What were you doing before the MCL?
Before joining the MCL, I was research assistant at the Institute of Commercial and Business Law at the University of Osnabrueck, Germany, where I engaged in a wide range of research and teaching in the areas of Capital market, Corporate and General Private Law. I was also working on my PhD thesis on the topicof different options of share placements in the context of Company and Capital Market Law requirements. Before my stint as a research assistant, I graduated from the University of Osnabrueck in Law, spent an Erasmus exchange semester at the Universidad de Murcia, Spain, and obtained my First State Examination from the State Examination Office of Lower Saxony.
What were your impressions of the MCL?
The MCL course is unique in all aspects. It gave me the opportunity to familiarize myself with different areas of English, European and US Corporate Law and to compare them with my home jurisdiction. The focus on Company Law helped me to understand the background of corporate transactions in detail.
The Deals Course showed me how complex transactions in different fields are carried out and enabled me to understand the application of corporate law in practice. The in-depth analysis of deal documentation and the interaction with leading practitioners from “Magic Circle” law firms gave me valuable insights.
In modules like US Corporate Law, International Merger Control and Shareholder Litigation outstanding experts in their fields gave us a detailed understanding of the subjects covered. The small class size created a familiar and fruitful learning atmosphere, in which the lecturers could encourage each student individually.
Another advantage of the MCL is the internationality of the cohort. In my year, more than a dozen countries from all continents were represented. This gave me, beside the classes, the chance to get in touch with different cultures and to make new friendships beyond borders. In the classroom, the internationality always added a surplus to our discussions.
What are your post-MCL plans and have they changed due to taking the MCL?
After graduating, I will return to Germany to complete the German two-year legal clerkship at the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court of Hamburg. I accepted offers from a leading law firm and a federal authority to serve parts of the clerkship there. After the Second State Examination, I intend to join a Magic Circle firm and specialise in corporate law. The knowledge and the experience gained in Cambridge has enabled me to understand the differences between common and civil law, and will empower me to consider the economic aspects of transactions, particularly when working in an international context.
