1. Looking back at your LLM in Transnational Business Practice at McGeorge School of Law, what did that experience mean to you personally and professionally — and how has it shaped your approach to international work?
Language, cultural understanding, and a good sense of humor always helps and, especially when displayed by a German, can surprise and break down barriers.
2. You’ve built a career advising on complex transactions and acting as an arbitrator. What’s the secret to staying on top in such a competitive and constantly evolving legal field?
Stay young, stay curious, never stop learning.
3. Having worked with businesses from start-ups to global corporations, what do you find most inspiring about entrepreneurs and business leaders outside of the legal context?
Self-confidence, making decisions, taking risks.
4. Your work often involves high-stakes negotiations. How do you personally manage stress and maintain perspective when the pressure is intense?
My family, especially my wife, provides a lot of strength and support. In high-tension situations, I try to keep my sense of humor and maybe crack a joke.
5. You studied and worked internationally. What cultural or life lessons from those experiences have stayed with you the most?
I have always found it amazing how lawyers from different jurisdictions approach the same legal issue in different ways, and almost always reach the same conclusion.
6. If you could go back and give your younger self one piece of advice before starting your international career, what would it be?
Learn English at a very early stage and keep improving your English skills.
7. For McGeorge alumni and students who want to build global careers, what habits or mindsets do you think matter most — not just for success, but for enjoying the journey?
Follow your heart and intuition, whether it is with or against the mainstream. True friends matter a lot – invest in the friendships that you built during your life.
Bio
Hubertus Leo was born in 1962. He completed his military service from 1981 to 1983 as a reserve officer. He studied law in Munich, Germany and spent one semester in Paris, France, graduating in 1988. He then completed his practical legal education (Referendar) in Berlin, Germany, graduating in 1991.
Following his legal training, he joined the corporate and M&A practice of Bruckhaus Westrick Stegemann (now Freshfields) in Hamburg, Germany. In 1994, he earned an LLM degree in Transnational Business Practice from the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento and completed an internship with Milbank in New York City. He rejoined Freshfields in 1995 and later worked with Luther & Partner in Hamburg. In 1999, he established his own M&A boutique law firm in Hamburg.
He is married and has three daughters. In 2010, he founded a non-profit association that offers summer schooling programs.