Biography
Claudio Klaus is a lawyer licensed in Brazil and Canada and an external PhD researcher (buitenpromovendus) at Erasmus University Rotterdam. His doctoral research examines how administrative law can promote connectivity or reinforce exclusion in sanitation governance. His project, “The Legal Last Mile: Administrative Law as a Mechanism of Connectivity and Exclusion in Sanitation Governance,” compares legal and institutional approaches in the Netherlands, Ontario, and Brazil.
He completed the Global Professional Master of Laws (GPLLM) at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and holds a Master’s degree in Development and Society. He also holds bachelor’s degrees in Law and International Relations, as well as postgraduate qualifications in Human Rights, and Environmental Law.
His academic interests include administrative law, comparative law, sanitation governance, water governance, environmental law, law and development, public institutions, access to essential services, and empirical legal research. His current work draws on a comparative dataset of administrative and judicial decisions from Brazil, Canada, and the Netherlands.
Claudio has previously been affiliated with Osgoode Hall Law School, York University (Canada) as an International Visiting Research Trainee, and the Mercatus Center at George Mason University (USA) as a Don Lavoie Fellow. He has also participated in academic and professional programs at Fordham University School of Law and The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.
His professional experience spans Canada, the United States, and Brazil. He has worked in private legal practice, public guardianship, court administration, regulatory compliance, banking disputes, corporate law, and commercial real estate. He also completed a legal externship at the Arizona Supreme Court (USA) with Justice Clint D. Bolick; and a clerkship at the Court of Appeals of Roraima (Brazil) with Justice Cristovao Suter.
Alongside his legal and academic work, Claudio hosts Studying Law Around the World, a podcast focused on legal education, international careers, and cross-border dialogue. Through this work, he has interviewed legal professionals and academics from more than 30 countries and has developed collaborations across several jurisdictions. His broader work focuses on connecting legal communities, sharing knowledge, and examining how legal institutions respond to practical social and governance challenges.
