His work has been frequently cited by the most senior courts of the common law world, and has played a pivotal role in the evolution of refugee studies scholarship.

An archive of Hathaway's scholarly working papers has been established at the University of Michigan's Bentley Historical Library.

[5] Hathaway is the Founding Editor of Cambridge Asylum and Migration Studies, and served as Senior Advisor to Asylum Access, a non-profit organization committed to delivering innovative legal aid to refugees in the Global South (2013-2022) and Counsel on International Protection to the United States Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (2008-2022).

[8] Hathaway's main focus was to establish Melbourne as Australia's leading law school, including by joining other law schools from around the world to establish the London-based Centre for Transnational Legal Studies, and launching joint degree programs linking Melbourne with leading law schools on three continents, including the Chinese University of Hong Kong (JD/LLM), New York University (JD/JD and JD/LLM) and Oxford University (JD/BCL).

[9] He has also published more than 100 journal articles, book chapters, and commentaries on refugee law and related questions.