Gender identity legal expert to join School of Advanced Study

He will succeed Jules Winterton who has led the institute, a member of the School of Advanced Study (SAS), University of London, for five years. Professor Stychin is currently professor of law at City, University of London, a position he will relinquish on 31 December 2018. 

Founded in 1947, IALS is a national academic institution that provides international access to legal research materials, resources and services. Its areas of speciality include arbitration and dispute settlement, company law, comparative law, economic crime, financial services law, information law and policy, legislative studies and law reform, and the legal profession and delivery of legal services.

Professor Stychin, who has an international reputation for his research on the legal construction and regulation of sexual and gender identities, said he is very excited at the prospect of leading IALS and joining the School of Advanced Study.

"The IALS is a remarkable institution not least because of its dedicated and talented staff. It is deeply humbling for me to reflect upon the list of outstanding Directors who have served the Institute so well over seven decades. The current transformation project will ensure that the IALS continues to make an outstanding national and international contribution to legal research. It is my privilege to be entrusted with the stewardship of such a vital organisation. I also look forward to contributing to the continued excellence of the School of Advanced Study of which the Institute forms such an important part".
   
Professor Stychin has published extensively on subjects including civil partnerships, same-sex marriage, European identity politics, and the interplay of equality law and religious freedom in the UK. Other research interests include the law of negligence, and law and popular culture. Professor Stychin’s first monograph, Law’s Desire: Sexuality and the Limits of Justice, won the Socio Legal Studies Association Book Prize in 1995.

A graduate of Canada’s University of Alberta and University of Toronto, Professor Stychin undertook postgraduate studies in America at New York's Columbia Law School. He began his academic career at Keele University in 1992, before moving to a professorship of law at the University of Reading in 1998.

While at Reading, he held various management roles: head of the School of Law, dean of the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences, and pro vice-chancellor (enterprise). In 2009, Reading awarded him the degree of Doctor of Laws based on his publication record. In 2012, Professor Stychin became dean of The City Law School at City, University of London, a position he held for over five years. 

Professor Stychin is the author of three monographs, three co-edited collections, numerous articles, and a student 'text and materials' collection. He is editor of Social & Legal Studies: An International Journal, a position he has held for many years, and a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. He was appointed by the Privy Council as a lay member of the General Chiropractic Council, one of the UK’s health care regulators, in 2015. He currently serves as chair of the Committee of Heads of UK Law Schools.

Commenting on the appointment, Professor Sir Adrian Smith, Vice-Chancellor of the University of London, said: "I am very pleased to welcome Professor Stychin to the university. IALS is a very important part of legal research and study in the UK and Professor Stychin will bring his considerable expertise, particularly in the field of gender identities for the benefit of scholars and students." 

"I am delighted to welcome Professor Carl Stychin to the School of Advanced Study and look forward to working with him in years to come," said Professor Rick Rylance, Dean of the School of Advanced Study. "Carl brings a range of international and national experience and a clarity of vision that will enhance the already considerable achievements at IALS. He is a great appointment."