About Joel ...
Joel Bakan is a professor of law at the University of British Columbia, and a legal scholar and commentator. A former Rhodes Scholar and law clerk to Chief Justice Brian Dickson of the Supreme Court of Canada, Bakan has law degrees from Oxford, Dalhousie, and Harvard.
His critically acclaimed international hit, The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power (Free Press, 2004) was published in over 20 languages, and became a bestseller in several countries. The book inspired a feature documentary film, The Corporation, written by Bakan and co-created with Mark Achbar, which won numerous awards, including best foreign documentary at the Sundance Film Festival, and was a critical and box office success.
Bakan’s highly regarded scholarly work includes Just Words: Constitutional Rights and Social Wrongs (University of Toronto Press, 1997), as well as textbooks, edited collections, and numerous articles in leading legal and social science journals. His award-winning new book, Childhood Under Siege: How Big Business Targets Children, was published in numerous languages, and his most recent book, The New Corporation: How "Good" Corporations are Bad for Democracy (Penguin Random House, 2020), was the basis for his second feature documentary film, The New Corporation: The Unfortunately Necessary Sequel, which he wrote and co-directed (with Jennifer Abbott).
A frequent recipient of awards for both his writing and teaching, Bakan has worked on landmark legal cases and government policy, and served regularly as a media commentator, appearing on national television and radio. He is a popular and accomplished public speaker who has addressed business, government, academic, and activist audiences in the United States and abroad. Bakan, who is also a professional jazz guitarist, grew up in East Lansing, Michigan and now lives in Vancouver, Canada with his wife, Rebecca Jenkins.
His critically acclaimed international hit, The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power (Free Press, 2004) was published in over 20 languages, and became a bestseller in several countries. The book inspired a feature documentary film, The Corporation, written by Bakan and co-created with Mark Achbar, which won numerous awards, including best foreign documentary at the Sundance Film Festival, and was a critical and box office success.
Bakan’s highly regarded scholarly work includes Just Words: Constitutional Rights and Social Wrongs (University of Toronto Press, 1997), as well as textbooks, edited collections, and numerous articles in leading legal and social science journals. His award-winning new book, Childhood Under Siege: How Big Business Targets Children, was published in numerous languages, and his most recent book, The New Corporation: How "Good" Corporations are Bad for Democracy (Penguin Random House, 2020), was the basis for his second feature documentary film, The New Corporation: The Unfortunately Necessary Sequel, which he wrote and co-directed (with Jennifer Abbott).
A frequent recipient of awards for both his writing and teaching, Bakan has worked on landmark legal cases and government policy, and served regularly as a media commentator, appearing on national television and radio. He is a popular and accomplished public speaker who has addressed business, government, academic, and activist audiences in the United States and abroad. Bakan, who is also a professional jazz guitarist, grew up in East Lansing, Michigan and now lives in Vancouver, Canada with his wife, Rebecca Jenkins.