Senior Advisor
William Burke-White
William Burke-White is a Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania, where he teaches public international law, international investment law, human rights and climate change. A recognized authority in global governance and US foreign policy, he has particular expertise in designing and implementing complex legal solutions involving multiple countries, international institutions, and multilateral regimes, with a regional focus on Russia, Eastern Europe and Latin America.
Burke-White is a Senior Fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) in Canada. He previously served as the Inaugural Director of Perry World House, the University of Pennsylvania’s interdisciplinary international affairs institute, and as a Non-Resident Fellow at the Brookings Institution.
Burke-White’s government experience includes serving on the Secretary of State’s Policy Planning Staff in the Obama administration, where he played a key role in drafting the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review, a major initiative to reform US foreign policy. He was also responsible for US engagement with international institutions, including the G20, G8 and the United Nations.
Burke-White has advised a diverse range of governments, law firms, and investment funds on international legal matters, such as investor-state arbitration, US policy on global hotspots such as Russia, China, Venezuela and Iran, sanctions regimes, sovereign debt enforcement and international legal rules. He has also served as an expert witness in several international arbitrations, including those under the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes.
Burke-White holds both a bachelor's and law degree from Harvard University, along with a doctorate in international relations from Cambridge University, where he was a Fulbright Scholar. He has been a visiting professor at institutions such as the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Harvard Law, the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, and Mofid University in Iran. He is licensed as an attorney in New York.
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