Wilson Center bio:
William Pomeranz is the Deputy Director of the Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies of the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. In addition, Dr. Pomeranz teaches Russian law at the Center for Eurasian, Russian, and East European Studies, Georgetown University.
Dr. Pomeranz holds a B.A. from Haverford College, a M.Sc. from the University of Edinburgh, a J.D. cum laude from American University, and a Ph.D. in Russian History from the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University of London. Prior to joining the Kennan Institute, Dr. Pomeranz practiced international law in the United States and Moscow, Russia. He advised clients on investment in the Russian Federation as well as on U.S. anti-money laundering requirements, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), U.S. export controls, and homeland security. He also served as Program Officer for Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus at the National Endowment for Democracy from 1992-1999, where he evaluated grant applications and implemented projects in such areas as: the rule of law, pro-market reforms, human rights, the environment, independent media, civic education, and the development of independent trade unions.
Dr. Pomeranz heads up the Kennan Institute’s rule of law program, which has conducted major conferences on the Russian Constitution, separation of powers in Russia and Ukraine, the Jackson-Vanik amendment, and the influence of the European Court of Human Rights on Russian law. His research interests include Russian legal history as well as current Russian commercial and constitutional law. He wrote his Ph.D. dissertation on the emergence and development of the pre-revolutionary Russian legal profession (the advokatura). He also has written extensively on post-Soviet legal developments, including Russian foreign investment laws, judicial review, federalism, and corruption. His articles have been published in the Russian Review, Slavonic and East European Review, Review of Central and East European Law, Demokratizatsiya, American University International Law Review, Human Rights Brief, Russian Analytical Digest, and Problems of Post-Communism.