Dear Alumni of the Master of Business, Competition and Regulatory Law Programme at the Freie Universität Berlin!

A warm welcome to our new alumni and welcome back to all of you!

Graduation

Another MBL-FU generation has successfully completed its studies and it had to be celebrated. On February 1st 2017 in the elegant ‘Clubhaus der FU’, students, relatives, friends, staff and other guests gathered to celebrate the new Masters and strengthen the bonds of friendship. In his address, Dr. Stockmann stressed the importance of becoming global Competition professionals and the bright future that lays ahead of the new graduates if they bravely and unashamedly seized the chance. The MBL’s Academic Director, Prof. Dr. Schweitzer, highlighted the need for open-minded legal professionals committed to a more just and free world, especially in light of the current political situation on both sides of the pond and the Channel and in general. The always much-praised speech by Dr. Fijal did not disappoint: Combining personal experience and anecdotes with more serious reflections in line with the previous speakers, he certainly thrilled the audience. Last but not least, Mr Stefanovski, speaking on behalf of the graduates, delivered a brilliant and heartfelt speech in which he went through major elements of the program; from the different modules and lecturers to the exciting Berlin (day and night) life. A true public speaker. Finally, we once again recognise the effort of the 2015/2016 MBL graduates and congratulate then most warmly for their performance and success!

Article on MBL in Campus Leben Among our graduates from 2015/16 was also Ehab Shamah. He recently gave an Interview to Campus Leben, the university newspaper at Freie Universität Berlin. It is a fascinating story of an excellent student who decided to take fate into his own hands. True to the motto Appius Claudius Caecus or “every man is the Artisan of his own fortune”, he overcame all obstacles, studied in Beirut while working in Damascus to later obtain his degree here in Berlin. He also started working during the programme and is currently working for Germany’s biggest bank. You can find his whole story here.

MBL Publications We are proud to announce more MBL publications: Vasil Stoynov, graduate of 2015/16, published his analysis of direct effect of EU bi- and multilateral trade agreements in the winter Edition of Amsterdam Law Forum and his colleague Jelena Mičetić published her case note on the US decision in In Re Loestrin 24 Fe in the Oxford Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice. Also, our teaching assistant Dominik Arncken has published an article on the recent ECJ judgement in Lundbeck (in German) here.

Study Trip to Brussels

At the beginning of April it was again time for our students to improve their knowledge on the EU laws and policies “on the spot” by visiting the European institutions in Brussels. The day started with a very interesting visit to the EU Parliament and its Plenary Chamber, where the MBL candidates had the opportunity to understand its functions, its routines, different political groups and how the house masters the challenge of debating in 24 different languages. In the afternoon, Mrs. Maria José Pastor of the Visiting Centre of the European Commission welcomed the MBL for seminars on the most recent European policies in the field of telecommunications, energy and trade. First, Mr. Prabhat Agarwal, Deputy Head of the “E-Commerce and Platforms” Unit at the Directorate-General “Communications networks, content and technology” spoke about the challenges of the European Digital Single Market, the EU regulatory framework for internet platforms and the Commission’s plans for digital industry develops. In the second seminar, Dr. Oliver Koch, Deputy Head of Unity “Wholesale markets, electricity & gas” at the Directorate-General “Energy” and MBL Lecturer, presented the Commission’s new legislative proposals, the “Clean Energy for All European” package addressing different aspects such as energy efficiency, renewable energy, the design of the electricity market, security of electricity supply and governance rules for the Energy Union. In the third seminar, Mr. Miguel Ceballos Barón, Deputy Head of Cabinet of Cecilia Malmström and Commissioner responsible of the portfolio “Trade”, presented the Union’s new trade and investment strategy called “Trade for All: Towards a more responsible trade and investment policy”. Trade can have highly positive effects on the economy, providing jobs, growth and investment; but these effects shall not be achieved by ignoring core principles like human rights, sustainable development or high quality regulation and public services. Therefore, the new trade strategy is based on three key principles: effectiveness, transparency and promotion of values. Finally, the MBL students had a meeting with Mr. Koen Hendrix, Senior Team Leader of the Unit “Communication and Attractiveness” at the European Personnel Selection Office, which made a presentation about “EU Careers: opportunities and selection procedures”. Mr. Hendrix presented all career possibilities for EU and Non-EU citizens in the Union institutions, explaining the relevant selection procedures.

Legal Tech Seminar

For the first time, the MBL curriculum included a seminar on the developing field of ‘Legal Tech’. Dr. Daniel Halmer from the Legal Tech Startup wenigermiete.de and Dr. Gernot Halbleib from the Bucerius Center on the Legal Profession introduced the students to this interesting field which challenges lawyers to embrace a culture of entrepreneurship to revolutionise the legal profession through technology. This interactive seminar featured a case study on wenigermiete.de, as well as the basics of AI and law and the mindset necessary to develop a business idea from a legal problem. It was an exciting experience and some students found an application of case study to check whether they, themselves, pay excessive rent in violation of Germany’s rent control statutes.

Contact We warmly welcome our student assistant Peyman Khaljani back after a semester in Chile. As every year we would like to hear from you! What are you doing nowadays? What was your experience with the MBL programme? Don’t hesitate to get in touch with us!

Last year Max Küttner (Class of 2010/11) reached out and wrote “Since the start of June, I have started working at the CMA in the UK as a Case Officer in the Mergers Phase I team. The work is very interesting, especially seeing the process of how competition law and economic theory are applied. I'm very happy to see that Dr. Michael Albers is to further his lecturing on the course. Alongside other reasons, it was his portrayal of the Ryanair/Air Lingus I merger attempt that inspired me to want to practice in competition law.”

We all hope you enjoyed this edition of our Alumni Newsletter!

The MBL Staff at Freie Universität Berlin