In 2014, just as things were taking off with the firm, I was stopped in my tracks.

My back gave out — a herniated disc forced me to a complete halt. The pain was excruciating, the frustration even worse. After years of pushing forward, building, expanding, balancing practice, teaching, and family life, I suddenly couldn’t move the way I wanted to.

At first, I saw it as an obstacle. In hindsight, it was a teacher — admittedly, my precious network of excellent doctors ultimately allowed me this perspective.

💡 It taught me that health is precious. That recovery takes time. That leadership also means learning to delegate and trust others to keep things running. And boy did they keep things running:

🫶 Not only Julian Bickmann and Dr. Christopher Lück, both student assistants then, who helped out wherever they could.

🙏 But also Florian Dupuy and Joseph Schwartz who, without really knowing each other, teamed up and had my back in a huge arbitration that was pending at the time — a cooperation which laid the foundation of our later partnership.

It also reminded me how fragile our balance is in a profession that constantly demands more — more hours, more cases, more output. The pause helped me rethink priorities and the importance of sustainability — in both business and life.

Today, I look back with gratitude: to my family for their patience, my team for stepping up when I couldn’t, and to that “forced pause” that ultimately became a moment of recalibration.

Because sometimes slowing down is what allows you to move forward again — stronger and with clearer purpose.

📸 Photo taken with Florian, Julian, and Christopher (Joseph was not on board yet) at WAGNER Arbitration‘s very first anniversary, celebrated at my home with a proper Weißwurstfrühstück.

🔜 Next stop: Reflection #12 – “The Black Belt in Law”

#20YearsInPractice #Leadership #Wellbeing #Resilience #Arbitration #WagArb #WagnerArbitration #Arbitrattoria