Nicky Sellinger, JD/MBA ‘22

BAA: Can you share a bit about your journey into law and business post-graduation from the MBA/JD program? Were there any standout experiences or courses during your time in the program that shaped your career path?

Absolutely. It was during my first year of law school that I knew I wanted to pursue the dual program. My prior education and much of my previous experience had been business/management related, so the dual program sounded extremely enticing and rewarding. I’ve also always been interested in real estate and saw the huge opportunity in the real estate industry as it intersects with a plethora of other industries. As such, wherever I was able to, I took real-estate focused electives including real estate law and real estate development.

While I genuinely loved the management courses and felt my calling was in a more business-type role, I nonetheless recognized the immense value that would come from articling, particularly at an international law firm. I articled and began my practice at DLA Piper (LLP) in Vancouver where I gained an incredible amount of knowledge and experience and had truly exceptional mentors. My legal practice at DLA (as well as at Cherkowski Marsden LLP – another law firm I worked at during law school) was almost exclusively real estate law and particularly development. Last year I determined it was time for me to leave private practice for new ventures that better encapsulated my passions and skillset and were more aligned with my long-term goals. I started with Revelstoke Mountain Resort last summer and I really do think I’ve landed my dream career. 

Reflecting on my dual degree, several experiences stand out in shaping my career. Law school transformed my critical and analytical thinking, influencing how I approach tasks daily. The MBA program refined my leadership, communication, and relationship-building skills. Unlike law school’s independent assessments, MBA coursework involved significant group work, both challenging and rewarding. Beyond academics, extracurricular roles — such as president of the Sports and Entertainment Law Society, case competitions, MBA Games, and consulting for the Stollery Children’s Hospital — further honed these essential skills.

BAA: The MBA/JD dual degree is quite demanding, so is your current dual role. How has this unique combination of skills shaped your approach to leadership and problem-solving? 

I think most importantly, my dual degree honed my organizational, time management, and prioritization competencies which were essential throughout my degree and are even more critical in practice. This involves responding in a timely manner, staying on top of tasks and recognizing which tasks are urgent versus which are lower priority. I’ve often found that my success in various roles has largely been attributed to being organized and prepared. I enjoy and thrive in fast paced environments and highly demanding roles but without substantial organizational systems in place it would be very difficult.

Studying law taught me how to look at a situation, and language, from every possible angle. I believe this is a key component of problem-solving in that you need to fully understand the problem from various perspectives and understand the magnitude and urgency of the problem before you can tackle it. Similarly, business school taught me skills, methods, and theories for problem-solving but more so in relation to soft skills, i.e. working collaboratively with others and trying to understand others’ interests and motivations to better achieve collective goals.  

BAA: How has the experience as legal counsel in real estate development at Revelstoke Mountain Resort been so far, and are there any exciting insights or learnings you'd like to share? / How does your legal and business education complement each other in your day-to-day responsibilities? 

I can truly say I love my career! It encompasses all the things I had hoped for in my career. It is intellectually challenging, requires an entrepreneurial mindset, involves collaborating with all sorts of demographics from all across the world, I get to be a part of an incredible journey for Revelstoke Mountain Resort, and the environment I’m working in changes all the time. One minute I’m sitting at my desk in heels drafting an agreement, the next I’m in steel toe boots walking around a construction site, the next at a local café for a Chambers of Commerce event, and the next I’m travelling to a new city to talk about our developments – I really love it! That is definitely one of the best parts of my career, that every day looks entirely different and involves interacting with lots of people. I enjoy the mix of independent work where I can complete tasks in a silo, as well as collaborative work tackling projects as a group and brainstorming in a scrum. The shift from private practice to primarily a business role also meant starting to wear a lot more hats; whereas in private practice I often found that the majority of my day was spent interpreting the law, applying the law, or reproducing the law, now I do some of that but am also heavily involved with our sales and marketing strategies, community engagement, homeowner relations, the list goes on. 

This role combines the ‘hard skills’ taught in my degree in terms of legal principles or basic financial calculations for example, and the ‘soft skills’ such as leadership, ethical decision making, and professional responsibility. Of course, there are challenging days and I quite frequently experience imposter syndrome, but I view this as both a pro and con in that while at times I may not feel as confident as I’d like, I know that if I wasn’t experiencing some form of imposter syndrome then I wouldn’t be challenging myself enough to reach my full potential. It’s also quite a privilege to consistently be in rooms where I feel everyone around me is incredibly intelligent and accomplished; it’s very motivating and inspiring.

