Professor Christopher Essert Appointed Dean of the Henry N.R. Jackman Faculty of Law

We are delighted to announce that Professor Christopher Essert has been appointed Dean of the Henry N.R. Jackman Faculty of Law, effective February 1, 2026, through December 31, 2030, following an extensive international search.

Professor Essert is an innovative scholar whose research focuses on private law, property and tort theory, and legal and political philosophy. Professor Essert received his BA from McGill University, his JD from the University of Toronto (U of T), and his LLM and JSD from Yale Law School. 

Since joining U of T in 2018, Professor Essert has served as Associate Dean of the JD Program (2020–2025) and held visiting academic appointments at UCLA School of Law and Auckland Law School. Prior to joining U of T, he was a faculty member at Queen’s University Faculty of Law.

As a sought-after NSERC and SSHRC funded researcher, Professor Essert is the author of over thirty articles, editor of two different collections, co-author of the main Canadian textbook in tort law, and author of a monograph, Property Law in the Society of Equals (OUP 2024). He has published articles in Philosophy & Public Affairs, Legal Theory, Law & Philosophy, Jurisprudence, the McGill Law Journal, and the University of Toronto Law Journal.

Please join us in congratulating Professor Christopher Essert on his appointment as Dean.