Aaron Peterkin

Biography

Aaron K A Peterkin is a tenure track Assistant Professor (Teaching) at Haskayne School of Business.  Aaron teaches Business Law for Strategic Decision-Makers (SGMA 395), a core business law course for students in the Bachelor of Commerce program.  He also teaches The Legal Environment of Business (SGMA 613) to students in Haskayne's MBA program. 

Aaron designed and teaches Dilemmas & Decisions in Business (SGMA 533),  a business ethics course that challenges students to critically examine their personal values and moral frameworks through sustained reflective writing, theoretical analysis, and applied ethical reasoning.  Rooted in the premise that ethical leadership begins with self-awareness, the course integrates canonical ethical theories (deontology, consequentialism, and virtue ethics) with contemporary dilemmas in areas such as artificial intelligence, marketing, healthcare, equity and inclusion, and whistleblowing.  Students engage in a progressive sequence of assignments that require personal introspection, critical engagement with ethical literature, and the mindful application of moral reasoning to real-world business scenarios.  Through this iterative process, students learn to articulate a coherent ethical identity and evaluate the systemic factors that shape ethical decision-making in modern organizations. 

Aaron earned a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) degrees from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and a Master of Laws (International Commercial Law) from the University of Nottingham in England.  Aaron returned to Canada and undertook further studies at the University of Manitoba's Robson Hall Faculty of Law.

Aaron has 20 years of experience as a practicing civil litigator.  Before joining the University of Calgary, Aaron was a partner at a western Canadian law firm with a specific focus on insurance coverage.  He advised Canadian, American and European insurers and underwriters on a multitude of issues.  His practice included the defence of coverage actions, priority disputes amongst insurers, and the coverage considerations associated with construction defect litigation.

Aaron has conducted trials before the Alberta Court of King’s Bench, Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice and the Ontario Court of Justice. Aaron has also conducted applications, motions and appeals in courts throughout Alberta, Ontario and Manitoba.

Aaron also taught Insurance Law as a sessional lecturer at the University of Alberta Law School.

Outside of law, Aaron is an experienced freefly skydiver with over 1,600 jumps from altitudes in excess of 13,000 feet AGL.   Aaron is a member of sport parachuting associations in Canada (CSPA) and the United States (USPA). He was also a Level 2 IBA rated Wind Tunnel Instructor.  Aaron served as the Vice-President of the Board of Directors of the Alberta Sport Parachuting Association (ASPA) and as a past contributing editor of CanPara magazine.