BAA: How do you continue to grow professionally in your dual role? Are there particular skills or areas you are focused on improving?

One of the best, and equally most challenging, parts of my role is that I am constantly learning. As a junior lawyer I am always learning more about the intricacies of law; having recently entered into the non-private practice side of real estate development I am continuously learning about every element of development from building materials to mass marketing to hosting events and everything in between; and, having recently moved to Revelstoke I’m also continuing to learn more about this fantastic community. So, in short, I’m focussed on improving basically all of my skills in this role: leadership, communication, legal drafting, general knowledge of construction, etc. I believe there is always room for self-growth and improvement. 

Similar to my studies, I think an integral component to career success is to constantly challenge yourself, set new ambitious goals, and thrive for improvement. I have quite a bit of autonomy in my role with Revelstoke Mountain Resort and with that comes a lot of self-starting, accountability, and ownership of projects and tasks which I find extremely fulfilling. It also involves taking risks and making a lot of decisions with the potential of making mistakes which is something I find very challenging. One important area of self-growth I would like to focus on is becoming more comfortable with the idea of failure and knowing that I’m inevitably going to make mistakes but that ultimately, I will improve and grow because of those mistakes. I actually wrote an entire paper during my MBA on the idea of fear of failure but it is an ongoing process!    

I’m also just eager to gain more experience over time. Having dedicated most of the last decade and a half to post-secondary education, I’m now ready to gain a lot of the knowledge that comes from experience and practice. While a classroom setting taught me lots, there are many parts of my career path that I’ll only become more proficient in through hands-on experience over time. Part of this process also involves actively seeking out mentors within our organization and in the industry. Throughout my life I’ve been incredibly blessed to have many wonderful mentors, and now since moving to Revelstoke I’ve already identified a few people both in and outside the company but within the Revelstoke community who will be incredible mentors and who I will learn so much from. Consistently shadowing and listening to these folks in their day to day while actively seeking feedback are methods I use to continue to grow in my role. 

BAA: How would you make a case for pursuing a dual degree to persuade prospective students considering this path? 

Pursuing the dual program is undoubtedly one of the best career decisions I could have ever made both professionally and personally in terms of the skills and learning I gained from the programs, the relationships and friendships made, and also in terms of setting myself up for success in my career. 

I believe that because of my education and extra curriculars I have developed a well-rounded portfolio of experience and knowledge. I also think that having at least a basic understanding and comprehension of both law and business fundamentals is a huge asset and proves crucial throughout my entire day. I loved the juxtaposition yet overlap between the two programs. In that one moment I could be in Environmental Law learning about climate change policies and the next I could be in Marketing also learning about climate change policies but from a completely different perspective and with people who viewed the matter from a different lens. This diversity and different perspectives extended from not only the subject matter, but also backgrounds and experiences of my colleagues. Whereas my peers in law school were by nature mostly from Canada and many having recently graduated from their undergraduate studies, students in the MBA program were from all around the world and almost all had had long-term careers before returning to school. This diversity across and within the programs ensured I was constantly learning and being challenged in my way of thinking which is something I really value.   

In addition, the networking that exists within these programs is immeasurable – every day I am connecting with someone who I went to school with, or someone that they know, to seek advice on a legal question, refer a new client to them, discuss possible business ventures, or just catch up with old friends. I recall before starting law school a mentor saying to me that yes, of course school work is important, but the relationships you build and your personal reputation far outweigh and outlast the grades you receive, and seven years later I definitely agree with that.     

Career positioning wise, obtaining my dual law and MBA degree has opened doors I never even imagined. When I was applying for Articles one of the first comments I received in most of my interviews was regarding the dual degree, as in a sea of resumes the dual degree was a differentiator and enabled me to stand out. This theme of being a conversation starter has continued throughout my applications to various extracurricular organizations and in leading to my career today. I’ve had students from across Canada and the US reach out seeking career advice and mentorship which is a pretty wonderful feeling to be able to offer guidance, as I’ve had so many incredible, instrumental mentors throughout my journey as well. I’ve also had multiple friends express their regret for not applying to the program as its value is unmatched, so if there is even a slight part of someone considering applying for the program I would say yes, 1000% do it, as it is more than worth it!