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Baker McKenzie Prize 2025: Innovative young talent in commercial law honored!
On May 9, 2025, Dr. Tobias Bürk and Dr. Kevin Hinzen was honored for her outstanding dissertations at the Faculty of Law.
Baker McKenzie Prize 2025: Innovative young talent in commercial law honored!
On May 9, 2025, the renowned Baker McKenzie Prize will be awarded at the Law Department at Goethe University. This year the awards go to Dr. Tobias Bürk and Dr. Kevin Hinzen. Both prize winners are recognized for their outstanding dissertations in the field of business law, which were graded “summa cum laude”.
Dr. Tobias Bürk receives the honor for his dissertation entitled “Third-party investors in the law of shareholder loans”. Under the supervision of Prof. Andreas Cahn, Bürk develops innovative solutions by applying mathematical models and findings from behavioral economics. His work not only promises new theoretical impulses, but also practical applications in dealing with shareholder loans.
Prize winners and their work
Dr. Kevin Hinzen is being honored for his dissertation “Fiscal resilience in budget parliamentarism – crisis reaction phenomena in German and European public finance law”. This work, which was created under the guidance of Prof. Matthias Goldmann, examines flexibility in public financial law and its relevance for legal research. Hinzen's approach sheds light on how legal frameworks can facilitate adjustments in times of crisis, which is important for politics and science.
A total of 6,000 euros in prize money will be awarded during the award ceremony, which will take place in the casino building on the Westend campus. The Baker McKenzie Prize has been awarded regularly since 1988 to outstanding dissertations or post-doctoral theses that meet the jury's high standards.
Promoting young legal talent
Baker McKenzie, one of the leading German law firms with over 200 lawyers and tax advisors in Germany and more than 70 offices worldwide, is actively involved in promoting young lawyers. This is done, among other things, through a scholarship for equal opportunities that has been running since February 2025 and is now in its third year.
The year before, in 2024, the Baker McKenzie Prize was awarded to Dr. Julia Hoffmann and Dr. Philipp Sebastian Tilk, both for their outstanding dissertations in the field of commercial law. Dr. Hoffmann received the award for her work on standard setting in environmental law, while Tilk addressed the challenges of creditworthiness assessment.
By continually supporting young legal talent, Baker McKenzie not only shows its responsibility towards legal education, but also actively contributes to the development of the legal sector in Germany. Further information can be found on the Goethe University website, which offers detailed insights into the award ceremony and the award winners ( Puk University Frankfurt ). Baker McKenzie's initiatives to support aspiring lawyers can also be viewed via their platforms ( Baker McKenzie ).
The law faculty at the University of Münster also contributes to research in the field of business law and offers a platform for new scientific findings and discussions ( Institute for Business Law University of Münster ).