Bio

EDUCATION

• Since 2017: BA Cultural Studies with a focus on History at University of Hagen, Germany
• MA Philosophy at the Open University, UK from 2010 to 2013
• Law Degree from University of Regensburg, Germany from 1995 to 2000, with a specialization in international law and European law (graduated in the top 30 % in the state of Bavaria)
• Abitur in Germany in 1995. Majors in English and Law & Economics.
• Student exchange program in Adelaide, Australia for 3 months in 1992

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

• In 2023, I re-entered private practice as an attorney in Germany. Main areas of work: International family law, German citizenship and immigration law, constitutional law, legal history.
• In private practice with own law office from 2002 to 2009. Main areas of experience: international law, esp. international family law, refugee and immigration law, administrative law.
• Admitted to the bar in 2002. Specialization course in administrative law in 2004. Bar-certification as a family law specialist in 2007.
• Chairman of the supervisory board (Aufsichtsrat) of sheepworld AG, a gift and greeting card company, from 2002 to 2006. Handling all legal affairs for this internationally active corporation, including corporate, trademark, copyright, contract, consumer and employment law.
• Legal clerkships after Law School (2000-2002):
  • 2001-2002: US Army JAG Corps, 1st Infantry Division, Vilseck, Germany
  • 2001: law firm Murchison & Cumming in Los Angeles, California, USA (civil litigation defense)
  • 2001: District Attorney’s Office in Amberg, Germany
  • 2001: City Attorney’s Office in Amberg, Germany
  • 2000-2001: District Court in Amberg, Germany
• Internships during Law School:
  • 1998: German General Consulate in New York, USA
  • 1997: German Federal Securities Regulatory Office (Bundesaufsichtsamt für den Wertpapierhandel) in Frankfurt – Department for combating insider trading
  • 1997: Clark County District Attorney’s Office in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA – Criminal Division and Juvenile Division
  • 1997: German Special Prosecutor’s Office for Nazi-era crimes (Zentrale Stelle der Landesjustizverwaltungen zur Aufklärung der Verbrechen des Nationalsozialismus) in Ludwigsburg

LANGUAGES

• German: mother tongue
• English: fluent, also regarding legal, economic and political terminology. Paper based TOEFL 660 points (1997), 8.5 in all bands of IELTS academic version (2009). Certificates „English for Lawyers“ and „Business English“
• Spanish: B1
• French: basic
• Italian: basic

PUBLISHED COURT CASES

• Supreme Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht), 1 BvR 204/03, NJW 2006, 3052 = BVerfGK 7, 452 = JA 2007, 236: free speech case
• Appeals Court Jena, 1 UF 422/24, FF 2025, 210 = NJ 2025, 318 = MDR 2025, 1074 = BeckRS 2025, 5698 = NZFam 2025, 1025: denial of mother’s petition for sole custody; reinstatement of shared custody despite mother’s claims that father had intention to abduct the child to the USA
• Appeals Court Nürnberg, 10 UF 1260/05, FamRZ 2006, 878 = IPRspr 2005, Nr 205, 553-555: continued German jurisdiction in custody proceeding after children moved to the USA; parental custody of a US soldier during his deployment to Iraq
• Appeals Court Nürnberg, 11 UF 116/08, FamRZ 2009, 637: German divorce granted, although the husband had already divorced in Florida (and remarried in a third country)
• Family Court Amberg, FamRZ 2005, 1839: no interruption of required separation time despite sex between spouses after separation
• Family Court Amberg, NJW-RR 2009, 2: preponderance of a child’s educational needs in a marital property dispute about a computer
• Family Court Bamberg, FamRZ 2008, 1098: the abducting parent has to bear the expenses of the Hague Convention proceeding even if she voluntarily returns the child during the course of that proceeding
• Family Court Fürth, JAmt 2008, 498: custodial rights can be ceased because of a parent staying overseas without possibility of being contacted
• Family Court Mainz, 33 F 68/06, FamRZ 2007, 2083: no distribution of retirement benefits in German-American divorce
• Family Court Nürnberg, FamRZ 2004, 725 = IPRspr 2003, Nr 93, 271-274: international child abduction USA-Germany
• Family Court Nürnberg, FamRZ 2008, 1777: international child abduction France-Germany with the added complexity of the child having habitual residence in both countries
• Family Court Nürnberg, 110 F 1027/08, FamRZ 2009, 237 = NJOZ 2008, 3681 = BeckRS 2008, 11369: no return of a child according to the Hague Convention because custody in the original country of habitual residence was not exercised
• Family Court Rostock, 11 F 159/08, FamRZ 2009, 625: international child abduction United Kingdom to Germany, with a focus on whether father consented to the mother keeping the child in Germany