On 9 and 10 June 2017, the Institute for Law and Finance (ILF) celebrated its 15th anniversary with interesting guest lectures on current financial and legal topics, an excursion to the new headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) and a gala dinner and ball on Campus Westend of Goethe University Frankfurt am Main. Alumni of the past 15 years, current ILF students, ILF Board Members, lecturers, members of the law and business faculties of Goethe University, friends of the ILF as well as current and former staff of the ILF were present at the celebrations.
The Alumni Reunion started with a visit of the new headquarters of the ECB on 9 June 2017. Lectures on latest economic developments in the Euro zone was held by Dr. Arnd Gieseck, Advisor, Division Output & Demand, in the presence of about 100 alumni and guests. Ms. Barbara Mollin-Fatourous , ILF Alumna of 2004/05 and Mr. Marek Svoboda, both Senior Legal Counsels of the ECB, Financial Law Division, DG Legal Services, spoke about the structure and specific tasks of the Legal Services Division of the ECB.
In the afternoon and back on Campus Westend, a commemorative book with articles and pictures highlighting the past five years and remembering the 15 years since the establishment of the ILF was presented by Prof. Dr. Andreas Cahn to 150 guests in Renate-von-Metzler-Hall in the Casino.
Following the book presentation, Professor Guido Ferrarini, Professor of Business Law, University of Genoa, Italy, held a guest lecture on "Regulating Fintech: The Case of Marketplace Investing". After a brief Q&A session, Dr. Philipp Paech, Assistant Professor of Financial Law and Financial Regulation, London School of Economics, UK, introduced the topic of “Finance, AI and the Law” to the audience and answered questions of the listeners. Finally, Mr. Felix Hufeld, President, Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (BaFin), the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, held a guest lecture on "Regulation – a Science of its Own" and the influence of public opinion (“Zeitgeist”) on political as well as on legal aspects of financial regulation.
In the evening, the ILF Gala Dinner and Ball was hosted in the festive hall (“Festsaal”) of the Casino Building on Campus Westend. At the event, the lecturers who have been teaching from the beginning of the ILF in 2002 onwards (“the Pioneer Lecturers”) and the lecturers who have supported the ILF with their lectures for at least the past 10 years received commemorative glass sculptures from Prof. Dr. Cahn amidst the applause of the audience comrpising about 250 guests. A highlight of the evening was a classical musical intermezzo. Mr. Manos Christofakakis, ILF Alumnus of the Class of 2014/15 sang four opera songs accompanied by Dr. Klaus-Albert Bauer, ILF lecturer, on the piano. The outstanding musical performance received standing ovations by the audience. After the dinner, the dancefloor was opened until midnight with guests, students and alumni dancing to the tunes of DJ Stoggi.
The next day, about 120 ILF alumni and guests led by the ILF alumni manager Ms. Alia Rahimzian travelled to Kloster Eberbach by buses from Campus Westend for a memorable day of wine tasting and talks at the historical and beautiful setting in a former monastery in the scenic Rheingau area.
Link to Video with Greetings from ILF Class Presidents / Vice-Presidents
15 Years ILF: Greetings from ILF class presidents / vice-presidents
Please see below for the presentation of Professor Guido Ferrarini, Professor of Business Law, University of Genoa, Italy, on "Regulating Fintech: The Case of Marketplace Investing".
