Luana Matoso, LL.M. (Hamburg)

Main Fields of Research

Private international law, international civil procedure, methods of comparative law

Vita

Luana Matoso studied law at the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (Brazil) and the Université d'Angers (France). After admission to the Brazilian bar, she earned an LLM in private international law and German civil law from the University of Hamburg, where she is currently pursuing her PhD under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Ralf Michaels.

Her doctoral research examines the interpretation of choice-of-court agreements across multiple legal systems, seeking to understand how the differences in interpretation reflect different paradigms of jurisdiction. As part of her research, Luana completed a research stay at University College London from February to May 2025 and participated in the Programme in European Private Law for Postgraduates, with stays in Münster, Krakow, Leuven, and Genoa.

Luana joined the Institute in August 2023 as a research associate in the Centre of Expertise on Latin America. Among her tasks, she writes expert opinions on foreign law for German courts. Before joining the Institute, she worked at the Bucerius Center for International Dispute Resolution under Prof. Dr. Stefan Kröll and Prof. Dr. Karsten Thorn, in private practice at an international commercial law firm, and at the International Organisation for Migration (UN Migration). Earlier in her career, she worked at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law in Heidelberg, first as an intern and later as a consultant.