Allard Law Professor Joel Bakan writes and researches in the areas of Constitutional Law, socio-legal studies, legal theory and economic law. He studied at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar and served as Law Clerk in 1985 for Chief Justice Brian Dickson of the Supreme Court of Canada. He joined the Law Faculty in 1990 as Associate Professor after a year's visit from Osgoode Hall Law School, where he had been Assistant Professor since 1987. Professor Bakan teaches Constitutional Law, Contracts, socio-legal courses and the graduate seminar. He has won the Faculty of Law's Teaching Excellence Award twice and a UBC Killam Research Prize.
In 2004, Professor Bakan received the honour of being named British Columbia's Academic of the Year. This province-wide award for which academics in all disciplines are eligible marks unsurpassed scholarly contribution.