Osgoode Prof Poonam Puri on her pioneering business law career

Few people embody the concept of business law better than Poonam Puri.

One of Canada’s and the world’s most respected scholars of corporate law, corporate governance, investor protection and capital markets regulation, Puri also maintains an active practice advising and serving on multiple public and private boards.

“It all ties back to the fact that I studied business and I studied law. And I think that in my career I have been able to really marry the two nicely,” Puri says.

As the founder and director of Osgoode’s Professional LLM in Business Law, Puri now helps students create their own happy unions between the legal and commercial sides of their personality.

“My involvement stemmed from this desire to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge of the law and practical application,” Puri says. “The program itself is designed to equip students with a mix of academic, applied and theoretical skills and insights that I think are really necessary for navigating complex legal and business landscapes.”

“I’m privileged to have worked with so many exceptional students and faculty over the years and I’m really proud that the Business Law LLM and its graduates have had so much success,” she adds.

Puri got an early introduction to legal issues soon after her family’s arrival in Canada, thanks to her father’s small business in land titles.

“I can still remember visiting him and my mom at the registry office and helping out as a young kid. That’s where I first became interested in the field of law and the possibility of becoming a lawyer,” she says.

After earning an undergraduate degree in commerce, Puri entered law school and discovered a passion for corporate and securities law that would help define the following three decades of her career.

“The intricate dynamics of the financial markets and their intersection with the law is something that has fascinated me since that time,” she says. 

Following her 1997 appointment to the faculty at Osgoode, Puri continued building connections between the worlds of business and law, with a particular focus on corporate governance issues.

“It’s a really important area of law that influences economic growth and stability and I’m grateful for the opportunities that my career has provided me to contribute to policymaking and designing regulatory frameworks that have had an impact,” she says.

Puri currently holds the York Research Chair in Corporate Governance, Investor Protection and Financial Markets and has been frequently called upon by governments and financial agencies around the world – including the Bank of Canada, Industry Canada and the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank – for her expertise in financial regulation that serves the public interest.

In addition to her central role in the creation of the Business Law LLM, Puri is also co-founder and director of the Osgoode Investor Protection Clinic, which provides pro bono legal assistance to individuals who have suffered financial harm – each a first of their kind in Canada.

In her public and private sector board work, Puri provides advice to boards, special committees and management teams on a broad range of issues. She has also served as a commissioner of the Ontario Securities Commission and on the boards of both the Women’s College Hospital and the Greater Toronto Airport Authority, among others. She recently completed an eight-year term including as chair of the board of directors of Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital.

In addition, Puri has presented over 200 keynotes, public addresses and remarks on the complex governance challenges facing industry leaders, including at the 2024 ESG Summit Canada, where she will discuss the increasing pressure on businesses to comply with sustainability standards.

“All of my work is interrelated: as a director and advisor, I bring my research to bear and as a researcher and teacher, I use my practical experience to inform my thinking,” she says. 

Puri has also made her mark inside the classroom, as a four-time winner of Osgoode’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. She says students in her Business Law LLM classes should expect to take centre stage as she employs case studies, real-world examples and group projects to bring her business law lessons to life.

“I try to create an engaging working environment where the students feel encouraged to participate actively and share their perspectives,” Puri says. “It’s important to teach the theoretical underpinnings, but ultimately, the law is something that we ‘practice,’ so I try to put the students in the shoes of practitioners and ask them: what would you do and why? And how can you do things better.”

She says prospective Business Law LLM candidates should be ready to “challenge and build upon” their existing knowledge and experience as they enter the program.

“You should also take full advantage of the networking opportunities you get with classmates, faculty and industry professionals and guests. Your network is really important and the people you meet today in the program will be the professionals of tomorrow,” Puri adds.