Building Leaders at the Intersection of Law and Business: The JD-MBA

With backgrounds in engineering, business management, and corporate strategy, Mack Krell, KeVohn McMahon, and Tram Nguyen (all JD-MBA ’26) represent just some of the different experiences students bring to Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and Kellogg School of Management’s JD-MBA degree program. “In our cohort alone, there are former scientists, consultants, paralegals, engineers, and musicians,” says Tram. “People ask different questions, interpret facts differently, and notice different risks and opportunities.” In bringing these differences together, Northwestern’s JD-MBA students form a tight-knit network with one crucial thread in common: a deep appreciation for the program and its community, one that leaves them ready to pursue whatever career path they choose.

“Northwestern Pritzker Law is so proud of our JD-MBA program and our continued partnership with the Kellogg School of Management,” said Dean Zachary D. Clopton. “For more than fifty years our students have thrived at the intersection of law and business, becoming leaders in both fields and contributing to an engaging alumni network.”

“Some of the world’s most complex challenges require leaders who can bridge law and business,” said Kellogg Dean Francesca Cornelli. “Our JD-MBA program combines Kellogg’s strength in collaborative, strategic leadership with Pritzker Law’s rigorous training in legal judgment, creating graduates who can tackle challenges from both perspectives. After more than fifty years, this program represents not just two degrees, but a vibrant community of leaders committed to each other’s success.”

Northwestern Pritzker Law and Kellogg School of Management were the first major law and business schools to develop a model allowing students to earn both degrees in three years instead of the traditional five. Initially launched in 1970 and converted to a three-year program in 2001, it is the largest JD-MBA program in the country, with the largest alumni network. The program offers opportunities for students from all backgrounds, whether they aspire to be business leaders with legal expertise or want to pursue a law career with a solid foundation in management. And while the majority of Northwestern Pritzker Law students enter with at least one year of work experience, JD-MBA students “tend to have more years of work experience,” says Stephen F. Reed, clinical professor of law and co-director of the JD-MBA program.

Such was the case for Mack Krell, who spent several years as a product developer for medical device companies before enrolling at Northwestern. Even while working as an engineer, Mack maintained an interest in law that dated back to his teenage years. “I did mock trial in high school,” he says. “Even in undergrad, law school was always the plan.” His work as a product developer helped solidify this plan, as Mack realized his career goals required a greater knowledge of law and business strategy. “I want to keep working in the medical device space, but more from a legal and business strategy standpoint,” he says. “I have an engineering background … how do we take these [development] ideas to make a successful business and have a positive impact?”

With a background in supply chain management and a goal to run his own business, KeVohn McMahon knew he wanted to further his studies in business when his partner started the JD program at Northwestern Pritzker Law. Through her, he met several students enrolled in the JD-MBA program and learned about their experiences. “I was considering doing the straight MBA route,” he says, “but through [my partner’s] experience, I became interested in the JD portion and the intersections of business and law.”

Like KeVohn, Tram Nguyen entered the program with a background in business. She became interested in pursuing both a law and business degree after working in corporate strategy at a financial services firm and learning from her mentor there, who had earned a JD. “He never practiced and began his post-JD career in investment banking,” she says, but seeing him apply what he learned in law school to his strategy memos and work with corporate executives made her realize she wanted a joint degree. “A traditional JD offers deep training in issue spotting and risk analysis, while a traditional MBA emphasizes strategy and implementation,” Tram says. “The JD-MBA felt like the most direct way to build both, especially for work where execution depends on governance, compliance, and stakeholder obligations.”

For KeVohn and Mack especially, the opportunity to complete their JD-MBA in three years, as opposed to four years at many other schools, made Northwestern’s degree program stand out. In their first year, JD-MBA students take classes exclusively at the Law School, where they complete the same standard first-year curriculum as traditional JD students. They begin their studies at Kellogg during the summer term between their first and second year and shift to full time at Kellogg’s Evanston campus their second year. In their third year, the students complete their Law School courses, with the option to take additional credits at Kellogg. Throughout their time on both campuses, the intersections between business and law are evident.

“One thing that really surprised me was how much the education at the two schools naturally intersects,” says Mack. “Initially I thought, ‘I’m getting a law degree; I’m getting a business degree; and it’ll kind of be on me to figure out how to fit those together. But the curriculum and the actual academics intersect more than I expected.” Tram echoes this sentiment, adding: “The most rewarding part of the program has been learning to think in two modes at once and feeling them reinforce each other. At business school, I get to be creative and analytical … at law school, I get to practice disciplined judgment.”

The benefits of attending both schools show up beyond the classroom as well. “By the time they graduate, they have two full networks,” says Professor Reed, “one at Pritzker and one at Kellogg. It’s a very rich life.” With such a unique, rigorous academic schedule, members of the JD-MBA program form an extremely close group. “The social aspect of the program was unexpected … everyone is really tight-knit,” says KeVohn. The program has an active student club, mentoring program, and alumni network. Mack and Tram both speak regularly with prospective JD-MBA students, and Mack served as admissions chair of the JD-MBA Students Association his second year. “It was really rewarding to be able to, now that I’ve been in the program a few years, have the insight to give advice to people who are where I was five years ago,” he says.

For Tram, speaking with prospective students proved especially rewarding as a first-generation student. “Coming from a background without abundant resources, I relied heavily on mentors, teachers, and peers who went out of their way to support me. I try to pay that forward.” In addition to speaking with prospective students, Tram also served as co-president of First-Gen@Kellogg, where she helped launch a mentorship program connecting Northwestern undergraduates with graduate students. “Being able to belong to both worlds at Kellogg and the Law School has been one of the most meaningful parts of the program,” she says.

Likewise, KeVohn participated in multiple extracurricular programs at Kellogg, including the Black Management Association and the Golub Capital Board Fellows Program. Through the Board Fellows program, he says, “I had an opportunity to sit on the board of a nonprofit, Big Brothers Big Sisters. It’s been very rewarding to sit on a board with a bunch of cool people so much smarter and more experienced than I am—it’s very unique and really a blessing to be a part of that.” The program also requires three classes in board governance, and KeVohn adds that his fellows cohort formed a very close group. “It’s a unique space where everybody there obviously cares about public service,” he says.

Tram has also had the opportunity to work with nonprofits during her time in the program, including working with clients at the Law School’s Donald Pritzker Entrepreneurship Law Center. There she has helped support founders of nonprofits and for-profits under the supervision of clinical professors. “The core focus is legal support, but the JD-MBA training also helped me, to the extent appropriate, think alongside founders about the business questions that exist right next to the legal ones,” she says. She also participated in several public service opportunities with the Law School, including a pro bono naturalization clinic support on Chicago’s South Side and research and client intake for legal aid clinics. These provided “vastly different” experiences from her summer roles at large law firms, but all three helped to strengthen her legal training and judgment.

After graduation, Tram intends to work in the philanthropy and nonprofit sector while remaining active in pro bono work, including continued support for immigration law nonprofits. Meanwhile, KeVohn and Mack will both work at Kirkland and Ellis, albeit in different fields—KeVohn hopes to do mergers and acquisitions and private equity, while Mack will focus on tech and intellectual property. All three will join a vibrant, rich alumni community that remains invested in the program and those who come after them. “Every time I have reached out to an alum, I have heard back, often within a day,” says Tram. “They work across industries, but they are consistently proud of their roots in the program and eager to support current students.” In this way, JD-MBA program represents more than a degree; it is a community of lawyers, businesspeople, and entrepreneurs who are committed to each other’s success.