David Doorey is a Professor of Work Law and Industrial Relations at York University in Toronto. From 2010-2022, he served as Director of Osgoode Hall Law School’s executive LLM Program in Labour and Employment Law. From 
2016-2019, he was Director of the School of HRM at York. Since 2023, he has led the brand new Bachelor of Sport Management program at York, in which he also teaches Sports Law.
He is a Senior Research Associate at Harvard Law School’s Labor and Worklife Program, where he was also a Visiting Research Fellow in 2019-20 and a member of the International Advisory Committee on Harvard University’s Clean Slate Project, which is re-imaging labor law for the 21st century.
His law blog, Law of Work, has been selected top law blog in Canada in the annual Canadian Law Blog Awards (“CLAWBIES”) on multiple occasions and in 2016 the blog was an inaugural inductee into the Canadian Law Blog Hall of Fame.
Professor Doorey is a regular media commentator on work law and labour relations.
His book, The Law of Work is in its third edition and is used in undergraduate, graduate, and law school courses at universities and colleges across Canada. His book Canadian Labour Relations: Law, Policy, Practice with Professor Alison Braley-Rattai of Brock University was published in 2020. He is a multiple teaching award winner at York University, including the recipient of the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. Prof. Doorey is a recipient of the Morley Gunderson Prize in Industrial Relations, the H.D. Woods Prize for contributions to Canadian industrial relations. He presented the prestigious Sefton-Williams Memorial Lecture at the University of Toronto in 2023.
His research examines labour and employment law, labour issues within global supply chains, corporate social responsibility, legal theory, and the intersection of work law and climate change, among other subjects. You can download and read many of his academic law review articles on his SSRN website here.
He was educated in programs in law and industrial relations at the University of Toronto (B.A., M.I.R.), the London School of Economics (LLM), and Osgoode Hall Law School (LL.B., Ph.D), where is PhD committee was comprised of former York President and Osgoode Hall Law School Dean, Professor Emeritus Harry Arthurs, Professor Mary Condon (former Osgoode Dean), and Professor Cynthia Williams. He was called to the Bars of Ontario and British Columbia in 1997, and before returning to academia he practiced labour law on behalf of employees and unions in both provinces, first as an associate at Victory Square Law Office in Vancouver and then as General Counsel to the United Steelworkers of America in Toronto. He has appeared as legal counsel in the courts of both provinces and before administrative tribunals across Canada.
Public Talks: Professor Doorey has been invited to speak at many conferences and events over the years on topics related to work law, labour relations, and other related subject areas, including as Key Note speaker. Please email enquiries to Professor Doorey at ddoorey@yorku.ca.
He lives in Toronto’s West End (and sometimes in beautiful Prince Edward County) with his spouse, two children, a cat named JazzyBeast, an Australian labradoodle named Willow, and a hedgehog named Cosmo. He coaches hockey in his “spare” time.
Bluesky: @thelawofwork.bsky.social
Twitter: @TheLawofWork