Irem Akin is an Assistant Professor at the Molengraaff Institute for Private Law, Utrecht University. Her research focuses on the evolving role of corporate law in addressing the sustainability crisis, with particular emphasis on directors’ duties, liability, and other legal mechanisms that shape corporate sustainability. 

Before joining Utrecht University, Irem completed her Ph.D. at Erasmus University Rotterdam (2025). Her dissertation, titled “The Impact of Corporate Sustainability on Directors’ Duties and Liabilities: A Comparative Legal Study,” examined how corporate sustainability influences the codification and interpretation of directors’ duties and liabilities in the EU, and specifically in France and the Netherlands. During her doctoral research, she also conducted a research visit at the University of Paris I: Panthéon-Sorbonne, Département de Droit Comparé, supported by an Erasmus+ grant. 

Before her academic career, Irem practiced as a registered lawyer in Istanbul (2018-2020). She holds an Advanced LL.M. in European and International Business Law from Leiden University (cum laude, 2020) and a LLB in Law from Bilkent University (2018). 

Irem is a native speaker of Turkish, fluent in English, and has professional working proficiency in Dutch.