The American Council on Germany, the University Alliance Ruhr, and the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany will host a discussion and reception with James J. Black, Of Counsel at Morrison & Foerster LLP, and Dr. Marcus Böick, Professor of Contemporary History at Ruhr University Bochum.
James J. Black is Of Counsel at Morrison & Foerster LLP in Washington, DC, where he advises German and Austrian companies on mergers and acquisitions and other business matters in the United States. He has a JD and an MA (German) from the University of Virginia and worked in Frankfurt for 10 years, including as a partner and head of the U.S. law practice at a major international law firm. As a Robert Bosch Fellow in Berlin in 1996-97, Mr. Black worked on privatization matters at the Bundesanstalt für vereinigungsbedingte Sonderaufgaben (BvS, Federal Institution for Special Issues Arising from German Unification), the successor to the Treuhand, which took up its work on January 1, 1995.
Dr. Marcus Böick teaches contemporary history at Ruhr University Bochum, where he studied history, political science, and social psychology. His main interests are German and European contemporary and economic history – with a particular focus on structural change. His recent books include Die Treuhand. Idee – Praxis – Erfahrung 1990-1994 (2018), Wahrnehmung und Bewertung der Arbeit der Treuhandanstalt (2017), and Marketization/Vermarktlichung (2015). His new research project focuses on the emergence of the private security industry in Germany and the United States.