After completing his LLB Law and German at Cardiff University, Wales, UK , Chris completed a Magister Legum at Trier University, Germany and a Diploma in Legal Practice at Glamorgan University, Wales, UK.

Chris then gained a qualification in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) and moved to Germany. He worked for two years at Stevens English Training GmbH in Essen, NRW where he held seminars in contract law and taught business and legal English to such well-known companies as Steag, Hochtief, RWE and Siemens.

In 1998, Chris accepted a post as Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter at the Chair of Professor Dr. Reiner Schulze at Münster University where he managed a project sponsored by the Volkswagen Foundation. He also lectured in contract, business and English legal system for the university’s FFA programme. In 2001, Chris spent 18 months at Nijmegen University, Netherlands as a researcher within the EU’s TMR Network. In 2003 he was employed as a wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter at the Chair of Professor H-M. Wolffgang, where he was the Course Co-ordinator of the Master of Customs Administration, Policy and Law until 2008.

After completing his doctoral thesis on the legal repercussions of US Customs’ Container Security Initiative, Chris worked at the TTA Europe in Münster as a consultant. Since 2011 he has been employed at the AWA Foreign Trade Academy as Head of Studies for the Master in Customs, Taxation and International Trade Law.

Chris is a member of the International Network of Customs Universities (INCU) and, as representative of the ICTL, has contributed to the development of the PICARD Standards and EU Customs Competency Framework. His freelance activities include lecturing on WTO law, contract law and criminal law, legal translation and conference reporting.