Dr. Alice Bertram

Dr. Alice Bertram joined Leuphana University Lüneburg as a postdoctoral researcher in November 2024. She is part of the interdisciplinary research project “Integrative Mapping and Prioritization of Atlantic Protected Areas” (IMAPP) with Jun.-Prof. Dr. Valentin Schatz. IMAPP focuses on mapping and prioritization of marine protected areas within the framework of the BBNJ agreement (Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction). The position is at the Institute of Sustainability Governance (INSUGO). Dr. Alice Bertram is also a lecturer at the INSUGO.

Previously, Dr. Alice Bertram conducted research in the fields of sociology of law, philosophy of law and constitutional law, in particular as part of her dissertation at the Free University of Berlin. In her work “Zeit als Ressource im Recht” ("Time as a Resource in Law", published in 2024 by Nomos Verlag), she studies how law influences if and how much time individuals have for different purposes and which constitutional limits arguably restrain negative impacts of time as a resource. She develops the approach of understanding time as a fundamental resource to which everyone has an equal claim and which is only limited by external influence. Her research sheds light not only on the legal mechanisms of time allocation, but also on related questions of justice, particularly with regard to autonomy and social participation, and argues for a “temporal subsistence minimum”.

Professional experience 

* Associate in the ESG team of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Berlin
* Legal trainee at the Berlin Court of Appeal with postings at the Federal Chancellery (foreign and security policy), Geulen & Klinger Rechtsanwälte (environmental and constitutional law) and the Permanent Mission of Germany to the United Nations in New York (climate and environment) (2021-2023)
* Researcher at the Free University of Berlin (2018-2022)
* Researcher at the German Research Institute for Public Administration, Speyer (2019-2020)

Education

* Second state law examination in Berlin (2023)
* Doctorate at the Free University of Berlin (“Time as a Resource in Law”), summa cum laude (2023)
* First state law examination in Berlin (2017)
* Semester abroad at Columbia Law School, New York (2015)

Teaching

* Introduction to Law and the Sustainability Transformation (zusammen mit Prof. Dr. Valentin Schatz, Leuphana Universität)
* Einführung in das Öffentliche Recht (Technische Universität Ilmenau)
* Ressourcenallokation im Recht (I & II, Berlin University Alliance/ Freie Universität Berlin) - Forschendes Lernen in studentischen Forschungsgruppe
* Methodenkurse Grundrechte (zwei Kurse, Freie Universität Berlin)
* Methodenkurse Verwaltungsrecht (zwei Kurse, Freie Universität Berlin)