After receiving my A levels from the Danish high school Duborg-Skolen in Flensburg/Germany, and before entering the University of Copenhagen as a law student, I was trained as a journalist at the newspaper of the Danish minority in Germany, Flensborg Avis. In addition to the practical training on the job, I participated in courses arranged specifically for newcomers in journalism at the Journalisten-Zentrum Haus Busch in Hagen/Germany. I continued working as a journalist during law school, e.g. as the correspondent of Flensborg Avis at the Danish Parliament, Christiansborg (Copenhagen). Here I also worked as a public relations officer for the cultural organization of the Danish minority in Germany, Sydslesvigsk Forening.
After having graduated with a master in law in 1996 (University of Copenhagen), I pursued a Ph.D. in the field of Public International Law and Human Rights/ Minority Rights at the Faculty of Law/University of Copenhagen. During my time as a Ph.D. student I was a visiting scholar at the Walther Schücking Institute for International Law, Kiel University, and the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, Heidelberg. Until I moved to private practice in 2000, I was an assistant professor in the areas of Public International Law, Human Rights and EU-Law. In 2003, I received a LL.M. degree from the University of Munich focusing on Patent Law. I have been admitted to the Danish Bar in 2007. In 2018 I passed the German Bar Exam in Berlin.
I speak Danish (mother tongue), German and English and understand the other Scandinavian languages. In addition, I speak a bit of Portuguese and French.