Between paragraphs and project financing: business law studies provide a legal foundation

When Hartmut Weissmann talks about contracts, it sounds like experience - after decades between figures, negotiations and signatures. Born in Berlin, he has worked in banking for over 40 years and has been responsible for the financing of major projects at a pan-European bank in Frankfurt for 20 years. Now he is about to retire - and has nevertheless decided to go back to university. In the winter semester 2022/23, he started the distance learning course in business law for corporate practice at RPTU Kaiserslautern. This summer, he successfully completed it with a Master of Laws (LL.M.).

Studying as an optional extra - not a duty

In his position, he works with contracts on a daily basis - and, as he emphasizes, they are "essentially always applied law". That's why a deeper dive into law has appealed to him for a very long time. "I can look back on a very fulfilling professional life. At our company, I am a specialist for large-scale project financing in French-speaking countries. However, I am now entering a phase in which I would like to pass on and hand over to the next generation step by step," says Weissmann. Parallel to his gradual departure into "active" retirement, the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in his department is enjoying a steep career. "I have already asked myself how much legal understanding and judgment will still have to come from humans in the future," says the newly qualified lawyer critically.

As AI is an everyday tool for the next generation, it was important for Weissmann to be able to hand over competently. "For me, this meant that I wanted to get to grips with it in depth. In my Master's thesis, I therefore chose a topic in which I examine whether an AI can be given legal classification for my field of work."

Between legal precision and AI doubts

The decisive factor here is his special professional case: European large-scale project financing not only concerns German law, but also different European legal systems, which must be included in the assessment. The exact title: The transfer of construction risks from the concessionaire to the general contractor with different scope of liability of the contractual partners - legal due diligence in project financing with the support of generative AI-based large language models: an empirical study.

His conclusion is clear: "The study shows that generative AI can provide valuable support in the legal analysis of complex project financing. However, it is no substitute for legal methodology or the professional judgment of experienced legal advisors. Its benefits currently lie primarily in increasing efficiency and linguistic precision, not in independent legal assessment." An insight that, for him, not only has academic value, but also practical significance in everyday professional life.

Why at RPTU?

Before deciding on the digital lecture hall, he first presented the study program to law firms with which he regularly works. The unanimous conclusion: the program at RPTU in cooperation with Saarland University has a solid foundation. "But there were immediate doubts as to whether this scope could be achieved in just four semesters of standard study time. That spurred me on even more," smiles Weissmann.

"I love lifelong learning and am simply incredibly hungry for knowledge. You can definitely use that for a degree course like this," he smiles. When he passed his last exam and had his LL.M. degree in his pocket, he reported back to his employer - who was impressed and promptly contributed to the tuition fees retroactively.

The fact that Hartmut Weissmann chose RPTU, of all universities, was due to the combination of depth of content and flexibility. "Other universities also have LL.M. degrees in their portfolio," he says. "But none were as open as at RPTU when it came to the question of admission." The university recognized his 20 years of professional experience in European project financing as relevant - without any bureaucratic hurdles. "That impressed me. This flexibility and practical relevance run through the entire program."

Demanding, but rewarding

He was particularly impressed by the brilliance of the course content. "The course demanded commitment - the officially stated 20 hours per week was often significantly more for me." Alongside a full-time job, it was definitely a time challenge for him. He studied in the evenings, at weekends, on the train or sometimes early in the morning before work. Hartmut Weissmann didn't see this as a burden. "I really wanted to do it. I also have the advantage that I can afford the time - our four daughters are grown up, so I don't have any care responsibilities alongside my job."

He also found the structure of the distance learning course ideal: clearly structured, with practical modules and easy-to-understand teaching of even complex legal topics. The theory was very important - but the focus was on applicability in many areas. A convincing concept for Weissmann.

"I particularly appreciated the way the lecturers treated me as an equal. I had the feeling that this was because many of us students are fully immersed in our own professional lives. That creates a special learning atmosphere." He still had stage fright before the exams - not just because of the material, but mainly because of writing by hand. "That's when you realize that you type almost everything in your professional life," he says with a laugh. But he has mastered that too. "Regardless of this rather minor hurdle, I have to say that my studies have given me the expected gain in legal expertise: I am now able to classify legal issues relating to large-scale European project financing from a technical perspective." This is precisely the interface he has been working on for years.

Looking ahead: passing on knowledge

When Hartmut Weissmann retires, he wants to remain active. "I can well imagine volunteering for an arbitration tribunal," he says. There he would like to contribute his decades of experience in project financing and his in-depth knowledge of contract law. "I have learned to look at things from several angles - economically, legally and humanly. That is worth its weight in gold in such proceedings."

At the same time, he sees it as his generation's responsibility to pass on knowledge - and not to demonize new developments, but to accompany them critically. "AI will change many things. But it is no substitute for judgment, experience and conscience. That's exactly what we need to pass on to the next generation."

For him, the Master's in Business Law closes a meaningful circle of interdisciplinarity. "For a long time, law was part of my daily work - business administration meets law. By studying at RPTU, I have given the existing interface a professional framework."