Rechtsanwalt (German Lawyer) – Partner

Dr. Jochen Eichler

Thomas Schuster advises the public sector on digital transformation, both legally and in terms of strategic and conceptual issues.

In particular, he supports ministries, municipalities, universities and other public bodies in e-government law and administrative digitization, and has made a name for himself as a highly respected and well-connected expert in the special field of implementing innovative, digital projects in the public sector, including in the smart city context. His main field of activity over the past two years has been supporting public administration in the implementation of the OZG as well as the internal digitization of the administration. In this context, he also advises on the interfaces to public procurement law, such as in the area of IT security and data protection.

In addition to this special expertise, he is also active in administrative and constitutional law, in particular in the areas of information law, subsidy or grant law, higher education law, as well as in the legal design of state cooperation models (administrative agreements, organizational law and tasks / competencies, including intermunicipal cooperation).

Thomas Schuster has been working almost exclusively in the field of administrative digitalization and e-government for several years. Until joining EICHLER KERN KLEIN in January 2023, he held various positions in the judiciary, academia and the legal profession, in particular as a research assistant at the Federal Constitutional Court (BVR Masing department). Most recently, he was a partner at GvW Graf von Westphalen in their Stuttgart office.

He regularly publishes on his thematic focus areas and participates as a speaker at conferences and other events - most recently, for example, at Baden-Württemberg 4.0 and at the Digital State. He has lectureships at the German University of Administrative Sciences Speyer and at the Kehl University of Applied Sciences for Public Administration, both on the topics of administrative digitization and e-government.

Publications

  • Heiter bis wolkig? Die EVB-IT Cloud sind veröffentlicht, MMR Aktuell 2022, 447354
  • Stadtportale im Internet als Ausdruck digitaler, vernetzter und moderner Verwaltung, zugleich Kommentar zu OLG Hamm, Urteil vom June 10, 2021, 4 U 1/20, K&R 2021, 677.
  • Die Verantwortung des Staates für die Eisenbahn - Zur verfassungs-rechtlichen Herleitung einer staatlichen Sicherstellungsverantwortung und zu ihrer Normierung in Art. 87e Abs. 4 GG, Diss. Speyer, 1st ed. 2020, Verlag Tectum, Baden-Baden 2020.
  • Der Wille zur Beibehaltung der Vorratsdatenspeicherung, simultaneously commentary on BVerwG, Beschluss vom 25.09.2019, 6 C 12.18, K&R 2020, 103 (together with Dirk Müllmann).
  • Commentary on §§ 35a-35c BVerfGG, in: Grünewald/Walter (eds.), Beck ́scher Online-Kommentar zum Bundesverfassungsgerichtsgesetz, via Beck-Online, currently: 14th edition (as of December 2022).
  • Commentary on, inter alia, §§ 63-69 EEG (Besondere Ausgleichsregelung), in: Boewe/Greb (eds.),Beck ́scher Online-Kommentar zum Gesetz für den Vorrang erneuerbarer Energien - EEG 2021,Munich 2015 ff, via Beck-Online, currently: 12th edition (June 2022).
  • Commentary on, inter alia, §§ 63-69 EEG (Besondere Ausgleichsregelung), in: Boewe/Greb (eds.), Beck ́scher Online-Kommentar zum Gesetz für den Vorrang erneuerbarer Energien - EEG 2017, Verlag C. H. Beck, Munich 2018 (print version).
  • The Act on the Better Exchange of Information in the Fight against International Terrorism, in: Neue Juristische Wochenschrift (NJW) 2016, 3063 (together with Fredrik Roggan).
  • Commentary on Section 93 BVerfGG, in: Burkiczak/Schorkopf/Dollinger (eds.), Kommentar zum Bundesverfassungsgerichtsgesetz, 3rd edition, Verlag C. F. Mueller, Heidelberg 2015.
  • Das Grundrecht auf Versammlungsfreiheit, in: Becker/Lange (eds.), Linien der Rechtsprechung des Bundesverfassungsgerichts - erörtert von den Wissenschaftlichen Mitarbeitern, vol. 3, Verlag deGruyter, Berlin 2014 (with Richard Wiedemann).
  • Gesetzgebungskompetenzen als Grenze der Verbraucherinformation durch den Bund, in: Verwaltungsarchiv (VerwArch) 2013, 64 (together with Juliane Geldermann).
  • Leistungsvergleiche im Bundesstaat und föderale Kompetenzverteilung - Zugleich eine Bestimmung von Anwendungsbereich und Regelungsgehalt des Art. 91d GG, in: Deutsches Verwaltungsblatt (DVBl.) 2012, 525.
  • Heiko Höfler/Wolfgang Bayer (eds.), Vergaberecht für Bau- und Infrastrukturprojekte, 3rd edition, Verlag C. H. Beck, Munich 2012 (co-author).
  • Die unternehmerische Freiheit der Eisenbahnen des Bundes, in: Die öffentliche Verwaltung (DÖV) 2011, 761.
  • Innerstaatliche Geschäfte als Herausforderung für das Vergabe- und Gemeindewirtschaftsrecht, in: InfrastrukturRecht (IR) 2010, 304 (together with Thomas Mösinger and Calle Plantiko).

In addition, various publications in e.g. newsletters on topics of digital transformation in the public sector and participation in corresponding conferences, most recently Digitaler Staat (moderator of a panel) and Baden-Württemberg 4.0 (discussant in a panel). In addition, most recently initiator of a short conference on the challenges of municipal administration digitization on May 18, 2022 in Stuttgart together with the Speyer Research Institute for Public Administration.