Prof. Dr Dr h.c. Pfeiffer is director of the Institute for Comparative Law, Conflict of Laws and International Business Law. From 2007 to 2013 he was Vice-Rector at Heidelberg University and from 2010 the First Vice-Rector for international relations.

Prof. Pfeiffer graduated in law at the Goethe University Frankfurt. He then took his doctorate here (1986) and earned his habilitation in 1993 after a research time at Yale Law School. In 1994, he was appointed to the chair of civil law, international private law, comparative law and civil procedure law at Bielefeld University, where he worked unto 2002 and also served as chair of the Extended Senate. From 1996 to 2002 he was a judge at the Hamm higher regional court. Since March 2002 he has taught and done research as a professor of civil law, international private law, comparative law and international procedure law at the Law Faculty of Heidelberg University. From 2004–2006 he was dean of the law faculty. He has accepted visiting professorships at the Georgetown Law Center in Washington (2005 and 2010), the Straus Institute for International Dispute Resolution in California (2014), KU Leuven (2015) and Hong Kong City University (2006).

In 2010, Prof. Pfeiffer received the Rio Branco Order of the Federal Republic of Brazil and in 2015 an honorary doctorate from the International Hellenic University. Further, he is a member of the German Council for International Private Law and a member of the board of both the association of teachers of civil law and the German-American law association.

He is the Heidelberg law faculty’s coordinator for its exchange with the law faculty of the University of Montpellier and for the post-graduate course for international graduates.

He has been a member of the Heidelberg University Council since 2014. On 12 October 2021, he was elected Vice-Chairman by the Council.