The Department of Law, Technology, Markets, and Society (LTMS) – home of TILT and TILEC - has a vacancy for a PhD (full time for 4 years). We are looking for someone who can apply existing data analytics methods in a number of case studies in the Dutch legal system, and will also work to develop new data analytics methods.

The selected candidate will contribute to the research program ‘From Regulating Human Behavior to Regulating Data’. This project is part of the Digital Legal Studies track within the sector plan for Dutch Law Schools funded by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. This position fits within the Legal AI project, an interdisciplinary project that aims to understand the impacts of AI on the Dutch legal system.

The PhD researcher will investigates the impact of (big) data and AI on decision making in different areas of the Dutch legal system. The PhD researcher will use existing data analytics methods in a number of case studies, and will also work to develop new data analytics methods – e.g. predictive analytics, legal data visualization, legal data & argument mining - for analyzing legal data. These new methods can then be used to make decision making in the legal system visible and open to analysis for an interdisciplinary team of scholars from legal and social sciences. 

A successful candidate should have the technical skills to perform analyses of structured and unstructured (textual) data and to develop new methods for such analyses. Furthermore, they should be comfortable working across disciplines, and have a strong interest in legal issues (and/or the field of fair, transparent and accountable AI). They will also have the flexibility and communication abilities to work within a small interdisciplinary team and with a wide range of project collaborators, and the ability to communicate research to diverse audiences.

Applicants must:

• Have completed (or will complete by the end of August) Master’s degree in Data Science, Business Analytics or Statistics, or related disciplines such as Information Science, Digital Humanities or Artificial Intelligence with a focus on data science.
• A demonstrable affinity with law and legal reasoning.
• Be able to perform data analysis and exploration (preferably in R) of structured and unstructured textual data. Knowledge of advanced Natural Language Processing techniques is a plus.
• Have a strong interest in doing research and is able to formulate views, ideas and concepts based upon complex information, as well as construct conceptual frameworks or models.
• Have good planning and organizing skills because they are necessary to complete your PhD research in the total period of time.
• Be able to undertake certain administrative duties autonomously
• Be able and willing to work in a team and undertake administration tasks.
• Be proactive and accountable, able to prioritize across responsibilities, and manage varied commitments.
• Have excellent interpersonal, as well as strong and effective communication skills.
• Because of the specific focus on the Dutch legal system, the candidate should have a level of Dutch at B2 or higher, but also should have perfect command of English.
• Have perfect command of English, and knowledge of Dutch at level B2 or higher.
• Be available to start working as soon as possible.
• Be present at Tilburg University during working hours, and commit to integrate in the environment provided by LTMS and the Tilburg Law School.

 
The PhD researcher will have the following functions:
 
Research (0,8 fte)

• Use and develop data analytics techniques for analyzing combinations of structured and unstructured textual data in the legal domain.
• Actively contribute to the operationalization of LTMS research program ‘From Regulating Human Behavior to Regulating Data’. 
• Pursue academically path-breaking research leading to an excellent PhD dissertation
• Participate in the Tilburg Graduate Law School courses and activities.
• Be an active member of LTMS by participating in and organizing LTMS events and activities, presenting and discussing research output within LTMS, and representing LTMS outside Tilburg University.

 
Teaching (0,2 FTE)

• Co-supervise Law & Technology Master thesis students
• Assist in the coordination and management of courses at the undergraduate and/or LLM programs that LTMS is involved in.
• Cooperate with other LTMS members in developing new or modifying existing courses.

Fixed-term contract: 4 years.

The total duration of the PhD trajectory is four years (48 months). The candidate will initially be appointed for a fixed period of 16 months. After 12 months, an evaluation will take place. If the performance evaluation is positive, the contract will be extended for the remaining period of 32 months. Selected candidates will be ranked in the Dutch university employment system (UFO). The starting gross salary is € 2,325 per month (for a full-time appointment) and will raise every 12 months to a maximum of € 2,972 based on the PhD salary scale of the Collective Labor Agreement (CAO) Dutch Universities.
 
Tilburg University is rated among the top of Dutch employers, offering very good fringe benefits, such as the possibility to determine your benefits individually through a labor choice model and reimbursement of moving expenses. Candidates from outside the Netherlands may be eligible for a tax-free allowance equal to 30% of their taxable salary.

Tilburg University

Serving and enhancing society to help citizens. That is what drives us. It was the opinion of Tilburg University’s founding father, Martinus Cobbenhagen, that those who want to understand society should be actively and consciously involved in it.

This philosophy is still at the basis of what our university wants to contribute. Under the motto of ‘Understanding society’, its 2,000 employees develop knowledge, transfer it to others, and bring people from various disciplines and organizations together. In this way, we want to contribute to solving complex social issues. Our focus areas are economics, business and entrepreneurship, social and behavioral sciences, law and public administration, the humanities and digital sciences, and theology.

Tilburg University values a culture of openness and inclusion. We unite people from many nationalities and backgrounds and embrace the diverse range of perspectives this brings about. We strongly focus on (gender) diversity and offer equal opportunities for all.

Additional information about Tilburg University, Tilburg Law School and LTMS – home of TILT and TILEC can be found on https://www.tilburguniversity.edu/.

Tilburg Law School

Tilburg Law School offers highly-ranked national and international education and research in law and public administration. Tilburg Law School is ranked among the highest as 'Top International Law School' by the American Social Science Research Network (SSRN).

Currently, 3,000 students are enrolled at Tilburg Law School, who are doing a degree program in law or public administration. Students in Tilburg can choose from five Bachelor's programs, one of which is taught in English (Bachelor Global Law) and ten Master's programs, eight of which are taught in English. The international orientation of Tilburg Law School is reflected in these Bachelor's and Master's programs.

The research conducted within Tilburg Law School is aimed at social relevance and provides students with the tools and skills to study and deal with current issues at an academic level.

For those who aspire a career as legal researcher, there is the Tilburg Graduate Law School. Students can take the two-year Research Master's program in law or public administration or can obtain their doctorate (PhD) by doing a doctoral research project and writing a PhD thesis (three or four years).
Tilburg Law School

LTMS – Department of Law, Technology, Markets, and Society
The Department LTMS is the result of a merger between the Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society (TILT) and the Tilburg Law and Economics Center (TILEC). With some 65 staff members, it is one of the leading European research institutes in the field of regulation and governance of economic activity (in a broad sense) in an age where information technology is the key driver behind innovation in many domains. LTMS is truly internationally oriented (with some 25 nationalities represented in its staff) and truly multi/interdisciplinary with legal scholars, STS and philosophy and researchers with other disciplinary backgrounds. LTMS research and education are highly ranked both nationally and internationally.