So: my doctorate thesis had been handed in, and I started working as a full time lawyer at the Berlin office of WEITNAUER Attorneys-at-Law and Tax Advisors as of January 1, 2007 – with my first profile picture ever.
As already mentioned, Berlin was not exactly a hotspot for young arbitration practitioners. We attempted to change that in 2007 when, together with a handful of peers, we launched the Berlin group of DIS40, the German Arbitration Institution’s network for practitioners under 40.
The driving force behind it was a piece of advice I had received – once again – from my mentor in the world of arbitration, Joachim Kuckenburg, early on:
🗣️ “𝐉𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐈𝐒. 𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐝. 𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐢𝐧.”
I took that advice seriously. Founding and shaping the DIS40Berlin became my second milestone in the field of arbitration – and Berlin suddenly had a platform for young arbitration lawyers to connect, exchange, and grow.
Back then, there were no social networks as we know them today. I literally went through law firm directories by hand, reached out to colleagues one by one – as long as they were somehow connected to the field of dispute resolution – and tried to build a critical mass.
In May 2007, it finally came together: the Berlin chapter of DIS 40 was founded and had its initial meeting in the Kommode building of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and it still thrives today, thanks to the continued engagement of many devoted coordinators, now Deborah Keller and Vasileios Regkakos.
Looking back, those early years taught me something fundamental: networks don’t just appear; sometimes you need to build them yourself. And if you do it right, you don’t only create opportunities for others – you also find your own place in a community.
Today, not only lawyers benefit from this reliable and dynamic network, but also clients and parties in international arbitration.
🙏 I remain forever grateful to everyone who helped setDIS40Berlin in motion and to those who continue to carry it forward with energy and vision. Special shout out to:
💛 the Deutsche Institution für Schiedsgerichtsbarkeit (DIS) German Arbitration Institute and its secretary general at the time, Jens Bredow;
💛 DIS40 coordinators at the time, in particular Inka Hanefeld; and
💛 to all those founding members in the very early days such as Meike von Levetzow, Daniel Radig, Adrian Müller-Helle, Anna-Julka Lilja, Patrick Späth, Christina Schön, and Dr. Cornelius Pfisterer 🥳
🔜 Next stop: Reflection #5 – “First Seat at the Table“.
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