A specialist in legal philosophy and privacy law, Professor Lafrenière will teach Droit des biens (Property Rights) and La fiducie (Trusts) during the winter term.
A graduate of McGill University, he holds a BCL and an LL.B. with a minor in philosophy (2005). He then pursued graduate studies at New York University, where he earned an LL.M. in Legal Theory (2017) and a JSD (2022), and he received the John Bruce Moore Award for Excellence in Philosophy of Law.
Prior to joining the University of Ottawa, Hugo Lafrenière led a rich academic and professional career. He completed a post-doctorate at the Institut d'études politiques de Paris (Sciences Po) (2022-23), where he taught political and moral philosophy. More recently, he taught trans-systemic property law at McGill University as a Junior Boulton Fellow (2023-24).
His current research interests lie at the intersection of private law, political philosophy and moral philosophy. He is particularly interested in the relationship between personal autonomy and distributive justice, and the implications of this relationship for property law. These perspectives enrich not only his courses, particularly in trust, but also academic discussions at the Faculty.
Professor Lafrenière perfectly embodies PCLF's commitment to academic excellence and intellectual innovation. His expertise will undoubtedly contribute to the training of French-speaking jurists and to critical reflection on fundamental questions of law and society.
We are delighted to have Professor Lafrenière on board, and look forward to the outstanding contributions he will make to our academic community.