Malte Duemeland

Malte was born in Tübingen in 1984. He studies law in the sixth semester at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf. Having started studying economics at the University of Hohenheim, he thought the field of law was the more interesting one, therefore, he changed to the law school of the University of Tübingen. He then changed to the University of Düsseldorf in 2009 to focus on corporate and intellectual property law, which he thought would be the perfect way to broaden his entrepreneurial horizon. For Malte the FDI Moot Court is a great opportunity to work on his English language skills and to improve his understanding for uncommon legal problems. Before applying for the FDI Moot Court Malte proved his team spirit by founding two little internet start-ups together with his friends and by doing latin team dancing for several years. “I am sure that we will experience a great semester with lots of interesting impressions and after the whole work is done, we will be looking back to a very special time that enriched our studies.” Besides his studies Malte is interested in economics and politics. He likes to cook for and with his friends and fantasizes about training for a marathon.

Pierre-Maurice Heijmen

Pierre-Maurice Heijmen has started working on a doctoral thesis on corporate restructuring at the University of Cologne after passing the first state exam successfully in 2009. As a result of his academic focus on international private, commercial, and procedural law, he has already worked intensively on questions arising under commercial law and regarded this area of law as quite interesting. “With its international character and the procedures conducted in English, I consider the FDI Moot Court to be not only an interesting challenge, but also a fascinating opportunity for personal growth and source for new experiences.“ During his law studies in Bielefeld, Cologne, Fribourg and Berne/Switzerland he already had the opportunity of developing his English language skills to a negotiation-level fluency at a legal internship in Washington D.C. He acquired first-hand knowledge of the work of a criminal defence law firm in the United States. In addition, he likes running and participated in the Cologne Marathon in 2005.

Richard Luther

Richard Luther studies law at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (fourth semester). The 21-year-old student, who was born in Berlin, is looking forward to be part of the first Foreign Direct Investment Moot Team in Düsseldorf: "The participation in the Moot Court is a great opportunity to link my interest in energy policy to the exciting field of Foreign Direct Investment. Especially the contrast of this practical project to the generally theoretical studies at the university is quite incentive. Furthermore, I am highly motivated to exchange experiences and ideas with my teammates and to get into a lively discussion with them." Richard accomplished his military service. Besides, he tries to keep in form with running and handball. Above all, Richard is interested in literature, art and photography.

Thorsten Henze

Thorsten Henze is a research and teaching assistant at the Chair of German and Foreign Public Law, European Law and Public International Law of Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf. After having read law, business administration and European Politics in Cologne, Lisbon, The Hague and Fribourg/Switzerland, he graduated from law school in 2006. Afterwards, Thorsten served the legal traineeship in Düsseldorf, Berlin and New York and passed the German bar in 2009 succesfully. He participated in the Willem C. Vis Moot Court as a team member and acted as arbitrator. Moreover, he was the faculty adviser for the Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition.

Tessa Blindenbacher (Student Coach)

Tessa Blindenbacher is currently studying law in her sixth semester with a chosen focus on International and European Law. This interest in international law originated inter alia in her participation in the Philip C. Jessup Moot Court in 2009/2010. During this competition she also occupied herself especially with the topic of FDI and thereby discovered this interesting area of law for herself. Apart from that, Tessa studied law in England for one year with an Erasmus scholarship and successfully completed the additional study program “Anglo-American Law”. She is now very much looking forward to pass on her knowledge and experiences to the first Düsseldorf FDI Team and support this team in the best possible way.

Simon Alexander Weise (Student Coach) 

In the winter term 2009/2010 Simon took part in the Philip C. Jessup Moot Court where he discovered his passion for FDI law. Simon finished both the obligatory military service and a reserve-corporal course successfully gaining first experiences to head smaller groups. Simon chose “Enterprises and Markets” as major although he is a student research assistant at the Chair of German and Foreign Public Law, European Law and International Public Law. He hopes to bridge the gap between pure national commercial law and the field of foreign investment protection in public international law and to contribute to the success of the team with a understanding of the business and economic context. 

Prof. Dr. R. Alexander Lorz, LL.M. 

Prof. Lorz holds the Chair for German and Foreign Public Law, European Law and International Public Law at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf. He attendend the Universities of Mainz and Marburg as well as Harvard Law School and was awarded the teaching qualification in 1999 by the University of Mannheim. Prof. Lorz is a former Deputy Minister of Art and Science of the State of Hesse and founding member of the Düsseldorf Institute for Foreign and Security Policy (DIAS). He is admitted to the bar in New York.