Bringing the power of an Osgoode International Business Law LLM back to Mexico

When Mexican lawyer Alejandro Canales decided to boost his career with an International Business Law LLM, he had his eye on just one destination: Canada.

With close family connections in the Toronto area, Canales had developed a relationship with the country over the course of a lifetime and had long harboured a desire to stay in the country for an extended period.

“I used to visit a lot during the summers of high school and also university and I liked the country,” he says. “Canadians are more warm towards international newcomers to the country, so I always thought the best option to go there was either to do an LLM or a diploma.”

Canales’ legal ambitions go back just as far as his Canadian connections.

Aside from a brief flirtation with the medical field – “I wasn’t very good with blood,” Canales jokingly explains – “I kind of always knew I wanted to be a lawyer.”

After graduating from law school, Canales quickly established himself in the Mexican profession, taking on in-house legal roles for a number of businesses with interests across Latin America and the U.S., before deciding to put his LLM plan into action.

Osgoode’s Professional LLM in International Business Law was the obvious choice, he says, because of the school’s outstanding reputation and affordable tuition.

“Also because they have the option of a campus in downtown Toronto, which I wanted to experience,” Canales adds.

During the course of his International Business Law LLM studies, Canales says he was struck by the quality of the faculty – in particular Germán Morales Farah, the program’s co-director, who demonstrated his fluency in six languages.

“You don’t often get to know academics in English-speaking countries that are that open culturally,” Canales says. “He was very knowledgeable and very helpful.”

The diversity of perspectives Canales’ LLM colleagues brought with them to class was another highlight, he added.

The program is designed for lawyers and professionals with legal work experience and attracts candidates from across the globe with considerable experience in legal practice, including many who plan to requalify and continue their careers in Canadian jurisdictions.

Canales considered taking the same route himself, but was ultimately not ready to cut his ties to family and friends back home. After his 2024 graduation, he returned to his private practice in the northern Mexican city of Monterrey, where he consults on contractual, intellectual property, tax and labour law matters for a variety of domestic and international businesses.

“In the end I didn’t end up staying,” Canales says. “But still I plan to keep visiting.”

On his return to Mexico, Canales saw an almost immediate return on his investment when a local business considering expansion asked him to explore their options for trademark protection in Canada – a topic he had coincidentally covered in great detail during an elective LLM course at Osgoode.

“I wouldn’t have been able to respond to that question if I hadn’t taken the trademarks course,” he says.

It’s not always possible for Canales to draw such a straight line between his Osgoode experience and his current legal practice. However, he says all of his clients benefit in a more indirect way from his training on the International Business Law LLM – particularly companies whose interests extend beyond the borders of Mexico’s civil law system into common law jurisdictions, such as the U.S., most Canadian provinces and the U.K.

“I wouldn’t say I apply the knowledge every day, because I’m practising domestically, but it definitely gave me more of an international framework, as far as legal knowledge goes,” Canales explains. “Overall, it was a very good experience and a quality education.”

Although he ultimately decided to return home to Mexico to continue his legal practice, Canales says Osgoode’s International Business Law LLM is an excellent option for internationally trained lawyers seeking to make their move permanent and requalify in Canada, because of the opportunity it offers students to take electives accredited by the Federation of Law Societies of Canada’s National Committee on Accreditation.

Still, whatever their future plans for practice, Canales would not hesitate to recommend the program to international lawyers.

“Even if you don’t want to practice law in Canada, I think it’s a good idea if you want to expand. If you’re dealing on a daily basis with international clients – whether it be as an in-house counsel or as an independent legal practitioner – and you want to expand your knowledge and be able to take on bigger clients and more international clients, it definitely helps,” he says. “It opens the doors to many more new people.”