Paul Mertenskötter advises companies, investors, and governments on a range of international trade, regulatory, and public policy matters. He has particular expertise in the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and with trade agreements such as the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI), and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). His experience includes assisting clients in connection with complex customs, import, and product regulatory matters, foreign investment screening, foreign subsides regulation, as well as advice on the regulatory and funding elements of the European Green Deal. Mr. Mertenskötter is also part of the firm’s Business and Human Rights practice and he advises companies on internal due diligence processes, compliance statements, and legislative advocacy. He has handled matters before the European Commission, the European Parliament, and EU Member States.
Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Mertenskötter clerked at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, and was a Fellow at the Institute for International Law and Justice at NYU Law School. His work has been published with Oxford University Press, the Law & Society Review, and the Cornell Law Review.
Mr. Mertenskötter received his J.D., cum laude, from New York University School of Law, where he was a Guarini Government Service Scholar, Robert McKay Scholar, and the recipient of the Jerome Lipper Prize for outstanding work in international law. Prior to law school, Mr. Mertenskötter briefly worked in management consulting at McKinsey & Company and at a German think tank in Berlin. He received his B.A., with first class honors and distinction, from the University of York, where was awarded the PPE Finals Prize.