In 2009, I began teaching at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin – my very first academic appointment.
I started with a course on real estate transactions – a subject I knew well from my legal practice in various real transactions of various volumes. It was an exciting opportunity to bridge practice and academia, to bring hands-on deal experience into the classroom and work with students on how complex transactions are structured and safeguarded legally.
Soon after, I was entrusted with another course: CISG and Arbitration – designed as a preparatory class for the Humboldt University team competing in the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot. For many students, this was their very first encounter with international sales law and arbitration. For me, it was a joy to spark their interest in these fields and to provide them with the tools they would need for the Moot.
After a few years, I phased out the real estate transactions class and eventually handed over the CISG course as well – not because teaching had become less important to me, but because new opportunities arose (more on that in the next reflection).
In a city like Berlin – which was not exactly a hub of arbitration at the time – this teaching role was an important milestone. It signaled that arbitration deserved its place in legal education and, for me personally, it marked the beginning of a lasting connection between practice, teaching, and mentoring the next generation.
🙏 My heartfelt thanks go to those who made this step possible and supported my initiative – especially Karl-Michael Schmidt, Kai von Lewinski, and Reinhard Singer, as well as my old law firm, more specifically Prof. Dr. Hans-Eric Rasmussen-Bonne.
📸 The photo? That’s me around the same time – trying to keep my balance on a seafood tray somewhere in France. Teaching felt a bit like this at first: stepping onto unfamiliar territory, improvising, keeping steady while finding the right posture. Just like here, it took some courage (and humor) to get started, but it quickly turned into a source of joy and energy – until today.
🔜 Next stop: Reflection #6 – Next Level 🚀
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