We warmly welcome back Niklas Luft, who has returned to the firm in a part time associate position following his time with us as trainee advocate last year. He has meanwhile completed his second state examination and will be supporting the firm alongside writing his doctoral thesis.

Niklas earned his law degree from the University of Heidelberg and the Università degli Studi Roma Tre in Rome, and completed the mandatory two year German lawyers’ training (Referendariat) earlier this year which included trainee positions with the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, our firm and the legal department of FC Bayern München AG. His professional experience further includes working for the dispute resolution practice group of a major international law firm in Frankfurt and Berlin.

Besides his professional focus on dispute resolution, Niklas has substantial experience in sports law with a focus on professional football. He has been active in the industry from several perspectives, starting as amateur league football referee in 2005, followed by several engagements as liaison officer for the German Football Association (DFB) and a German professional football club. He worked on sports law related disputes before international sports associations and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in the course of his legal education and is now writing his doctoral thesis at the University of Zurich (UZH) on a topic related to collective liability within sports associations.

Niklas is joining our disputes and corporate law practice and will add to the firm’s expertise with his experience in sports law related matters. His working languages include English, German and Italian.

We are very happy to welcome Niklas back to the team and look forward to working with him in his new capacity.