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Profile: Marc Jeske, JD-MBA Class of 1979
On March 11, 2005 we had an opportunity to interview Marc Jeske, an alum who has remained very close to the JD-MBA program through his participation in the summer practicum program. The following answers were paraphrased from the information Marc provided during the interview.
Northwestern JD-MBA Graduation Year: 1979
Undergraduate School: University of Illinois
Current Employer: Ispat Inland Inc.
Title: General Counsel
Current Hometown: Valparaiso, IN
Family: Wife, Laura and 2 daughters ages 12 and 10
(AN = Alumni Newsletter, MJ = Marc Jeske)
AN: Tell us a little about the JD-MBA program as it was when you were here at Northwestern?
MJ: Following my graduation from the University of Illinois, I received a grant from the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration. I worked for the agency for a year and then applied to Northwestern’s law school. During the first year of law school I took the GMAT and applied to Kellogg. At the time, the JD-MBA program was a four-year program, where you spent the first year at the law school, the second year at Kellogg, and the following two years taking classes from both schools. During one of the summers I interned at Kraft and during the others, I returned to the agency.
AN: Having been out in the “real world” for a few years, can you tell us how your career has progressed and what positions you had prior to being general counsel at Ispat Inland Steel?
MJ: Well, following graduation from Northwestern, I took a job at Chicago & Northwestern Transportation Co. located in downtown Chicago. I worked in the legal department for the rail road company, focusing mostly on contract, financial and transactional law. I worked there for seven years and had one very major accomplishment…. I met my wife. Laura worked in Chicago & Northwestern Transportation Co.’s real estate department. From there I took a position in the legal department at Inland Steel Industries. I worked at Inland Steel Industries for 12 years and in 1999 I took the position of general counsel at Inland Steel Company (now Ispat Inland, part of Mittal Steel, the world’s largest steel company).
AN: Tell us a little about what you do as General Counsel at Ispat Inland Steel?
MJ: The legal department at Inland is very small for the overall size of the organization. In addition to myself, we employ two lawyers, an international trade specialist, and two paralegals. We handle nearly all types of legal work for the organization, with the exception of labor which is handled through a different department. Since our department is small, we end up outsourcing approximately 2/3 of the legal work we deal with. I personally focus mostly on financial matters including the handling of debt and publicly traded bonds, in addition to joint venture dealings and most of the major litigation that Ispat Inland encounters. My experience in the JD-MBA program has helped me significantly in dealing with the legal issues present in the financial management of our organization.
AN: Can you tell us how the JD-MBA degree has benefited you in your career, and do you feel it differentiates you from your peers?
MJ: Working in the legal field, the law degree has its obvious importance. However, the business degree has proven to be very helpful in a number of ways. First, the Kellogg education helps me to understand the sometimes complex financial concepts behind a lot of the work Ispat Inland is doing. Second, I feel that the business degree provides a solid foundation in reality that is very important in the work I do. Sometimes it seems as though lawyers can get too wrapped up in hypotheticals, and can lose sight of what is most important to an organization, especially when working in a corporate legal department. The business degree has helped me to better focus on what is truly valuable to the organization in each legal matter, and to understand the drivers behind what the organization is trying to do.
AN: Finally, you have been heavily involved with the Northwestern Corporate Practicum program that places primarily JD-MBA students in law internships one day a week during the summer. Obviously, many JD-MBAs see this program as a wonderful opportunity to get a first-hand look at corporate law. From the corporate side, do you think the program is beneficial?
MJ: First off, I would like to state that the summer practicum program has been a wonderfully synergistic relationship over the past few years. I’ve been very happy with the work that the students have been able to complete, and our management has been very receptive to the work as well. From Inland’s perspective, we are able to get top-notch talent to come in and tackle some of the projects that our legal department is very interested in completing, but doesn’t always have the time to get to. One recent project was a sales and purchasing best practice project for the entire Mittal Steel family. This project included researching the current sales and procurement procedures for the organization and identifying the most important legal issues that employees needed to know. The students were able to develop model Terms & Conditions and contracts and make recommendations on the legal aspects of both the sales and procurement practices to Inland management. This project has been ongoing for the past couple of summers. Other projects included asbestos litigation studies, evaluation of product substitution risks, and the evaluation of “Made in America” regulations. Overall, I feel the students get a great opportunity to gain relevant exposure to corporate legal work and participate in meetings with management personnel. We’ve been very happy with the program and look forward to participating in the future.
AN: Thank you very much for your time with us today and thank you again for your continued participation in the summer practicum program.
MJ: Thank you and I look forward to meeting a new group of students this summer.
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