Graduates of the GPLLM Class of 2015 enter Convocation Hall on Nov. 9, 2015
There are 39 lawyers and business executives in Toronto who can add another prestigious set of letters after their names. They are the newest graduates with a Global Professional LLM degree, a one-year executive-style graduate program focusing on global business law.
Students from across the law and business spectrum, from financial services, utilities, and public sector areas, to intellectual property, resources and immigration law celebrated their Convocation on November 9, along with a reception among classmates, faculty, family and friends.
Looking back, graduate Jen Argiropoulos, of Empire Life Investments, said it was the people who made up the best part of the program. “Both the quality of the professors and well as the ability to network and interact with other students from diverse professional backgrounds,” explained Argiropoulos. “They provided rich learning that went beyond merely ‘textbook information.’ Instead, we dealt with real-life scenarios from both Canadian and international businesses.”
This is the fourth cohort of the GPLLM, the only executive graduate law degree focused on business law in North America. Drawing from among leaders in law and the corporate world is one of the reasons graduate Muhammad Ali decided to pursue the program.
“The GPLLM offers more than most LLM programs that I came across,” says Ali. “The scope of the degree is broad, yet focused enough to give an in depth learning on each of the courses selected by the candidate. Being a mid-career degree, open to lawyers and non-lawyers alike, it also offers a great learning opportunity to interact with professionals from across the globe and all walks of life, especially in terms of exposure to a vast array of viewpoints, ideas and experiences.”
Argiropoulos agrees and says the fluidity between business and law issues is a given in today’s world.
“In my role, I am often asked to assess various risks and provide an opinion on their level of perceived and actual impact. This program has highlighted the interconnectedness among legal matters, regulator guidelines and competitive business practices, and has better enabled me to make these assessments and recommend more creative solutions.”
Ali says the most critical thing he’s learned in the program is the impact of how “legal jurisprudence shapes societies—be it criminal laws, civil laws, international relations or fundamental liberties—which in turn has served to enhance my analytical and decision making skills and capabilities….The GPLLM has transformed the way I think about important decisions on a day to day basis.”
The Class of 2015 celebrated at Convocation Hall on a beautiful and crisp fall day, and a Faculty of Law reception with family and friends and the law school followed in the Rowell Room.
