John CONNOLLY , Director of ILSTA, an Irish national, has extensive experience in education and training. He holds an LL.M. in Public International Law from the University of London and a B.A. in Philosophy from University College Dublin. John has taught Lao Government Officials from a wide range of institutions in the legal sector, including the judiciary, the Lao National Assembly and the State Prosecutor. He has developed English for Law curricula and English for International Relations curricula at the Faculty of Law and Political Science, National University of Laos.

Pierre BEISSEL, Director of ILSTA, a Luxembourg national, is a partner of Arendt & Medernach and head of the firm’s private equity & real estate business unit. He is a member of the corporate law, mergers & acquisitions and the private equity & real estate practices of Arendt & Medernach. Pierre Beissel is teaching Corporate and Commercial Law at the Luxembourg School for Commerce. He is a lecturer in Contractual Law at the Luxembourg bar school. He has been a member of the Luxembourg Bar since 1999 and of the New York Bar since 2001. He is currently a member of the Luxembourg Bar Council (Conseil de l’ordre). Pierre Beissel holds a Master’s degree in law, a diplôme de juriste conseil d’entreprise (DJCE) and a diplôme d’études supérieures spécialisées in business law (DESS droit des affaires) from the Université Montpellier I (France), as well as a Master of Laws degree (LL.M.) from Cornell Law School (U.S.A.).