Research

After the completion of my professor thesis and as a member of the International Faculty for Corporate and Capital Market Law, I conducted research in German and international capital markets and banking law as well as in commercial, company and business law, much of this as preparatory work for German and European legislators. Today my main interests are comparative and interdisciplinary in the fields of corporate governance, insider and takeover regulation as well as European harmonization of law. I particularly enjoy tutoring and having professional and personal contact with my academic pupils in Germany and abroad and the many doctoral students I have supervised.

Career

• since 1995 Director at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law in Hamburg and professor at the University of Hamburg, Germany, emeritus since 2008
• 1987-1995 Professor at the Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, Germany
• 1985-1987 Full Professor at the University of Berne, Switzerland
• 1980-1985 Full Professor at the University of Tübingen (Dean, 1982 - 1983), Germany
• 1981-1985 Lifetime judge appointment at the Court of Appeals of Stuttgart, Germany
• since 1979 Visiting professorships (1-3 months, ranked by time): University of Pennsylvania; European University Institute, Florence, Italy; University of Paris I (Panthéon Sorbonne); Kyoto University; Université Libre de Bruxelles; University of Geneva; Tokyo University; University of Chicago; New York University; Harvard University; University of Tilburg; University of Paris II (Panthéon-Assas); LUISS (Rome); Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Lisbon; Columbia University, New York, University of Vienna, Vienna University of Economics and Business
• 1978-1980 Full Professor at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy (department head, 1979-1980)
• 1973 Habilitation at the University of Munich, Germany
• 1968 Ph.D., University of Tübingen, Germany
• 1967 Ph.D., University of Munich, Germany
• 1965 Academic degree of Master of Comparative Jurisprudence (M.C.J.), New York University, USA
• 1964-1965 Doctoral studies in Spain (Bilbao) and France (Paris) and studies for the LLM at New York University with a scholarship from the Volkswagenwerk Foundation, USA
• 1959-1963 Studies of law and economics at the University of Munich and Tübingen, Germany

Functions

• 2011-2014 Member of the International Advisory Board of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
• 2006-2010 Member of the Scientific Evaluation Council of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
• 2003-2011 Senator of the Max Planck Society (senator by office since 2003, senator by election since 2006)
• 2003-2006 Chairman of the Scientific Council of the Max Planck Society
• 2002-2008 Vice President of the German Science Foundation
• 2000-2012 Member of the Permanent Delegation (Deputation) of the German Lawyers Association (Deutscher Juristentag), Bonn, Germany
• 1995-2010 Member of the Scientific Council of the Fritz Thyssen Foundation
• 1973-1979 Member of the board of the Association of German Law Teachers