Richard Schaffer, J.D., LL.M. is a retired Professor Emeritus of Business Law in the Department of Finance of the Walker College of Business at Appalachian State University. He taught for twenty-five years in the areas of business law, international business transactions, and the law of international trade and investment, and founded the university's international business and business study abroad programs. Prior to academia, Professor Schaffer worked with the United Nations examining the relationship between corrupt practices, multinational corporations, and socio-economic development. He also served as rapporteur of UN working groups on international economic crime. He has consulted for business schools and industry trade groups, as well as industry. Professor Schaffer received his J.D. from the University of Mississippi and his LL.M. from New York University.
Filiberto Agusti is a partner in the international law firm of Steptoe & Johnson, LLP, where he has practiced law since 1978. He represents governments, multinational corporations, manufacturers, and investors in international arbitrations, lawsuits between multinational enterprises, and transactional negotiations. His work involves disputes and negotiations over international infrastructure, power generation facilities, cross-border corporate acquisitions, international joint ventures, and bankruptcy reorganizations. Mr. Agusti has authored articles for the Harvard Law Review and other legal publications, is a frequent speaker at professional seminars around the world, and regularly comments on legal issues on camera for Univisión, Telemundo, and CNN en Español. Mr. Agusti was a law clerk to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and received his law degree from Harvard Law School, where he was a senior editor of the Harvard Law Review.
Beverley Earle is a Professor and Chair of the Law, Taxation and Financial Planning Department, at Bentley University, Waltham, Massachusetts where she has been on the faculty since 1983. She teaches international business law at the undergraduate and graduate level as well as courses on the legal environment of business and law and society. She graduated with a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and a J.D. from Boston University and is admitted to practice in Massachusetts. Her law review articles have been published by universities including U.C. Berkeley, Northwestern, Cornell and University of Iowa (forthcoming) to mention a few. She has received numerous awards including the Academy of Legal Studies in Business Holmes-Cardozo award as well as Bentley's Scholar of the Year, Innovation in Teaching Award and Outstanding Scholarly Contribution Award. She is past President of the International Section of the ALSB. Since 2006, she has been an appointee to the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers Hearing Committee on Attorney Discipline.
