Actually, I never intended to work for an international commercial law firm as my mind was dominated by stereotypical images. My clearly defined goal was to become a judge. Nevertheless, I did not want to miss out on the opportunity of acquiring an insight into the work of a commercial law firm during my legal clerkship. So, I started my career as a lawyer almost without expecting too much. Fortunately, things turned out quite differently.

Now, I work in a fantastic international team on challenging cases and complex legal issues, and do so in an environment where I am constantly developing. Joining Freshfields was exactly the right decision for me and I am glad that I was willing to get involved in the “big law firm” experiment.

What’s the best way to describe my job? That is not an easy question to answer because my work is so varied and versatile that I cannot list everything. Broadly speaking, I do everything related to media, digitalization, technology and intellectual property. I frequently work on contracts, ie I draft, revise and negotiate them, and help clients with their interpretation and implementation. I handle court and regulatory proceedings and advise clients, usually within the framework of international transactions.

I find it particularly important to be able to apply my legal skills in a practical way in all these activities, and also have the opportunity, on a daily basis, to think outside the box. It is great to see how, through teamwork within a project, different areas of law all feed into a single joint outcome. In my first year at university, I heard that law is not boring but lively and relevant to everyday practice. During my studies I had my doubts, but who doesn’t? Now, I am pleased to be able to say that, every day, I experience again and again how vibrant the law can be, and indeed should be.

During my studies, I took part in Vis Moot, the international moot court competition, which drew my attention to dispute resolution for the first time. My first contact with Freshfields, however, was initially in the area of corporate law, which I also found very interesting. However, dispute resolution continued to intrigue me and when I met my current lead partner personally during a recruiting event, it became clear that I wanted to join Freshfields in this area.

The fields of activity for lawyers can roughly be described like this: one field concerns the advisory activity so that the client “locks the stable door before the horse has bolted”, and the other field concerns the issue of when “the horse has already bolted”. Our practice group deals with the latter. This is done out of court, but also in front of state courts or arbitration tribunals — and, for me, this is the classic image of a lawyer. Since it is possible to dispute almost anything, the range of disputes we cover is very wide. As a result, we often have areas that overlap with other practice groups which support us in litigation in specialised fields.

A particularly exciting case that I have been working on since my first day at Freshfields concerns the defence of a client from the automotive industry. In particular, the highly complex nature of this case is due to the large number of procedures to be handled independently, and the high degree of autonomy that results from this. A big plus is also the large number of hearings. You don’t always get this amount of court experience. Despite the high degree of autonomy in handling cases, I also work together very closely with a large number of colleagues and contacts on the client side, both locally and internationally. The less experienced members of the team are also involved in this intensive collaboration right from the start.

For me, this daily interaction with my colleagues, which also includes the partners and occurs very much on an equal footing, is a great strength and makes Freshfields different, and is one of the reasons why I enjoy coming to work every day.

As a lawyer specialising in banking supervisory law, I deal with issues relating to the regulation of credit or financial services institutions. This includes an incredible range of topics such as licensing requirements, equity base and risk management of institutions, or areas such as money laundering, the law on trading in securities or on payment services. As a result of the financial crisis, we increasingly advise clients on reorganisation and liquidation law issues. Due to the digitalisation of the financial sector and the growth of the FinTech industry, we deal increasingly with new financial technologies and classify them in terms of regulation.

During my studies, I did not come into contact with banking supervisory law. I gained my first experience in this area during my time as a lawyer at Freshfields. At the time, as it is now, it was a challenge to try and maintain an overview in the ongoing “regulatory tsunami” that has taken place since the beginning of the banking crisis. Due to the wide range of issues as well as the in-depth legal work and the constantly changing conditions, work in the field of banking supervisory law is never dull, and the learning curve is very steep.

In my team, I really appreciate the fact that we can share information with each other and, in particular, discuss our questions with partners at any time. Their experience and knowledge are enormously helpful, especially since, at the Frankfurt office, we are the only practice group in Germany to advise on banking supervisory law. Of course, our daily routine requires us to work with colleagues from other practice groups or offices too. I find the international nature of Freshfields particularly remarkable and this is reflected in the team work and collaboration, not only at the firm itself, but also with regard to our clients.