Prof. Dr. Jochen Glöckner, LL.M. (USA)

Glad you made it here! Most likely you'll have already found all of the cold hard facts about my academic work on the website of my chair. So I'll keep it short and only stress three aspects of my academic work that deserve mentioning because they are not as obvious.

The first aspect is the chance I am given to combine academic research with implementation in practice. It is a proud German tradition that it is not only legal scholars, but also the courts and the legislators that take very serious efforts to maintain the systematic and structural consistency of their work and thus the academic standards of the law itself.  If these efforts at times are not fully brought to bear and legal scholars criticize them for any eventual failure, this is primarily strong evidence that we - differently from scholars in other jurisdictions -  still take for granted to measure courts or even legislators by academic standards. We are highly privileged to do so. I am still excited to be in a position to contribute to the overall high quality of the judicature and the legislation. The preparatory work in the Act on the Modernization of Construction Contract Law over several years, entering into force in 2018 left a deep and positive impression

The next point is the increasing significance of internationalisation. In times of political instability every single cross-border discussion of legal issues is one more step into the right direction of peaceful and rule-directed resolution of conflicts. And, what is more, we keep our awareness of the historical and political contingency of many a legal rules that we may take for granted, and the use of chopsticks to cope with crustacea may become as challenging as the detailed explanation of some exotic legal distinction. Contributing in fruitful co-operations with the Fudan and Tongji Universities in Shanghai over more than one decade has become firmly established in my calendar and I will try not to miss any opportunity for new professional and personal experiences beyond Germany's geographical borders. And by the way: If you're still a student and think about a year abroad - just do it! You won't regret, I promise.

The chance I have to make a difference for young lawywers with my work - both in research and teaching - and actually see within short periods of time what they make out of it in their legal careers is the third main driver of my professional activities. I like to keep in touch with former research assistants and Ph.D. students or meet former students  in conferences or as judges or attorneys. They all make sure in a particular manner that my work will not become vain with the next act of legislation.