Mentoring program

Colonel Charles R. Simmons on his experience as a mentee of Dr. Thomas Brunn:

“Last year, with the kind assistance of the DAJV Team, Dr. Thomas Brunn, LL.M (Columbia University) of PwC Legal in Düsseldorf, agreed to help mentor me, on becoming a legal professional in Germany. I am an American, living permanently in Germany, studying law through distance education with Concord Law School at Purdue University Global for the diploma of Executive Juris Doctor in Business Law, and since Dr. Brunn attended law school, in New York City, he was the perfect mentor for me, because he was able to articulate the differences in lawyering, between the US and Germany. More importantly, he relayed to me the need for understanding transatlantic business, where the differences in contract law, between the American common law system and Germany’s civil law system, have the potential for international business transactions to become mired in lawsuits, where attorneys from either side, do not understand the processes, treaties, nor jurisdictional requirements, that impact their foreign business. Importantly for myself, as a future American jurist in Germany, Dr. Brunn gave me great insight on how to develop a niche for myself, where I can maximize my native English and knowledge of the American business common law, while serving German business interest and transatlantic business transactions. Dr. Brunn is an outstanding and dynamic person, and his assistance in mentoring me, was invaluable.”

Colonel Charles R. Simmons is retired from the United States Army Reserve, where he served as a Brigade Commander, and as a Civil Affairs Corps Officer (CIMIC), with his last assignment in Stuttgart, as the Deputy Foreign Policy Advisor to the Combatant Commander at U.S. Africa Command, where he worked with the many U.S. Embassies on the Continent of Africa. He has served with the German Bundeswehr in Die St. Barbara-Kaserne in Stadt Dülmen and Die Clausewitz-Kaserne in Stadt Nienberg. His Great Grand Father was a German lawyer in Breslau and he expects to graduate this June, 2020, with his law degree.