In the eyes of many a law student, Mark Sadoff is living the dream.
Based in Paris, the 1986 alumnus of Wayne State University Law School practices international business law as a partner with Shubert Collin Associates.
“After a long part of my career spent in-house at multinational corporations based in France, I have recently returned to private practice as a partner in a French law firm in Paris,” Sadoff
said. “Shubert Collin is a French law firm founded in 1990 by an American lawyer. International operations is part of its DNA. We are a full-service firm serving predominately American clients with important assets in Europe and French clients in a wide range of international operations. A substantial part of our practice is devoted to advising foreign companies with respect to their operations within or in relation to France.”
Sadoff also serves as an adjunct professor at the Institut Léonard de Vinci, teaching advanced-degree business students about purchasing agreements.
He studied international business law when he was at Wayne Law, but even before then, he was interested in France.
“I grew up in East Lansing, son of a professor of microbiology,” Sadoff said. “I was lucky to be the youngest child with older siblings. As such, when my father’s career hit its stride, I had the opportunity to travel with my parents, including a full summer in France when I was about 11.”
He studied French in middle school and high school, but acquired better language skills on the job, living in France.
“I really learned once I got here and was required to speak every day,” Sadoff said. “I continue to make minor mistakes, much to the delight of my children, who were both born here (in
France). Beyond that, through my work and travels, I have learned a few words in a lot of different languages but cannot always dredge up the right word at the right time.”
After law school graduation in 1986, Sadoff worked in Detroit for the former Butzel, Keidan, Simon, Meyers, and Graham.
“In 1987, I took a job as attorney-advisor in the Office of the Chief Counsel for Import Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C.,” he said. “From there, I took a job in France with a subsidiary of the Saint-Gobain Group in eastern France. Afterward, I moved to the Paris area as chief contracts counsel before being asked to return to Saint-Gobain as divisional general counselor for the Insulation Activity of the Distribution Sector. Since the beginning of this year, I am back to private practice with Shubert Collin.”
He traveled widely during his nearly 25 years with worldwide Saint-Gobain.
“As I was traveling around in my job, I decided that for each country I would learn about 11 words — hello, goodbye, please, thank you, one, two, beer, wine and ‘the same thing as him.’ That worked pretty well until I hit Finland, where I went often, but learned nothing,” he said.
Sadoff knows that for some law students, a career like his in international law is indeed a dream vocation.
“I know from my own experience that there is a dream and idealism set up around anything with the words ‘international law,’ and I think that idealism is important,” he said.
His advice for students who wish to make a career in international law:
“Be open — open to differences, social, linguistic, cultural, legal, etc. — and, most importantly, open to learning.
“Be clear — Where do you want to go? What can you reasonably expect to do?
“Be determined — Of course, this applies to everything you do or want to do.”
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