Gerlinde Berger-Walliser

Associate Professor

Business Law

Education/Professional Certification

Ph.D. in Law, University of Bielefeld (Germany)
Licentiate in International Transactions Involving the United States, University of California Davis
Second Legal State Examination, Heidelberg (Germany)
First Legal State Examination, University of Bielefeld (Germany)

Areas of Expertise

International business law, private international law, comparative law, civil law systems (especially Germany and France), proactive law, contract visualization, legal design, corporate social responsibility.

Biography

Gerlinde Berger-Walliser’s research focuses on comparing current issues in U.S. business law with European civil law systems, including transnational jurisdiction, consumer protection, law and technology, comparative trademark law, and law and accounting. She is particularly interested in the positive role business can play in transnational, intergovernmental, and public-private governance, with particular attention to corporate social responsibility and social change. In addition to her international focus Professor Berger-Walliser conducts research in proactive law, contract visualization and legal design.

Her work has been published in leading European and U.S. journals including the American Business Law Journal, Columbia Journal of Transnational Law, Northwestern Journal of Int’l Law & Business, University of Pennsylvania Journal of Business Law, Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, and Georgetown Journal of Int’l Law. She has received multiple research-related awards including two First Place Distinguished Paper Awards from the Pacific South West Academy of Legal Studies in Business.

Dr. Berger-Walliser is article editor at American Business Law Journal. She is member of the Academic Advisory Board of WorldCC, founding member of International Network for Proactive Law, Executive Board Member of “Association Française de Droit et Management,” and Vice-President of the international section of the Academy of Legal Studies in Business. Prior to joining UConn, Dr. Berger-Walliser held academic positions in France and Germany and was a member of the German Bar. She is fluent in German and French.

At UConn, Professor Berger-Walliser teaches in the School of Business MBA and undergraduate programs. She is inaugural Co-Director of EUROBIZ, a dual-degree program in Business and German Studies and Academic Director Master in Social Responsibility & Impact in Business.

Featured Publications

International and Comparative Business Law

Berger-Walliser, Gerlinde, Stefan Hock, and Bjorn Walliser, Disclosure Effects in Influencer Marketing: Implications for Courts, Regulators and Marketers,44 Northwestern Journal of International Law and Business (forthcoming 2024)
Berger-Walliser, Gerlinde, “Reforming International Human Rights Litigation against Corporate Defendants after Jesner v. Arab Bank”, 21 University of Pennsylvania Journal of Business Law 757 (2019). Download Now
Berger-Walliser, Gerlinde, “Reconciling Transnational Jurisdiction: A Comparative Approach to Personal Jurisdiction over Foreign Corporate Defendants in U.S. Courts,” 51 Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law 1243 (2018). Download Now
Schulzke, Kurt S. and Berger-Walliser, Gerlinde, “Toward a Unified Theory of Materiality in Securities Law,” 56 Columbia Journal of Transnational Law 6 (2017). Download Now
Berger-Walliser, Gerlinde and Bird, Robert C., “The Impact of Plain Packaging Regulation on Illicit and Non-Illicit Tobacco Products in the European Union,” 38 North Carolina Journal of International Law and Commercial Regulation 1015 (2013). Download Now
Schulzke, Kurt S., Berger-Walliser, Gerlinde and Marchini, Pier L., “Lexis Nexus Complexus: Comparative Contract Law and International Accounting Collide in the IASB-FASB Revenue Recognition Exposure Draft,” 46 Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law 515 (2013). Download Now
Berger-Walliser, Gerlinde, Stalling Williams, Melanie, Walliser, Björn and Bender, Mark, “Bavarian Blondes Don’t Need a Visa: A Comparative Law Analysis of Ambush Marketing,” 21 Tulane Journal of International and Comparative Law 1 (2012). Download Now
Saunders, Kurt M. and Berger-Walliser, Gerlinde, “The liability of online markets for counterfeit goods: A comparative analysis of secondary trademark infringement in the United States and Europe,” 32 Northwestern Journal of International Law and Business 37 (2011). Download Now

Corporate Governance, CSR, and Social Change

Madden, Thomas M. and Berger-Walliser, Gerlinde, Making Sense of ESG with the SEC, 25 University of Pennsylvania Journal of Business Law 927-979 (2023). Download Now
Gerlinde Berger-Walliser, Comparative Capitalism: Contrasting American and European Systems, in Inara Scott (ed.), Sustainable Capitalism: Contradiction in Terms, or Essential Work of the Anthropocene?, University of Utah Press (2024)
Harper Ho, Virginia E., Berger-Walliser, Gerlinde and Chambers, Rachel, Toward Corporate Group Accountability, in Petrin, Martin and Witting, Christian (eds.), Handbook of Corporate Liability, Edgar Elgar (2023).
Chambers, Rachel and Berger-Walliser, Gerlinde, “The Future of International Corporate Human Rights Litigation: A Transatlantic Comparison,” 58 American Business Law Journal 570 (2021). Download Now
Hiller, Janine S., Berger-Walliser, Gerlinde and Brantly, Aaron F., “Critical Protection for the Network of Persons,” 25 University of Pennsylvania Journal of Law and Social Change 115 (2021). Download Now
Berger-Walliser, Gerlinde and Scott, Inara, “Redefining Corporate Social Responsibility in an Era of Globalization and Regulatory Hardening,” 55 American Business Law Journal (2018). Download Now
Berger-Walliser, Gerlinde, Shrivastava, Paul and Sulkowski, Adam, “Using Proactive Legal Strategy for Corporate Environmental Sustainability,” 6 Michigan Journal of Environmental and Administrative Law 1 (2016). Download Now
Park, Stephen K. / Berger-Walliser, Gerlinde, “A Firm-Driven Approach to Global Governance and Sustainability”, 52 American Business Law Journal 255 (2015). Download Now
Berger-Walliser, Gerlinde / Shrivastava, Paul, “Beyond Compliance: Sustainable Development, Business, and Proactive Law”, 46 Georgetown Journal of International Law 417 (2015). Download Now

Proactive Law and Contract Visualisation

Berger-Walliser, Gerlinde, Thomas D. Barton, and Helena Haapio, “From Visual Law to Legal Design: Images as a Collaborative and Creative Process for Legal Problem-Solving,” 54 American Business Law Journal 347 (2017). Download Now
Barton, Thomas D., Berger-Walliser, Gerlinde and Haapio, Helena, “Visualization: Seeing Contracts for What They Are and What They Could Become,” 19 Journal of Law, Business and Ethics 47 (2013). Download Now
Berger-Walliser, Gerlinde, Bird, Robert C. and Haapio, Helena, “Promoting Business Success through Contract Visualization,” 17 Journal of Law, Business and Ethics 55 (2011). Download Now