Lawyer
Dr. Sophie Julia Dannecker
Family Law | Child and Parental Law | International Family Law
Lawyer
Dr Sophie Julia Dannecker
Family Law
Child and Parental Law
International Family Law
Dr Sophie Julia Dannecker is a family law attorney at Schlun & Elseven Rechtsanwälte PartG mbB, specialising in child and parental law. She advises and represents clients in all family law matters, particularly parental responsibility and contact rights – including cross-border cases. Her academic expertise in international family law, combined with intercultural competence and personal commitment, allows her to support clients from diverse backgrounds through emotionally challenging and legally complex situations. She always prioritises the well-being of the children involved.
Child and parental law (Kindschaftsrecht) regulates the legal relationships between parents and children – covering parentage and legal parenthood, parental responsibility and contact rights, adoption, and child protection. This area of law demands more than legal expertise and professional experience. It requires empathy, intercultural sensitivity, and skill in handling complex family relationships. Dr. Dannecker brings all these qualities to her work, providing clients from any background with effective support in child and parental law matters.
Parental Responsibility and Contact Rights
Dr. Dannecker advises and represents parents on all aspects of parental responsibility (elterliche Sorge) and contact rights (Umgangsrecht). She develops solutions that protect the child’s interests whilst safeguarding her clients’ rights. Whether through out-of-court negotiations or court proceedings, she takes a balanced approach focused on de-escalation and the child’s welfare. Her conciliatory, child-centred approach helps achieve solutions even in emotionally charged conflicts.
International Child Law | Child Abduction
Cross-border custody and contact disputes create particular legal and practical challenges that require extensive specialist knowledge and strategic thinking. Dr. Dannecker has substantial experience handling complex international cases, particularly those involving parents of different nationalities, cross-border relocations with children, or international child abduction.
She has comprehensive knowledge of how family law applies in international cases and understands the relevant legal remedies – particularly the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. This allows her to handle even the most complicated cases with tailored strategies. She resolves complex legal questions and interprets foreign legal systems to help clients achieve swift, practical solutions.
Adoption and Legal Parenthood Following Surrogacy
Dr. Dannecker also advises on the recognition of international adoptions and clarification of legal parenthood following surrogacy arrangements abroad. These procedures are often experienced as existentially necessary and emotionally demanding. Her diversity-sensitive approach and personal commitment ensure clients are guided safely and lawfully through these sensitive processes.
Dr. Dannecker advises clients on all aspects of separation and divorce. She guides clients from the initial consultation through divorce proceedings to the final resolution of all ancillary matters – including maintenance, equalisation of accrued gains (division of matrimonial property), and adjustment of pension rights. Her approach includes both out-of-court settlements and court representation. She aims for amicable solutions that consider both parties’ interests and, particularly where there are children, create a constructive foundation for the future. Dr. Dannecker also advises on prenuptial agreements to prevent potential conflicts and to establish clear arrangements in the event of separation.
Dr. Sophie Julia Dannecker studied law at the universities of Passau and Bonn, specialising in private international law, particularly international family law. During her studies, she gained extensive international experience through several months working outside Europe – including with a women’s rights organisation in Nairobi (Kenya), Yaoundé (Cameroon), with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Johannesburg (South Africa), and at the German Consulate General in Cape Town (South Africa). These experiences shaped her intercultural and diversity-sensitive approach.
During and after her studies, Dr. Dannecker worked for several years as a research assistant at the Chair for German, European, and International Family Law and at the Institute for Private International Law and Comparative Law at the University of Bonn. During this time, she completed her doctoral dissertation on “The Limits of Parental Responsibility in Publishing Images and Videos of One’s Own Child on Social Networks and Video-Sharing Platforms,” examining the intersection between child law, personality rights, and the digital world.
During her legal traineeship (Referendariat), Dr. Dannecker worked at the Federal Office of Justice in the Central Authority for International Adoptions and in the department for international custody, child abduction, child protection, and adult protection matters. This experience at the administrative level gives her valuable insights into administrative procedures and international processes, which she uses to her clients’ advantage.
- Die Grenzen der elterlichen Sorge bei der Veröffentlichung von Bildern und Videos des eigenen Kindes in sozialen Netzwerken und auf Video-Sharing-Plattformen [The Limits of Parental Responsibility in Publishing Images and Videos of One’s Own Child on Social Networks and Video-Sharing Platforms], Dissertation Bonn 2024, open access DOI: 10.25353/ubtr-e564-39fe-8b18
- With B. Boehl, L. Grundmann, M. G. Nino Pedraza, Analysing the EU Parenthood Proposal – Many Questions and Some Tentative Answers, The European Association of Private International Law (EAPIL), Blog post https://eapil.org/2023/07/24/analysing-the-eu-parenthood-proposal-many-questions-and-some-tentative-answers/
- Workshop Digital Transformation in Law & Society: Comparative Perspectives on Families and New Media, FamRZ 2020, 1158-1160
- With S. Gössl & A. Schulze: “Was sollte nach der Einführung des dritten Geschlechts weiter geregelt werden? Eine erste Bestandsaufnahme” [What Should Be Further Regulated After the Introduction of the Third Gender? An Initial Assessment], in: NZFam 2020, 145-150
- With S. Gössl & A. Schulze: “First experiences with non-binary gender options in Germany”, Report for the Dutch Parliament, Annex 2 in van den Brink/Tigchelaar, Afwegingskader sekseregistratie Eindrapport, 2019, 41ff
- With S. Gössl, in: Pozzolo et al, “Debating ‘surrogacy’ or Pregnancy for others. A first round of opinions”, AG Rivista internazionale di studi di genere 10 (2016), 331, 346-350
Locations & Office Times
Mo – Fr: 09:00 – 19:00
24h Contact: 0221 93295960
Email: info@se-legal.de
Appointments made by prior reservation only.
Düsseldorfer Str. 70
40545 Düsseldorf
Tel: +49 211 171 8280
Fax: 0221 932959669
Locations & Office Times
Mo – Fr: 09:00 – 19:00
24h Contact: 0221 93295960
Email: info@se-legal.de
Appointments by prior reservation only.
Conference Rooms
Contact Dr. Sophie Dannecker
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