His Bio

Allan C. Hutchinson
Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies
Associate Vice-President Graduate
LLB (London)
LLM (Manchester)
LLD (Manchester)
FRSC (Fellow of Royal Society of Canada)
Barrister of Gray’s Inn and of the Bar of Ontario

Allan Hutchinson has been a professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, York University since 1982. 

During this time, he has held visiting appointments at several other leading law schools including Wales, London, Sydney, Monash and Toronto, and he was a Visiting Professor at Harvard Law School in 2007. 

Scholarship

Widely recognized as a leading legal scholar, in 2004, Allan was elected to the Royal Society of Canada and in 2006 was named a Distinguished Research Professor of York University. He has been invited as a distinguished visitor to numerous institutions and has delivered several named lectures in Canada and around the world.

Allan has published and/or edited 19 books, including recent books from Oxford University Press, titled The Province of Jurisprudence Democratized, and from Cambridge University Press, titled Evolution and The Common Law.  His most recent book from Cambridge is Is Eating People Wrong?: Great Cases That Shaped The Legal World.  He has also contributed many chapters in books and numerous articles in the world’s leading law reviews on a range of subjects, from professional ethics to democratic theory. 

His work has been the subject of extensive commentary and analysis throughout the world and he has been referred to as “a leading legal theorist of our time.”

Teaching and Graduate Supervision

Allan has been recognized as a committed and celebrated teacher. In 2007, he was awarded the University-wide Teaching Award at York, and he was a finalist in TVO’s 2007 Lecturer of the Year competition. 

Service

Allan has a record of engaged and effective service and leadership at senior levels. At Osgoode, he served as Associate Dean (1993-96), and as Associate Dean Research & Graduate Studies (2004-07).  He has long served on the Admissions Committee, twice as Chair, and he led a recent initiative to reform the admissions process.

He served on many of the University’s key committees, including the York Senate Committees on Research and on Academic Policy and Planning, and he was elected to serve as the Chair of the University Senate (1999) and as the Academic Representative on the University’s Board of Governors (2006-7).

Public and Professional Role

Seeking to contribute to a greater awareness of law’s potential for improvement and social justice, Allan is a regular writer and commentator.  He has taken legal initiatives to advance the cause of have-nots in society by writing legal opinions, swearing expert affidavits and litigating significant cases in the courts.  

He is presently counsel to the law firm, Rochon, Genova and is involved in class actions on the plaintiffs’ side. 

Dean Hutchinson officially takes the titles of Interim Dean, Faculty of Graduate Studies and Associate Vice-President Graduate on July 1, 2011.

Hutchinson sees greatness for Graduate Studies

Graduate Studies welcomes new dean

Watch Dean Hutchinson talking about his recent research on York’s YouTube channel

Got a minute, or two? Academic Minute looks at 'Is Eating People Wrong?'