The Lawyers Weekly - Inside Councel, Fall 2011

one-two punch enables graduates who go on to become in-house counsel to combine a business perspective with the technical aspects of understanding how to structure a multi-million-dollar deal.

“If you’re going to work in the corporate world, whether in financial services, as in-house counsel or a partner in a law firm, it gives you the chance to leverage two degrees that in many ways complement each other,” he says.

Tom Johnson, co-director of the Osgoode Schulich J.D./MBA program at York University, agrees. He says there’s no question the degree is a “ differentiator.” In fact, he says it minimizes a long-standing vulnerability among Canadian law school students—that they don’t always understand the clients’ business.

“They’ve been hearing this for 25 years. Students who have come out of the joint program have less difficulty with that. That’s mainly because of the MBA training,” he says.

Johnson, who is also a full-time faculty
member at Osgoode Hall Law School of
York University, notes lawyers are increas-
ingly moving into management positions
with clients after working with them out
of their corporate law office for a number
of years. The school has also seen a num-
ber of graduates venture out on their own
to start their own businesses.

The younger Rosen progressed through a number of positions at the company, including the buying side, running stores and marketing, before moving up to president in 1997 and CEO in 2000.

He says in today’s complex business environment, having both degrees in your back pocket can be a significant advantage. He says his legal background gives him a leg up in dealing with leases, wrongful dismissals, tax law, corporate restructuring and estate freezes.

“As a business man, I wouldn’t have a clue what they meant if I didn’t have a law degree,” he says.

“To me, there are two different para-
digms looking at the world. Solving a le-
gal problem is very different from solving
a business problem. The world doesn’t
break down into business and law.”
When asked for educational advice,
he always encourages people to do both
because it’s a win-win proposition.

“I’ve never regretted my education for a day. Never a day goes by in business where I don’t use my legal education to solve issues. I feel very blessed to have both,” he says. END

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