Dr Christoph von Burgsdorff, LL.M. (Essex)
Areas of practice
Dr Christoph von Burgsdorff specialises in negotiating and drafting commercial and distribution agreements, commercial leases, sales contracts, general terms and conditions and service agreements. Furthermore, he represents the interests of large and medium-sized companies in national and international litigation and arbitration proceedings, especially in accordance with the DIS, ICC and LCIA Rules, as well as in ad-hoc proceedings. Christoph von Burgsdorff has more than 20 years’ experience providing strategic conflict advice and conflict management services. His main industry focus is Health Care & Life Science, the textile industry, logistics and plant construction, and Maritime & Shipping. His clients include medium-sized and large companies, as well as the public sector.
Christoph von Burgsdorff regularly publishes papers and articles on current international trade topics and gives lectures on current contract and liability law issues at events organised by industry associations.
Christoph von Burgsdorff is an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) certified trainer of the Incoterms® 2020 rules, having passed the ICC examination.
Vita
Dr Christoph von Burgsdorff studied law in Kiel (Germany) and Surrey (England) from 1994 to 1999. In 2000, he received a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree from the University of Essex (England). In 2001, he obtained his doctorate for a thesis on European Union law from the University of Kiel (Germany). Christoph von Burgsdorff carried out his legal training at the Higher Regional Court of Schleswig-Holstein (Germany), which also included training periods at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Allen & Overy. He was admitted to the German Bar in 2003 and has been working for Luther ever since – since 2012 as a partner. In 2006, Christoph von Burgsdorff spent time on secondment at the international business law firm Pinsent Masons in London (England). Since 2007, he has additionally been a certified specialist in commercial and corporate law.
For many years already, Christoph von Burgsdorff has been specialising in advising clients from the Nordic countries, i. e. Scandinavia and the Baltic states, and has been involved in a variety of projects in the region. He is also a member of the industry group Health Care & Life Science, where he is one of the responsible partners for the area of medical technology.
Honors and distinctions
- The Legal 500 Germany 2025: Mention in "City Focus - Hamburg" ("Christoph von Burgsdorff's organisational skills and client care deserve special mention.")
- The Legal 500 Germany 2023: Mention in "Industry Focus Healthcare" (first mention in 2022)
- The Legal 500 Germany 2020: Mentions in the categories "Dispute Resolution - Arbitration (including International Arbitration)" (first recommendation in 2019) and "Commercial and Distribution Law - Distribution/Trade/Logistics" (first recommendation in 2020)
- Best Lawyers 2026: Recommendation in "Litigation" (first recommendation in 2022), "Arbitration in Mediation" and “Trade Law” (first recommendation in 2021)
Clients
Commercial
- US toy manufacturer – Ongoing advice on commercial and distribution law
- Automotive supplier – Ongoing advice on commercial and distribution law, general terms and conditions, and joint venture
- Medium-sized packaging company – Ongoing advice on commercial and distribution law, general terms and conditions, and joint venture
- Automotive supplier – Ongoing advice on commercial and distribution law, drafting of purchasing agreements and supply contracts
- Machine tool manufacturer – Ongoing advice on cross-border litigation and arbitration, commercial and distribution law, and joint venture
- German media agency – Advice on how to draft purchasing and distribution agreements, drafting of terms and conditions of purchase
- Manufacturer of conveyor technology – Out-of-court assertion of claims for remuneration against a foreign contracting party in connection with an agreement on the manufacture and supply of conveyor systems
- German metal-casting company – Out-of-court representation in connection with the assertion of warranty claims against a supplier
- Medium-sized steel-casting company – Advice on how to draft a contract in connection with the outsourcing of logistics services
Litigation / Dispute Resolution
- German plant construction company – Advice in a legal dispute with the state-owned oil company of an Asian country regarding the implementation of a plant construction and supply contract
- Romanian group of companies – Representation in a legal dispute to defend alleged claims of the other contracting party’s insolvency administrator under a contract for work and services in connection with the supply of steel for the construction of a power plant in Germany
- Steel producer – Representation in proceedings regarding a neighbouring company’s alleged claims for injunctive relief under ambient pollution control law
- Representation of an energy producer in a legal dispute in connection with the non-performance of a supply contract with an Indonesian supplier for several hundred thousand tons of coal
