REINHARD GERHARZ

Education

1969 – 1972
Student of Law at the University of Bonn

1972-1976
Legal Assistant at a lawyer’s office in Bonn specialising in business and media law

1973
First State Examination in Law

1976
Second State Examination in Law

1976
Admission to legal practice; employment in the practice established by Attorney Dr. Horst Rottlaender in 1935. At that time the practice specialised in appeals before the Higher Regional Court in Cologne, especially in the field of contract law and state liability law.

1977
Granted an exception by the President of the Higher Regional Court in Cologne (stipulations at that time required an attorney to have practiced for five years before being allowed to present cases to the Higher Regional Court).

Since 1978
Partner in the Practice of Dr. Rottlaender and Partners, Attorneys at the Higher Regional Court in Cologne

Work experience

Since 1972
Commercial law, media law

Since 1976
Appeals before the Higher District Court, particularly in the fields of contract law, building law, inheritance law, state liability law, insurance law, protection of commercial property

Counselling private and business clients, public authorities and insurance companies in general contract and insurance law

Counselling dealers and suppliers in the automobile industry with regard to cartel law, branding law and laws pertaining to authorized dealerships

Since 1992
Adjunct member of the Examination Commission of the Ministry of Justice of the Federal Land of North Rhine-Westphalia for the Second State Examination in Law for the entire field of civil and public law

2002 – 2003
Director of courses to train court interns in civil law in the Regional Court District of Cologne

Since 01.01.2002
As a result of a change in the law, the restriction that lawyers admitted to the Higher Regional Court may not act in first instance proceedings has been removed.

Subsequently, activities in an advisory capacity and in representing clients before the Higher Regional Court, Administrative and Constitutional Courts have been augmented by the representation of clients in the first instance

2003
Lecturer in the programme to train attorneys seeking to specialise in insurance law

Since 01.01.2010
Adjunct member of the joint Examination Commission of the Federal Laender of Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland and Thuringia to determine the qualification of European lawyers seeking to be admitted to practise in a German court.

Areas of Expertise

Insurance and liability law

General and special contract law, construction/engineering law, commercial law, and corporate law

Competition law

National and international inheritance law

International civil law, European Union law, administrative and constitutional law

National and international arbitration
(arbitrator or attorney)

Memberships International

International Bar Associacion, London

International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Paris

German/Spanish Lawyers Association

Memberships National

Cologne Lawyers’ Association/German Lawyers’ Association

Insurance Law Working Group of the German Bar Association

Deutscher Juristentag e.V.

Languages

English, Spanish, French

Lectures

Since1997
Lectures at universities in Peru, Chile, Guatemala, Paraguay about the system of legal education in Germany

April 2011
SICA (Secretaría General del Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana), El Salvador, on the system of export credit insurance (Seguro de créditos a la exportación)

September 2012
Export Credit Insurance in Trade between Germany and Latin America