Moving to Germany at some point during my career

[s.omething]

Hi everyone,

This is a bit random maybe but don't know if anybody has any insight...

One of my life dreams is to move to Germany one day. Don't ask why, it just is! I am a Germanophile.

I have a law degree and just got a training contract offer.

How common is it / how possible is it, for UK-qualified lawyers to move to Germany? Has this ever been known to happen or is this just a pipe dream? What might be a conceivable route, if any? Is there a particular practice area I could try to qualify into that make it more likely (like competition law)?

Thanks 🇩🇪

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi everyone,

This is a bit random maybe but don't know if anybody has any insight...

One of my life dreams is to move to Germany one day. Don't ask why, it just is! I am a Germanophile.

I have a law degree and just got a training contract offer.

How common is it / how possible is it, for UK-qualified lawyers to move to Germany? Has this ever been known to happen or is this just a pipe dream? What might be a conceivable route, if any? Is there a particular practice area I could try to qualify into that make it more likely (like competition law)?

Thanks 🇩🇪

I’d have a look on LinkedIn to see if you can find people who have made that type of move and connect with them to ask for their advice on what’s the best way to approach it.

I am assuming you are fluent/business fluent in German?

Definitely not a pipe dream though

 

[s.omething]

Great idea re Linkedin Jessica - I'll do that

 

[TC fiend]

Hey, I know people who have done secondments in German offices, and even a German partner at my firm who did her TC in London and then moved back to Germany with the firm. So definitely possible! Easier if you speak fluent German, but not necessary.

 

[s.omething]

All, thought I'd comment here on my findings in case anybody else has curiosity about Germany:

I emailed a legal recruiter who was listed as the contact for a variety of English speaking legal roles in Germany, and she was gracious enough to have a phone call with me and talk to me about possible long-term routes. She told me that she places UK-qualified lawyers into German roles quite frequently, and that most frequently it will be for finance roles in Frankfurt - however, that there are also occasionally other roles in other cities such as Munich, for corporate lawyers (I think she mentioned other areas but that was the one I remember her mentioning). The level of German required apparently will vary depending on the type of role - stronger German is required for corporate than for finance, I seem to remember her saying - but that full fluency tends not to be required, on the assumption that you can focus on learning it while you're there. (Of course, my goal is to become fluent in German over the next few years anyway, but... just passing this on!)

But she told me it was very far from a pipe dream and could certainly be a goal of mine over the next few years