In late summer of 1960, Jean-Claude Petilon arrived at Penn State Altoona—then the Altoona Campus of The Pennsylvania State University—all the way from Orléans, France, the capital of the Centre-Val de Loire region, located on the banks of the Loire River in north-central France.

In this Alumni Q&A, Petilon provides insight into his time at Penn State Altoona and into his career.

After attending Penn State Altoona for two years, Petilon completed his bachelor of arts degree at University Park in 1964. He went on to earn his J.D. from George Washington University in 1967, and later completed credits at the University of Paris II Panthéon-Assas.

Petilon now resides in Paris and co-heads the Africa practice of the McDermott Will & Emery law firm. He has more than 40 years of experience in private and public transactions and in the legal systems of the Francophone, Anglophone, Lusophone and Hispanic countries of Africa. Petilon’s work is specialized in oil, gas, mining, energy, privatization, telecommunications, and infrastructure projects.

In addition to acting for mining and petroleum companies in negotiating international contracts and special tax regimes and in obtaining financing for the implementation of their projects, Petilon has also acted for African governments in the restructuring of institutional sectors such as energy, tourism, public enterprises, transportation and telecommunications.

Petilon practiced law in the former Republic of Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of the Congo/DRC, with the first U.S. law firm in Sub-Saharan Africa and acted as legal advisor to the presidency of the country. He has relied on his multi-sectorial acumen to assist states and private investors in conducting arbitrations involving investment and territorial disputes for the International Criminal Court and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes.

Petilon is recognized as a key individual in such publications as Chambers Global, European Legal Experts, Legal 500, the International Who’s Who guides, and Privatization Public Private Partnership Review. Most recently he was recognized on the Private Practice Powerlist: African Specialists 2019 by Legal 500.

Q: What motivated you to come from France to pursue your college degree in the U.S., and what were your first impressions of Altoona?

I attended high school in Orléans, France, a provincial city south of Paris on the banks of the Loire river, which was at the time the headquarters of the U.S. Armed Forces stationed in France. Each year the Officers’ Wives’ Club awarded scholarships to two students from Orléans to attend American universities. I was one of the recipients in 1960. The principal considerations for choosing Penn State were the low tuition fees (my stepfather’s parents were domiciled in Philadelphia), the country environment, and the beauty of its campus, and of course, the Nittany Lions football team.

The regulations then applicable to the University Park campus did not allow first-year students to live off campus and required that they reside in the dorms. Due to my late application, there was no room available in the dorms so I was directed to the Altoona Campus.

I arrived in Altoona on the weekend before the start of classes. Not a soul on campus but a sign on the door of the Smith Building gave the names of various persons to contact in case of an emergency.

My first impressions of Altoona relieved me of my apprehensions. Not knowing where I could stay that evening, I remember disturbing Mr. Adler at his residence. He and his family were extremely helpful and gave me guidance on possible rooms to let. Within two hours I found a room where I stayed during the two years I attended the Altoona campus. The generous assistance I received the first day followed me throughout my stay. I was welcomed, not as a stranger, but as new member of the community.

But obviously the difference showed. Most of the students were from Altoona or the vicinity and lived at home. I believe I was the only, and possibly the first foreign student attending the Altoona Campus. I was thankful, however, that the members of the faculty treated me as the other students without displaying any special attention. Coming from Orléans, which had a very harmonious environment, I was initially impressed by the diversity of the population of Altoona and the separation of the inhabitants in districts which appeared to be based on origin, e.g., Polish, Italian, German, African American, etc., but in the daily relationships the diversity generally had no impact.

Q: What is your favorite memory from your time at Penn State Altoona?

I have many fond memories of my time at Penn State Altoona. Many of my strongest memories were those that were collectively shared, such as with my basketball and bowling teammates and the related travel to opponents’ campuses and the congenial atmosphere at the Unter Uns club. I remember our incomparable German professor, Miss Flicker, the animated teachings of classical music by Dr. Oliver, and the living caricatures of history by Professor Morand. I recall my presentations made to the Masons and other local associations and Penn State campuses on the introduction of French culture and traditions. And I remember sitting at the counter of Ingram’s after our evening basketball practices and speaking to the owner whose ire was aroused for having to stay open to accommodate me—though I am certain our conversations were a ritual he would not have missed.

