ALBANY, N.Y. (December 22, 2017) – Jim Towne (’67), of the Albany-based law firm Towne, Ryan & Partners, P.C., recently completed a two-week teaching assignment at the Univerzita Pardubice in the Czech Republic. Jim was turned on to the opportunity during many enthusiastic discussions with fellow classmate Vincent Teahen who has done similar teaching assignments in Kazakhstan, Latvia and most recently in Kazan, Tatarstan. “It was a wonderful experience and one I hope to repeat soon. Many thanks to Vincent for opening me up to the opportunity.”
The assignment was through the Center for International Legal Studies (“CILS”) (www.cils.org). CILS is a non-profit law research, training, and teaching institute, established and operating as a public interest society. Its essential purpose is to promote and disseminate knowledge among members of the international legal community. The purpose of its seminars is to introduce particular areas of Common Law legal systems to the law students and junior faculty of the host university.
As a Senior Visiting Professor at Univerzita Pardubice, Jim’s instruction was based on United States corporate, commercial and contract laws and issues. The seminars focused on a concentration of New York and Vermont law and compared relevant legal practices in the Czech Republic as well as with those of the European Union.
CILS, in cooperation with law faculties in Eastern Europe and the former republics of the Soviet Union, offers short-term appointments at dozens of universities throughout Eastern Europe and Russia, as well as China. After obtaining the required teaching training, assignments can be in such diverse countries as the Czech Republic, Albania, Kazakhstan, Hungary, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Lithuania and Poland, among others.
If any attorney classmates would like to discuss pursuing an appointment as a visiting CILS professor, please feel free to contact Jim at (518) 608-8522 or at james.towne@townelaw.com.
James T. Towne Jr.
1967
