Biography
Rachel G. Ngo Ntomp is a Swiss and U.S. trained attorney and aspiring legal academic. She obtained her Bachelor of Laws, a Certificate in Transnational Law, a Master of Laws, and the Certificate of Advanced Legal Studies (1st part of the Geneva Bar, 2017) from the University of Geneva, followed by an LLM in American Law at Boston University School of Law to develop her expertise in global and comparative contracts and business law.
Rachel’s law school endeavors, experience as a teaching and research assistant in the University of Geneva’s Private International Law Department, and experience as a minority entrepreneur, inspired her to pursue a Ph.D. dedicated to the protection of small and medium-sized enterprises against unfair business practices from a Swiss perspective. In addition to her academic training, Rachel also practiced for almost 5 years as in-house legal counsel for one of the largest spa resorts in Switzerland.
Upon completion of her LLM degree, she joined the faculty at BU as a 2-year Visiting Assistant Professor, where she dedicated her time to developing her scholarship and finding her path as a commercial law and comparative law scholar.
Rachel’s teaching interests are contract law, business organizations, commercial law, conflicts of laws (private international law), as well as international business transactions and litigation. Her current research centers on the U.S. legal framework for safeguarding vulnerable parties, with a specific emphasis on understanding the position and vulnerability of small businesses.
In line with this focus, her first paper addresses the disparities in bargaining power within business-to-business transaction between small businesses and more prominent entities. It argues that the prevailing narrative on unfair contract terms, which often ascribes qualities of sophistication and experience to all types of businesses irrespective of their size, experience or resources, overlooks the economic and market realities of small businesses and leaves them exposed to unfair contract terms.
Rachel will be joining the University of Wyoming College of Law as Assistant Professor in the summer of 2024.
