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“Those that live life with a spirit of adventure go where there is no path and leave a trail that may change the world”. In keeping with that theme, I’m pleased to share an example of a member giving back and making a positive impact on the world.

As you all know, Primerus has been fighting hunger through the Primerus Community Service Board’s Global Hunger Initiative which has generated many food donations for those in need. Primerus supports this fight – both for food and the hunger for education. On a level beyond sustaining health through nutrition, education is the key to bring societies to the next level.

Primerus member Brödermann Jahn (Hamburg, Germany) is actively involved in providing education on a pro bono basis. The firm’s founding partner Eckart Brödermann has been teaching at Hamburg University since 1996. In 2011 he was awarded a lifetime professorship, teaching international contracts and international arbitration. This year the students of his international arbitration class were ranked among the top competitors in the renowned Willem C. Vis Moot Court competition in international arbitration. The competition hosted 398 teams and ca. 4.000 students from all over the world participating in Vienna via videoconferences. In the end, the team of Hamburg University finished third (second runner up of the competition) and their pleadings were ranked 20 out of over 400 pleadings submitted. One team member was awarded as one of the best 26 speakers of the entire competition. The underlying dispute of the competition had to be resolved under the Convention on the International Sale of Goods with regard to the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts 2016 (on which Eckart Brödermann published an article-by-article commentary in 2018).

I hope you find these examples inspiring and helpful for your firm. Please share how your firm is giving back to your local community, evolving with the changing environment or helpful tips that may benefit a Primerus colleague.