Full Bio

Professor Florestal’s work focuses on bringing economic development, prosperity and dignity to some of the world’s most impoverished countries. Most recently, she was tapped by the U.S. Agency for International Development to design and teach an international trade law training course in Haiti. While Assistant General Counsel at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Professor Florestal implemented trade initiatives with Africa, negotiated agreements with key U.S. trading partners, and represented the United States in disputes before the World Trade Organization (WTO). As Senior Legal Advisor to Cape Verde, Professor Florestal helped that country become one of the first “least developed” members of the WTO. She managed a multimillion dollar portfolio of technical assistance training for North and sub-Saharan Africa while at the U.S. Department of Commerce, designing projects for such diverse countries as Algeria, Senegal and Ghana. At the invitation of the U.S. State Department, Professor Florestal designed and implemented good governance programs in Nigeria and Ethiopia. She has also worked with the African Development Bank on mainstreaming trade issues in their lending practices and training African trade officials on substantive aspects of WTO law.

A former Fulbright Scholar to France and law clerk to Chief Judge John T. Nixon of the U.S. District Court in Tennessee, Professor Florestal has lectured widely in the United States and abroad on the WTO and its impact on developing countries. She currently serves as an arbitrator on a NAFTA Chapter 11 Investor-State dispute.

Born in Haiti, Marjorie Florestal speaks fluent French and Haitian Creole.