- German project company of an Austrian wind farm operator – Representation in a legal dispute in connection with the reversal of a wind farm project
- German automotive supplier – Regular representation in proceedings regarding contract law disputes (purchasing and distribution)
- Italian group of companies – Representation in a lawsuit against a German DAX company in a post-M&A dispute regarding claims for adjustment of the purchase price
- Estonian transport and logistics company – Representation in an action regarding alleged claims for mal-performance of a transport agreement
- US toy manufacturer – Representation in court in a product liability case
- German shipping company – Representation in a legal dispute with a consulting firm
- German IT services provider – Enforcement of fee claims
- German project developer – Enforcement of claims in connection with the reversal of a property purchase agreement regarding former barracks grounds in Northern Germany
Arbitration
- German shipyard – Representation in ad-hoc arbitration proceedings under German law against a Turkish customer with regard to alleged warranty claims under a ship building contract
- Chinese trading company – Representation in ad-hoc arbitration proceedings against a German contracting party for non-performance of an annual supply contract
- Company in the United Arab Emirates – Advice and representation in connection with ad-hoc arbitration proceedings due to the German contracting party’s failure to supply a paper production plant to Pakistan
- German brewery group – Representation in ICC arbitration proceedings against a contracting party in a Central American country
- German energy producer – Representation in arbitration proceedings according to the Swiss Rules of International Arbitration against an Italian trading partner
- German energy provider – Advice in connection with arbitration proceedings conducted according to the Arbitration Rules of the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) for damages arising from a sea freight transaction
Corporate
- Austrian joint stock company – Comprehensive out-of-court advice in connection with the termination of a joint venture regarding the development of wind-turbine projects in Eastern Europe
- Advice to a German company in a dispute with a joint venture partner in the area of petroleum production in a Central Asian country
- German packaging company – Assertion of a claim for repayment of a loan arising from a failed joint venture against a Czech contracting party
- European holding of an international group of companies – Devising of a complex dispute settlement mechanism in the company agreement
Publications
- Strategies to secure supply chains: effective contractual approaches to overcome scarcity challenges in the supply of drugs, medical devices and other essential goods, in: International Bar Association (IBA) from 2 June 2025 (together with Luisa Kramer)
- International jurisdiction – what is possible and what is favourable?, in: International Bar Association (IBA) from 4th April 2025
- Increased liability due to the new EU Product Liability Directive: what does this mean for the medical and pharmaceutical industry?, in: International Bar Association vom 10. Februar 2025 (gemeinsam mit Luisa Kramer)
- Zwei Jahre Incoterms® 2020 Digital Guide: Erfahrungen & Trends - Interview mit Luther & ICC Germany, in: ICC Germany-Magazin, Ausgabe 17, Herbst/Winter 2023 (gemeinsam mit Oliver Wieck & Dr. Robert Burkert)
- How the Metaverse addresses supply chain challenges for the healthcare and life science sector, in: International Bar Association vom 02.11.2023 (gemeinsam mit Luisa Kramer)
- How the Metaverse addresses supply chain challenges for the healthcare and life science sector, in: International Bar Association vom 02.11.2023 (gemeinsam mit Luisa Kramer)
- Endlich die passende Incoterms® -2020-Klausel finden: Der Incoterms® 2020 Digital Guide, in: Außenhandelspraxis Aktuell, Ausgabe 02/2022 S. 6 (gemeinsam mit Dr. Robert Burkert)
- Das Management von Krisenfällen beginnt bei der Produkt-Compliance, in: Die deutsche Medizintechnik-Industrie, SPECTARIS Jahrbuch 2021/2022, S. 72 (gemeinsam mit Dr. Kuuya Josef Chibanguza, LL.B. & Jens-Uwe Heuer-James)
- Rechtssichere Vollstreckung Von Gerichtsurteilen Nach Dem Brexit, in: British Chamber of Commerce in Germany vom 06. Oktober 2021 (gemeinsam mit Dr. Robert Burkert)
- Ever Given: an Example of How Complex International Liability for Damages Can Be, in: International Bar Association vom 20. August 2021
- Partnerships in the healthcare and life science market in times of a pandemic - dos and don’ts, in: International Bar Association vom 26. Mai 2021 (gemeinsam mit Dr. Robert Burkert)
- Medizintechnik im Umbruch, in: SPECTARIS Jahrbuch 2020/2021, S. 16 (gemeinsam mit Dr. Kuuya Josef Chibanguza, LL.B., Dr. Ulrich Philippi & Cornelia Yzer)
- Changing the product range – opportunity or necessity in times of Covid-19?, in: International Bar Association vom 09. September 2020 (gemeinsam mit Franz Kauer, LL.M.)
