Joel Bakan

Joel Bakan is a Professor at the University of British Columbia's Allard School of Law, currently on sabbatical. He joined UBC's Law Faculty in 1990 as Associate Professor after teaching at Osgoode Hall Law School. Bakan holds a B.A. from Simon Fraser University (1981), a B.A. in Jurisprudence from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar (1983), an LL.B. from Dalhousie University (1984), and an LL.M. from Harvard University (1987). He served as Law Clerk to Chief Justice Brian Dickson of the Supreme Court of Canada in 1985.

His research focuses on Constitutional Law, socio-legal studies, legal theory, economic law, and public law. Bakan critically examines the legal form of modern corporations, their social and environmental impacts, and the ethical dimensions of corporate governance. He has authored influential works such as Just Words: Constitutional Rights and Social Wrongs (1997), The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power (2004), and Childhood Under Siege (2011), which critique corporate power and its societal consequences.

• Winner of the UBC Killam Research Prize
• Two-Time Faculty of Law Teaching Excellence Award recipient
• 2004 British Columbia's Academic of the Year
• Co-creator of the documentary The Corporation, awarded Best Foreign Documentary at Sundance Film Festival

Bakan's academic contributions include leading textbooks on Canadian Constitutional Law and collaborative projects with institutions like the Supreme Court of Canada. His work bridges legal theory with practical societal issues, emphasizing the importance of regulating corporate influence to protect democracy and vulnerable populations.