Michael Sennett (JD '77)

Hometown: Wilmette, Illinois.  
Undergrad: Quincy University in the St. Louis area for my undergraduate education. 
    
In what ways has your practice evolved over the last few years?  When I first began working in Antitrust Law over 30 years ago, the practice was mostly based within the United States. In the last 10 years, Antitrust Law has become increasingly globalized. This is due to the integration of global economies, and the massive amounts of outsourcing we see in the United States. Naturally, Antitrust law followed this trend. Now Jones Day has offices throughout the world, working in China, Australia, Europe, and Brazil. 

What do you envision for the next few years? I wish to continue to integrate global practices for Antitrust and work with colleague to continue to build our infrastructure and success. Antitrust Law is one of the top five global law practices, and I look forward to watching it grow and develop. 

Tell us about your time at Loyola as a professor.  I teach as an adjunct at Loyola for Antitrust Law. I really enjoy teaching the core underpinnings of this field, and I am always impressed by the quality of students in the class. I would say the best thing about teaching is watching how students’ own careers develop and watching the great things that they go on to do. 

I had one particular student who came to Loyola Law School from Korea. After he graduated in 2003, we kept in touch over the years, and I worked with him doing some antitrust work. He contacted me and told me that he really liked Jones Day. He then received a job offer, and is now working at our Tokyo office, doing business in Japan and Korea. I really enjoy keeping in touch with students and seeing the opportunities that find them. 

What would be one piece of advice for young lawyers? The number one piece of advice I would give to young lawyers would be to embrace a practice of law you can do for a long time. Pick a field of law that makes you excited to get up in the morning. Don’t go into a field for the money; find something that you truly enjoy. 

Why did you choose to attend Loyola? I originally chose Loyola because I got married and wanted to stay in Chicago. Loyola offered so much in terms of legal training, quality professors, and a foundational legal philosophy that I found it to be the best place for me to study law. 

Why did you decide to come back to Loyola and teach?  I knew I wanted to teach even going into Law School. I came back to Loyola because I wanted to teach the specialty of Antitrust. I knew Loyola had a great program to train Antitrust Lawyers, and this was the best place I could possibly imagine to teach.