James T. Hitch, III

Trustee

James T. Hitch began his career with the Chicago Office of Baker & McKenzie in 1975.  He became an International Partner in 1982, and remained in the Chicago Office until 1997, when he relocated to the Firm’s offices in Russia and Ukraine. Mr. Hitch retired as a Principal on December 31, 2010, and became Senior Counsel to the Firm’s Washington, DC Office. He fully retired from the firm in 2011. Mr. Hitch regularly contributes to various business and legal publications, including his article: “Ukraine’s New Anti-Corruption Law: Will It Really Stop Corruption in Ukraine?” published in The International Lawyer (Fall 2011, Vol. 45, No. 3) of the ABA SIL. He is a co-author of three articles published in the National Interest: “A 3-Step Strategy for Trump on Ukraine”, November 14, 2016; “Trump, Eisenhower and Russia: A Chance for Peace”, November 5, 2017; and The Number One Priority in Setting a New Course with Putin’s Russia”, September 13, 2020. Mr. Hitch graduated with a J.D. cum laude degree from the Harvard Law School in 1975, and with an A.B. magna cum laude degree from Princeton University in 1971, as well as with a Certificate of Distinction from its Russian Studies Program and with a major in International Affairs from its Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.  Mr. Hitch also studied at Leningrad State University (USSR) in 1970 and at the Law Faculty of the University of Zagreb (Yugoslavia, now Croatia) in 1973-1974.  He is proficient in Russian, Serbian, and Croatian. In addition to being a Trustee at FPRI, Mr. Hitch is a Director of Pokrova Ukrainian Educational Foundation.