Law of Torts in the Juris Doctor Program and Torts Law in the Bachelor of Laws program. She has also coordinated and taught Health Law in the Juris Doctor program. Tina is the school’s Law Students' Society (LSS) Staff Liaison Officer, a role which she has held since 2018.

Tina is a passionate law academic committed to implementing innovative and authentic learning design. Between February 2018 and June 2019 Tina held the role of GSBL Online Learning Coordinator, encouraging and supporting GSBL staff to strive for excellence in online teaching and learning. Tina has co-authored journal articles on blended learning design in law teaching and has presented this work at international law teaching conferences. Tina is the co-author of Contemporary Australian Tort Law (Cambridge University Press, 2019).

Tina is the recipient of several teaching awards. In 2019 Tina was awarded the GSBL’s Student Experience Award in recognition of innovative and imaginative student feedback design. In 2018 Tina received the Vice-Chancellor's Award for Outstanding Contributions to Learning and Teaching (Early Career, Higher Education). In 2017 Tina was awarded the GSBL Teaching with Technology Award recognising her excellence in online teaching. In 2016 GSBL students voted her as Inspirational Lecturer of the Year. In 2014 Tina was awarded a RMIT Teaching Commendation for creating an engaging learning environment to instil enthusiasm in students to study law and mentoring students to obtain practical experience in the legal industry.

Tina has received scholarships awards for academic excellence, including the RMIT University scholarship for Global Business Innovation in 2015 and a scholarship for academic merit for her Master of Laws studies at the University of Melbourne.

Teaching Awards:
GSBL Student Experience Award, November 2019
Vice-Chancellor's Award for Outstanding Contributions to Learning and Teaching (Early Career, Higher Education), November 2018
GSBL Teaching and Technology Award, November 2017
GSBL Inspirational Lecturer of the Year, November 2016
Early Career Teacher Commendation Award, RMIT University, November 2014

Research Awards:
College of Business 2021 Research Excellence Award – Research Partnership and Impact (Early Career Researcher)
GSBL Research Impact Award (with Professor Ingo Karpen, Mark Wright and Olivia Dean) in recognition of research impact on the legal profession and society, November 2019

Industry Awards:
Lawyers Weekly Women in Law Awards 2020 – Academic of the Year

Industry Experience:
Victorian Ombudsman, Research Project, 2016
Lampe Family Lawyers, 2008 to 2014
Hymans Solicitors, 2004 to 2008