Construction Attorney Mark Cobb serves as adjunct faculty at Thomas University where he teaches business law and economics to undergraduates and MBA students.  Throughout his tenure, he has met many exceptional students.  One such student, Joakim Morlin, hails from Sweden and recently joined the Cobb Law Group as an intern.  We thought our clients would like to get to know him better so we interviewed him and present his responses to you:

Tell Us A Little Bit About Your Background:

My name is Joakim Morlin, I am 24-year-old senior at Thomas University, in Thomasville, Georgia, but I am also an intern here at Cobb Law Group. I moved to the United States from Sweden in 2014. I am pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Business Management and in Marketing. I am born and raised in Norrkoping, Sweden, which is a medium sized city in the middle eastern part of the country. I grew up with my mother and father and my two younger brothers, and our dog, whom sadly passed away this last fall. But over Christmas we got a puppy! And I am actually looking into getting a dog myself here in the U.S., I am a dog person.

You Play Collegiate Soccer, Can You Share Some About Your Interests?

I am a tremendous sport enthusiast. In fact, I enjoy watching all the different types sports so I am looking forward to  the Winter Olympics in February. I am currently an intercollegiate athlete playing soccer for Thomas University’s championship team.  My sporting career began when I was 5 years old. But, I have to admit, that my favorite sport overall is ice hockey, it is just so intense, I love it! Although I do wish my ice skating was better…

Downhill skiing is another major passion in my life.   I just love the feeling when you are flying down the slope and have the cold air in your face. You may be surprised to hear this, but I find skiing to be very relaxing–not physically–but mentally. It is a great way to just disconnect from society and focus on your next turn. I also enjoy traveling, and the best place that I have been to is St. Barths in the Caribbean. The island life is just so relax and welcoming. I highly recommend you to go there.

Funfact: I am actually a Lord. A few years back I bought some land in Scotland, and with that land came a Lordship. So my name with the title is Lord Joakim Morlin of Glencoe Scotland.

As a person, I am very driven and I enjoy solving problems, troubleshooting issues, and coming up with solutions in a timely manner. I do thrive in team settings, but also enjoy the challenge of working alone. I think my ability to effectively communicate with others is what drives my ability to solve a variety of problems but also make people around me grow.

What Can You Tell us about Your Native Country Sweden?

It is very different than the South Georgia lifestyle, I can say that. It was a big culture shock for me when I first moved here. But I do love Sweden, I have traveled some in my life, but I do believe that Sweden is one of the most beautiful places on earth. The nature is incredible with four very powerful seasons.  I believe that it makes the whole country very beautiful.  Even if it is a relatively small country it offers long beaches and open fields in the south to big mountain range in the north.

The business climate and the citizens are very different from the Southern climate that we have here. But if you just look at the global market, there are several, major Swedish companies such as IKEA, H&M, Volvo, SAAB, Spotify, and Skype.  So, even with a population of just 10 million people, it has a very good business climate.

In general people are less outgoing than Americans, I got very surprised how kind and caring the people here in the South are. Don’t get me wrong, Swedish people are great, but it is just two very different cultures.

Why are You Studying Business?

I have always been interested in business. I started to buy shares on the stock market at a young age, and just found it appealing to look into different businesses. My dad has always been an entrepreneur, and owned his own business. Therefore, I think it’s just in my nature.

The educational system is very different in Sweden, so when we as students are going into secondary school (equal to high school), we all must choose what we want to major, the choices are endless with everything from academic majors to more labor-related areas such as mechanic or plumber. So, I was majoring in social studies and economics.

After graduation though I started to work as a tire technician for my father’s local tire shop back in Norrkoping, Sweden. I worked there for almost two years, I grew as an individual and worked my way up to product manager. But since I was a kid I spent almost my entire summers in the shop and helping out with everything from restocking inventory, accounting and more administrative sections of the company when I got older.

So, I think that business have always been a big part of my life, and it just felt right to pursue a degree in business management and in marketing.

I do feel that because of that I took some time off from my academics after secondary school, it gave me experiences that I have been able to put in good use when it comes to my college classes, I think that it might have been easier for me to relate the material that we are learning than the “typical” college student.

Why did You Move to the United States?

As mentioned before, I worked for my dad and had a very pleasant life, all until I injured my knee pretty badly in a soccer game–2013 I believe the year was. That whole experience came as a shock to me, with surgery, rehab, and forced to be away from work and the life I was used to have.

I was away from work for almost 3 months. What I didn’t know back then is how important this whole incident would become to me. When I was home, it gave me time to reflect what I wanted to do with my life. And after many hours of thinking, I had decided that I wanted to go to college. I would be the first one in my family to get a college degree.

I wanted to do something different, I didn’t feel like going to college in Sweden would give me the same experience as if I would move to the U.S.

Why did you want to intern at a Construction Law Firm?

I got to know Mr. Mark Cobb through Thomas University. Mr. Cobb was a professor for one of my business classes my freshman year of college. I think that the two of us have always gotten along very well. In class, we had some very interesting discussions about the legal community, which caught my interest. I always have thought that law is very interesting, and I am fascinating by the power it has. And when I got the opportunity to do an internship, Cobb Law Group was the first company that came to my mind. I think that Mr. Cobb, has been very successful so far in his professional life, and I believe that there are a lot to learn from him. So that is the main reason why I chose Cobb Law Group, I want to work with and learn from Mr. Cobb.

What are Your Plans after college?

I would like to apply for an OPT that would give me the opportunity to stay and work for one year after graduation, that would be my first step. I am yet undecided of where I would like to settle for my OPT. This internship has really opened my eyes to the legal community, and I do think that I will consider a legal career! The U.S. is such a big country with so many places that I want to visit and discover. But as of right now I want to try to work for as long as possible in the U.S. and make a career. But I do see myself settle down in Sweden when I am getting older, it is a good country to live in. But first, I want to explore!