Dr Monica Vessio

Dr Monica Vessio lectures Commercial Law in the School of Law. She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. 

Prior to joining Reading she was Module Convenor for Commercial Law and Programme Director for the LLM Programme in Business and Law at the University of Exeter. 

Her research and teaching focus on aspects of banking law (digital banking, central bank digital currencies, privacy considerations in this field and open banking); circular economy (CE) influences and the impact of disruptive technologies, such as smart contracts and AI, on supply chains. In her research, she explores both corporate and consumer perspectives. 

As Co-Principal Investigator for a CE Project funded by WEFO/ESIF, which incorporated the use of an on-chain smart contract to enhance a CE trading model, Monica led on the advisory document outlining the drafting requirements of partially automated agreements for both B2B and B2C components for the partner organization.

Prior to joining the University of Exeter, she held lecturing posts at the University of Pretoria, University of Johannesburg.  She was visiting lecturer at Catόlica University, Porto. In South Africa, she actively collaborated with the Black Lawyers Association, participating in an outreach program aimed at training and enhancing the skills of attorneys in rural areas, within the commercial legal sector. 

Monica practised as a commercial attorney and legal commercial consultant (to financial institutions and banks).  She holds a BA and LLB from Rhodes University, her LLM with distinction and honorary colours and LLD (PhD) from the University of Pretoria.  

Monica serves as a Senior Research Associate at the Centre for Banking Law and has been repeatedly invited by the Faculty of Law at the University of Johannesburg to hold this position. 

Monica has authored numerous peer-reviewed articles in prestigious academic journals. She also co-authors the annually updated publication, LexisNexis Banking Law and Practice.

Her work has been frequently cited by the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court of Appeal, and in numerous High Court cases.