Prof. Dr. Ralf Kitzberger, LL.M. ’95
When I completed my LL.M. at Temple Law School in Philadelphia in 1994/1995, I did not anticipate how profoundly this experience would shape my professional path. The focus of my studies was a comparative thesis on “Secondary Industrial Activities” in the United States, the United Kingdom and the Federal Republic of Germany – a thesis that later became the basis of my doctoral dissertation in Germany, which I completed and published in 1996. I was able to pursue my LL.M. at Temple thanks to an Ambassadorial Scholarship from Rotary International, which gave me access not only to an excellent academic environment but also to a truly international legal community.
A pivotal moment for me was my first encounter with Sports & Entertainment Law at Temple Law School. The professor teaching this course at the time was the lawyer who had negotiated the product placement contracts connected with the movie “Rocky”. For a young German lawyer whose background was primarily in traditional business and labour law, this was an impressive introduction to the intersection of law, sports and media. Philadelphia as a sports city and the practical orientation of Temple’s curriculum showed me how legal expertise can be combined with the dynamics of the entertainment and sports industries in a meaningful way.
Beyond the academic input, the LL.M. program was personally formative. I remain closely connected with many of my classmates from that time, both privately and professionally, and those relationships continue to enrich my practice today.
At Temple I did not only learn about the law – I learned a great deal for life: how to navigate cultural diversity, how important strong networks are, and how valuable openness to new professional opportunities can be. During my studies in the United States I was also able to travel extensively and to experience the country from very different perspectives, something that has reinforced my international outlook to this day.
That period in Philadelphia was the starting point for my later specialization.
Today, I have been a lawyer for 28 years and am a partner at Schickhardt Rechtsanwälte, a law firm dedicated to sports and entertainment law. In our daily work we advise clubs, federations, athletes, artists, actors and companies from the media and entertainment sector. The international perspective I gained at Temple still informs my practice – whether in drafting contracts with foreign partners, assessing global sponsorship structures or analysing international regulatory frameworks in sports.
Looking back, my LL.M. studies at Temple Law School were not merely an academic chapter, but a decisive turning point. They opened the door to an area of law that was barely defined in Germany at the time and has since developed into a distinct and highly specialized field. For me, Temple was the place where academic curiosity, international openness and practical orientation came together to form the foundation of a career in sports and entertainment law.
