Lawyers in Germany are called Rechtsanwalt and Rechtsanwaltin, respectively. Only fully qualified attorneys can call themselves Rechtsanwalt or Anwalt. The term “Anwalt” in German corresponds to the American word “counselor” in English.
There are several ways of working as a lawyer in Germany: as a self-employed lawyer with your own office, in a partnership with one or more partners or as an employee in a law firm.
Uwe J. Fischer is a German lawyer working in all areas of real estate. With several UK/US educated lawyers and staff we have helped several hundred expat investors acquire and/or sell property in Germany. Our expertise encompasses all preparatory measures for such transactions.
The regulatory authorities responsible for lawyers are the Federal German Bar Association and the regional bar associations ( Rechtsanwaltskammern ).
This is supplemented by the Rules of Professional Practice ( Berufsordnung für Rechtsanwälte ), made by the Federal German Bar Association ( Bundesrechtsanwaltskammer ). Together, these regulations set out the basic rules of qualification as a lawyer, the general obligations of a lawyer and the disciplinary powers of the bar associations.
Foreign lawyers from EU member states can work in private practice as a foreign lawyer in Germany. After practising in Germany for three years, an EU lawyer can apply to be admitted as a German lawyer (Directive 98/5/EC on qualifications of lawyers (Qualification of Lawyers Directive)).
If you have completed a law degree in a member country of the European Union or the European Economic Area or in Switzerland, you can complete a two-year legal internship (Referendariat) in Germany – and then apply to practise as a lawyer after successfully completing the Second State Examination.
In order to actually practice law in Germany, one has to complete a two-year legal training (aptly described as an “apprenticeship” model) before being eligible to take the German bar exam. To conclude, an average German law student spends seven to 11 years to complete studies and to be admitted to the bar.
In part, this competitive recruitment market is because fewer people are qualifying as lawyers in Germany. More than 10,300 people qualified as lawyers in Germany in 2000, but by 2017 that had fallen to a little more than 7,500, according to most recent data available from the German Federal Office of Justice.
Germany. It may come as a surprise, but Germany is a country to avoid as a lawyer. Officially, you can work as a jurist, but Germans are famous for loving fancy titles. Only very rare exceptions can make it in the legal world without the titles, especially within law.
M., Germany is a great place in which to forge or further a law career. It's Europe's largest economy and holds significant economic and political influence among EU countries, and beyond. This means employment prospects can be excellent, with the country's economy and job market currently booming.
Qualifying as a lawyer in Germany is a two-step system. There are two bar exams. At first a prospective lawyer studies for the first degree in law (Erste Juristische PrĂĽfung) which takes about five years. Passed studies, he or she may sit for the first bar (e.g. erste Staatsexamen).
RechtsanwaltThe official professional title of a German lawyer is Rechtsanwalt (male) oder Rechtsanwältin (female). Only fully qualified German lawyers who have passed both legal exams are entitled to refer to themselves as “Rechtsanwalt” or – in short – “Anwalt”.
Obtaining a German Law Degree To earn a law degree in Germany, students must take two state exams and go through a 6 year long curriculum.
A person working as a Lawyer in Germany typically earns around 7,270 EUR per month. Salaries range from 3,350 EUR (lowest) to 11,600 EUR (highest). This is the average monthly salary including housing, transport, and other benefits. Lawyer salaries vary drastically based on experience, skills, gender, or location.
€108,966 a yearSalary Recap The average pay for a Lawyer is €108,966 a year and €52 an hour in Germany. The average salary range for a Lawyer is between €75,048 and €135,907.
People who go on to become doctors and dentists in Germany earn an average of €79,538 per year. In second place is law: qualified lawyers earn €74,013 on average. Law and medicine programmes are two of the toughest to get into in Germany, both demanding near perfect scores in school leaving exams.
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The term Regulatory Practice refers to an area of law comprising the sovereign supervision and control of certain activities or businesses deemed to carry risks on an individual or systemic level that warrant entry restrictions, compliance requirements and an ongoing monitoring.
The Federal German Bar Association offers an online register of all admitted lawyers in Germany. It includes a search option and can be accessed via www.rechtsanwaltsregister.org. In addition, some local bar associations offer an online register for the respective district with more specific search options (for example, allowing searches for lawyers who specialise in certain fields of law).
The lawyer must constantly assess any information they receive about the client's case or project and instruct the client about the possibilities and risks of certain undertakings. In particular, a lawyer must advise their client on ways to mitigate legal risks. However, these obligations end when a case is finished.
Lawyers must pass two state exams. The first state exam concludes the academic education at university and the second concludes a subsequent two-year traineeship ( Rechtsreferendariat ). This requirement is the same for private practice and in-house lawyers.
The confidentiality of communications between a lawyer and their client is protected by the right to refuse to testify ( section 383 (1), paragraph 6 and section 53 (1), paragraphs 2 and 3, Code of Criminal Procedure ).
When a lawyer becomes aware of a conflict of interest, the lawyer must resign all mandates concerned. Continuing to act while conflicted will result in the loss of the lawyer's right to remuneration, as the retainer contract will be considered void. Acting under a conflict of interest might also be a criminal offence, with sanctions of up to five years' imprisonment ( section 356, German Criminal Code ). The lawyer may also be sanctioned by the bar association, with sanctions including exclusion from the bar.
Traditionally, the provision of legal services is reserved for lawyers. However, legal services can be provided as a supplementary service to another main profession ( section 5, Legal Services Act (Rechtsdienstleistungsgesetz) ). This includes, for example, legal advice provided by insurance advisers related to legal aspects of insurance, or by banks related to investment management issues. In addition, section 2 (2) of the Legal Services Act allows for the collection of debts ( Inkasso) as legal services .
One lawyer cannot represent more than one party in a transaction because this usually entails conflicting interests. The only exception is a case where the parties have already agreed on everything and only appoint the lawyer to formalise their agreement.#N#The laws on the conflict of interest require the lawyer to resign all mandates concerned. Once a conflict of interest arises, it is not sufficient to resign only one mandate. Therefore, it is important for German lawyers to maintain a working system designed to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest from the beginning of any mandate.