After completing his military service and his training as a banker (Bankkaufmann), Thomas studied law at Goethe-Universität in Frankfurt am Main. Following his doctorate and his legal clerkship, he spent more than 30 years as attorney and partner at Freshfields, one of the leading international law firms.

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He advised in particular on stock corporation law, the law of company groups (Konzernrecht), German and European reorganisation law, directors’ liability and corporate governance. His clients included Deutsche Bahn, BASF, Merck KGaA, KfW, UBS, Zurich Insurance, Deutsche Bank, Porsche, Fraport and Zalando. More recently, Thomas has also dealt with the governance of state-funded science organisations in the context of mandates for Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space.

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Thomas has published on topics of domestic and cross-border company law and the law of the European Company (Societas Europaea). For many years, he was listed in the JUVE Handbuch as “leading senior partner in corporate law”. Since 1 May 2026, he shares his experience as independent attorney and senior advisor in the field of corporate law, board advice and corporate governance.

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Thomas is a former scholar of the German Academic Scholarship Foundation (Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes) and today holds various functions in social and cultural institutions in Frankfurt.