- Bearbeitung des Kapitels "Germany (Getting the Deal Through: Ports & Terminals 2020)", in: Getting the Deal Through: Ports & Terminals 2020
- Umgang mit der REACH-VO im Medizinproduktesektor, in: Medizin Produktw Recht (MPR), Heft 3/2020, S. 99 (gemeinsam mit Dr. Robert Burkert)
- Bearbeitung des Kapitels "Germany (Getting the Deal Through: Ports & Terminals 2019)", in: Getting the Deal Through: Ports & Terminals 2019 (gemeinsam mit Dr. Gernot-Rüdiger Engel & Dr. Benjamin Hub)
- Bearbeitung des Kapitels "Germany (Getting the Deal Through: Ports & Terminals 2018)", in: Getting the Deal Through: Ports & Terminals 2018 (gemeinsam mit Dr. Gernot-Rüdiger Engel & Dr. Benjamin Hub)
- A new centralised electronic register for protective briefs, in: IBA International Litigation News vom 20.09.2017
- The function of oral hearings in German civil procedure: does a principle lose its ground?, in: Young Lawyers vom 01.09.2017
- Einheitliche Rechtsgrundlage für Warenkaufverträge, in: Südwestticker , Ausgabe 05/17
- Protection of trade secrets in German civil proceedings: an EU directive as saviour?, in: International Litigation News vom 02.05.2017
- Bearbeitung des Kapitel "Germany (Getting the Deal Through: Ports & Terminals 2017)", in: Getting the Deal Through: Ports & Terminals 2017 (gemeinsam mit Dr. Gernot-Rüdiger Engel & Dr. Benjamin Hub)
- Collective redress in Germany: long overdue or superfluous?, in: International Litigation News vom 09.09.2016
- TTIP und Schiedsgerichtsbarkeit, in: Magazin des Wirtschaftsrats Deutschland (Landesverbände Hamburg und Schleswig-Holstein)
- The effects of the crisis in Ukraine an international trade in Europe from the perspective of German law, in: International Bar Association vom 07.07.2015
- Gastbeitrag "Persönlichkeitsverletzungen im Internet: Sind Personen verschiedener Nationalität beteiligt, kann die Wahl des Gerichtsstands zur Kardinalfrage werden", in: Deutscher AnwaltSpiegel vom 10. September 2014
- Gastbeitrag "Beim Freihandelsabkommen geht es auch um Investitionsschutz", in: Frankfurter-Allgemeine-Zeitung vom 11. Dezember 2013
- Dispute Resolution within M&A Transactions, in: LAWYER MONTHLY, Ausgabe April 2013
Blog posts
- Managing trade barriers - What the new US tariffs mean for international supply contracts
- Managing trade barriers – What the new U.S. tariffs mean for international business models
- Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive: Sustainability obligation resulting from EU Directive 2024/1760 poses new challenges to companies
- Accessibility – how companies can implement the German Accessibility Enhancement Act and benefit from inclusive design
- Update on the German Federal Supreme Court’s leading decision procedure – Relief of consumers and judiciary?
- Digital Assets: Managing Non-Fungible Tokens in B2C-Contracts
- New classifications of in vitro diagnostic medical devices: Affected companies need legal advice
- Aus der Not eine Tugend machen: Seid kreativ!
- The Hague Convention on the Enforcement and Recognition of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters: game changer or non-starter?
- Arbitration more attractive than ever – Sweden is modernising its arbitration law
Lectures
- 20.06.2023: unyer Commercial Hot topics for international supply chains – compliance and contractual challenges
- 07.12.2022: Quo vadis, China? – Ein Ausblick auf kommende politische, wirtschaftliche und rechtliche Entwicklungen
- 17.11.2022: unyer Commercial I Price Adjustments along the Supply Chain – Seller’s and Buyer’s Perspective
- 22.06.2022: Incoterms® 2020: „Wie Sie die größten Fehler vermeiden können“ Online-Seminar I ICC Germany
Memberships
- American Chamber of Commerce in Germany e.V.
- International Bar Association
- Deutsche Institution für Schiedsgerichtsbarkeit e.V.
- Wirtschaftsrat der CDU e.V.
- Landesfachkommission Gesundheitswirtschaft beim Wirtschaftsrat Hamburg
- Member of the Commercial Law and Practice Commission (CLP Commission) of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)
![[Translate to English:] Managing trade barriers](/fileadmin/user_upload/reciprocal_tariffs.jpeg "[Translate to English:] Managing trade barriers")
Hans-Christian Ackermann
Partner
Dusseldorf
Prof. Dr Hans-Georg Hahn
Of Counsel
Hanover
Dr Marcus Backes
Partner
Hamburg
Dr Arnd Becker
Partner
Essen
Dr Arndt Begemann
Of Counsel
Essen
Dr Carsten E. Beisheim
Partner
Dusseldorf
Reinhard Willemsen
Partner
Munich, Cologne
Guido Wenzel
Partner
Hamburg
Thomas Weidlich, LL.M. (Hull)
Partner
Cologne
Anne Caroline Wegner, LL.M. (European University Institute)
Partner
Dusseldorf
Dr Andreas Blunk, MLE
Partner
Hanover
Dr Gregor Wecker
Partner
Cologne
Dr Jürgen Bremer
Partner
Dusseldorf
Birgitta von Dresky
Partner
Singapore
Dr Christoph von Burgsdorff, LL.M. (Essex)
Partner
Hamburg
Dr Eberhard Vetter
Of Counsel
Cologne