With over 25 years of experience as an industry lawyer, I support businesses and their owners in industrial and commercial law matters. My professional focus involves drafting, negotiating, and enforcing contracts — both in operational day-to-day business as well as in complex projects and strategic collaborations.
My professional career as an in-house legal counsel in the industrial sector has provided me with solid practical experience at the crossroads of law and business practice, particularly in global sales and procurement, industrial and power plant construction, projects and collaborations of all kinds, strategic alliances, and international transactions.
Through many years serving as a company executive and authorized officer, I am familiar with the organizational processes, leadership culture and practical realities that characterize owner-managed family businesses. My professional background includes mechanical and plant engineering, the automotive and rail supply industry, and the medical device sector, with a thorough grasp of the respective industry-specific challenges and processes.
As a young professional at a German automotive supplier, with a strong appreciation for Japanese ways of thinking and working, I was deeply impressed by Taiichi Ohno’s Toyota Production System. Nearly three decades later, I am still driven by the same conviction: quality is not merely a feature of a product, but the expression of a personal attitude. Quality arises from the willingness to take responsibility and the courage to identify problems early and, when necessary, to stop off‑track processes. For me, quality also means maintaining a clear focus on my clients’ needs and leading each step of the problem‑solving process with diligence and reliability.
"Quality means doing it right when no one is looking."
Henry Ford
After my law studies, a doctorate in labor law, and my state bar exam, I spent two years living in Japan and working with patent and law firms in Tokyo, which shaped the foundation of my career as an industry lawyer. I have been admitted to the bar since 1997. For more than 25 years, I served as an in-house legal advisor and General Counsel in the industrial sector, coordinating and aligning the interfaces between operational business practice and the law. Since 2024, I have been supporting companies as an external counsel in industrial and commercial law.
General Counsel and Head of Legal and Insurance at Dieffenbacher GmbH Maschinen- und Anlagenbau, Eppingen, Germany (2011-2023)
Certified Data Protection Officer (IHK Certificate Program, 2018)
In-house legal counsel (Syndikus) at Freudenberg Group, Weinheim, Germany, responsible for the divisions Automotive, Rail, and General Industry (Sealing and Vibration Technology), and Medical Devices (1997-2011)
Lecturer at the Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University (DHBW) Mannheim (2000-2011)
Legal Trainee at the Higher Regional Court (OLG) of Karlsruhe and with attorney Dr. Reinhard Neumann in Tokyo, Japan (1993-1995), followed by a two-year stay in Japan as a DAAD scholarship holder (Language and Practice Program) and a legal staff member in Japanese patent and law firms (1995-1997)
Postgraduate studies in Japanese commercial law at FernUniversität in Hagen, Germany (1992-1994)
Research Assistant to Prof. Dr. Günther Wiese at the Chair of Civil Law, Labor Law, and Commercial Law at the University of Mannheim, Doctorate in Labor Law (1990-1993)
Law studies at the University of Mannheim, international legal studies in English law (LSE, London) and comparative law (Faculté Internationale du Droit Comparé, Strasbourg)
Professional Background
Publications
Labor Law and Environmental Protection, Mannheim Contributions to Labor Law, Vol. 5, Frankfurt/Main 1993 (Doctoral Dissertation)
The Development of Civil-Law Personality Protection in Japan, in: Liber Discipulorum, Festschrift in Honor of Professor Dr. Günther Wiese, 1996
Basic Vocabulary of Legal Terminology, German-English/English-German (Grundwortschatz der Rechtssprache, co-authored with Dr. P. Flory), Neuwied 1995
Basic Vocabulary of Legal Terminology, German-French/French-German (Terminologie Juridique de Base, co-authored with Dr. H. Ellenberger), Neuwied 2002