Kevin Kolben

At OsgoodePD, we frequently talk about our ‘top-notch’ and ‘world class’ instructors. But rather than talk about them, we thought we should introduce our incredible faculty to you.

As part of a new series, we’ll introduce you to members of the Osgoode Professional LLM faculty who direct, develop and lead our Specialization programs. Academics, judges, and legal experts – from around the world – considered to be some of the Canadian legal industry’s thought leaders.

In the second installment, we’re highlighting Kevin Kolben, who the faculty of the Professional LLM in Labour Relations and Employment Law at OsgoodePD recently welcomed as a visiting instructor for the Labour Law and Governance of Global Supply Chains course.

Kevin Kolben
Visiting Professor of Osgoode’s LLM in Labour Relations and Employment Law

Professor Kolben is an associate professor at Rutgers Business School where he teaches courses on business law, supply chain law and governance, and work and labor in the global economy.

Professor Kolben has also acted as a visiting professor at Tel Aviv University’s Buchmann Faculty of Law, a visiting scholar at the UCLA School of Law, and a visiting senior fellow at the University of Melbourne Law School. Professor Kolben also consults with international organizations such as the International Labor Organization, and serves on a national advisory committee for the U.S. Department of Labor on labor provisions in free trade agreements.

My new article published in Politics and Governance on #trade and #labor provision arguing for a #SupplyChain orientation. https://t.co/vrUyG3n0Zm

— Kevin Kolben (@KevinKolben) December 19, 2017

All this is to say, Professor Kolben’s expertise is in high demand both in the United States and internationally. The LLM in Labour Relations and Employment Law program was lucky to welcome him to teach a course with us this past fall.

Learning about Labour Law and Governance of Global Supply Chains

The course taught by Professor Kolben, Labour Law and Governance of Global Supply Chains, was a special topics course offered last semester.

The seminar-style course required students to critically engage with the subject matter and the readings through class discussions, a class presentation and a research paper. The course began with an overview of some fundamentals, including an introduction to transnational labour law and the supply chain economy.

The students also delved into issues related to labour standards compliance, labour abuses and the supply chain, and the global consumer response to those abuses. Students examined real world case studies to illuminate the challenges in labour rights and supply chain. Students rounded out the course by examining the private and public tools to promote and enforce supply chain compliance and regulation.

Here’s what labour and employment lawyers and professionals should keep in mind within the next few years, according to Professor Kolben:

“Lawyers will be increasingly called upon to address issues in the supply chain, including human and labor rights compliance issues.

This is because consumers are increasingly demanding that firms meet their expectations that goods be produced in ways that meet their ethical and social preferences.

Second, more and more governments are enacting transparency and due diligence requirements that require firms to divulge the degree to which they are monitoring their supply chains and remedying labor and human rights violations.”

The Professional LLM program at OsgoodePD attracts seasoned faculty from around the world.

Instructors like Professor Kolben enrich our classes and provide our students with fresh and interesting perspectives on domestic and international legal issues. These perspectives create dynamic class discussions and give students interesting material to think about, write about and incorporate into their professional lives long after they finish their LLM programs.