Ronald Brand
Professor Ronald A. Brand was the driving force behind the creation of the University of Pittsburgh's Center for International Legal Education (CILE) and its Master of Laws Program for Foreign Law Graduates. His reputation as a scholar on international and comparative law has helped the University of Pittsburgh School of Law attract prominent visiting scholars and lecturers from around the world and enhance opportunities for students to study and work abroad. The University of Pittsburgh awarded Brand the 2019 Sheth Distinguished Faculty Award for International Achievement in recognition of commitment to international outreach and influential work across the globe.
Professor Brand has dedicated himself to creating international programs and fostering cross-border cooperation and understanding during his 37 years as a faculty member at Pitt Law. In 1995, Brand became the founding director of Pitt Law’s Center for International Legal Education (CILE), a position that he has continued since that time, now holding the title of Academic Director. Under his leadership, CILE has played a major role in teaching, scholarship, and service to the global legal community. Brand directs the LL.M. Program for Foreign Law Graduates and the S.J.D. Program at the School of Law; he has educated students from more than 70 countries.
Professor Brand’s scholarship includes a number of books and many articles in major journals. His books include: International Business Transactions Fundamentals (2d ed, Wolters Kluwer, 2019); Transaction Planning Using Rules of Jurisdiction and the Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments (Hague Academy of International Law, Pocketbook Series, 2014); International Civil Dispute Resolution (with Charles Baldwin, David Epstein, and Michael Gordon, West Group, 2d edition, 2008); The 2005 Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements: Commentary and Documents (with Paul M. Herrup, Cambridge University Press, 2008); The CISG and the Business Lawyer: The UNCITRAL Digest as a Contract Drafting Tool, (with Mark Walter and Harry Flechtner, Oxford University Press, 2008); Forum Non Conveniens: Past, Present and Future, 3 CILE Studies (with Scott Jablonski, Oxford University Press, 2008); and Private Law, Private International Law, and Judicial Cooperation in the EU-US Relationship, (West 2005).
Professor Brand has been a Fulbright Scholar at the Universiteit Brussel, a Research Scholar at the Institute for Advanced Studies at the University of Bologna, and a visiting professor at the University of Augsburg and the University of Ghent. He has lectured on international trade and business law matters at universities in the U.S. and abroad. His excellence in the classroom has earned Professor Brand both the Chancellor's Distinguished Teaching Award, a University-wide honor, and the Law School's Excellence-in-Teaching Award. He has also received the Chancellor's Distinguished Public Service Award. Professor Brand represented the United States at Special Commissions and the Diplomatic Conference of the Hague Conference on Private International Law that produced the 2005 Convention on Choice of Court Agreements. For over a decade, he has worked with the U.S. Department of Commerce to develop Middle East law school curricula in international commercial law and arbitration, training students and faculty from schools throughout the Middle East and North Africa. Brand’s many recognitions include:
- Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg Professor
- John E. Murray Faculty Scholar
- Doctor Iuris Honoris Causa, University of Augsburg
- ABA Section of International Law, Leonard J. Theberge Award for Private International Law
- Lecturer, Hauge Academy of International Law
- Chancellor’s Distinguished Public Service Award
- University Center for International Studies Senior Research Fellowship
- Fulbright Fellowship for Research in Belgium
- Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award
- Student Bar Association Excellence in Teaching Award
Meet Dr. Ronald A. Brand.