My favorite memory which is the most vivid is that of my reflections from the bridge over the Spring Run stream. Every day after finishing my work in the campus cafeteria I would stop on the bridge leading to the Smith Building to take the time to watch the flow of the current, to reflect amidst the surrounding sounds of nature, and be grateful for the passage of another day.

Q: Your experience in law is extensive. Did you always know you wanted to be a lawyer?

At the age of 12, I began to announce that I wanted to become a lawyer and, as a consequence, my mother began telling everyone I would be a lawyer. Not to deceive her, I strived to make it inevitable. There is a degree of solace in seeing your sons succeed and aspire to be what was commonly thought as unachievable, especially when your husband deported to Auschwitz never to return. There was no turning back possible.

Q: Your law firm, McDermott Will & Emery, although based in Paris, has taken you to Africa quite a bit. Could you tell us a little bit about your work in Africa?

McDermott Will & Emery is the last of five firms with which I have been associated. I continue to work generally throughout Africa in my capacity as an international lawyer. My initiation to Africa was the setting up in Kinshasa of the first U.S. law firm in Sub-Sahara Africa, Duncan, Allen and Mitchell. After two years I returned to Paris but stayed there only a few weeks. I was called back to Kinshasa to advise the national airline, Air Zaire. One month later, I was asked to be the legal advisor to the Office of the President, Mobutu Sese Seko.

After four years residence in Kinshasa, I returned to Paris. Kinshasa was one of the highlights of my life—I played basketball for the championship team Matonge and team handball on the first division team, Vijana. As legal advisor to the presidency, I collaborated in organizing the Rumble in the Jungle and I advised the Public Health Ministry at the time of the first outbreak of Ebola. It was there that I began working for the petroleum majors such as Texaco, Chevron, Mobil, Conoco, and prominent mining firms, such as Union Minière, which gave me a unique experience and served as the basis for my future legal career. I still have sentimental ties with the country. Today I am assisting the Office of the President on a pro bono basis in the fight against sexual violence in the East of the DRC and the recruitment of children in conflict zones.

When I left Kinshasa I returned to Coudert Brothers in Paris, and by the force of things, as I had an African footprint, I continued to work on African Projects and Coudert became the premier international reference for African projects. I remained with the firm until its demise in 2005. As head of the African Department, I advised both private and public clients. I set up the first cellular network in Africa by drafting telecom codes, mining codes, privatization laws, and gas and oil legislation for countries including Madagascar, Ivory Coast, Chad, Togo, Guinea, Algeria, the DRC, and Burundi. Visio conferences did not exist then so we did a lot of traveling to accompanying clients, to at least 30 African countries.

After Coudert, I moved to Dewey LeBoeuf in Paris as head of the African practice but that ended with the greatest collapse of a law firm in American history in 2009. I continued to work as head of the African Department in Paris of Fasken Martineau. In 2013, I went back home. Indeed the Paris office of McDermott Will & Emery was founded by three former Coudert partners. Although the competition is fierce, I now have less clients, and I continue to be active. As an example, I set up the Gabon Arbitration Chamber in 2018 and advised the Government of Togo on the renegotiation of its mining conventions.

Q: Recently you were able to return to Penn State Altoona. what was it like to be back? Was there anything that surprised you?

What is experienced when one returns to his past 50 years later cannot really be expressed. Your mind experiences what can be termed a “fireworks “of memories. As the campus was deserted (it was early August), it was an extraordinary feeling since I had no outside interferences. In my mind nothing had changed and I could imagine the passersby to be the students I befriended in the past.

Altoona Campus has evolved dramatically. It is today a full-service, four-year residential campus. The athletic facilities (we practiced basketball at a local high school gym) and the dorms did not exist. The former swimming pool was used as a parking lot.

Q: What piece of advice would you give to a Penn State Altoona student today?

The advice I can give is what I would recommend to any college student today, recognizing however that I now have little rapport with the U.S. college scene.

Invariably the need to acquire technical skills is a necessity and the student is increasingly confronted by the role that computers and artificial intelligence will play in the near future. Nevertheless, the acquisition of general culture which forms the matrix of one’s future professional and social life, and ultimately which determines what is meaningful, should not be neglected. The courses which have deeply marked my life and have served as a crux were those such as the sources and legends of Wagnerian Operas, a comparative analysis of the works of Goethe, and the duality of man through the writings of Dostoevski.