Germany

Jones Day’s German offices seek candidates for our 2022 Ukraine Junior Lawyer Program. The program is available for advanced students enrolled in a Ukrainian law school and to recent graduates interested in working in a global law firm.

Learn more about the program here.

Jones Day opened the Frankfurt Office in 1991, expanded to Munich in 2003, and opened in Düsseldorf in 2012. The Firm's commitment to its German practice reflects the critical role Germany plays in the global economy and its status as one of the most important legal markets in the world. As German investment expands internationally, Jones Day provides clients with sophisticated analysis and risk assessment of new markets, and zealously defends its clients' interests.

Bijan Tavakoli, European Counsel at Jones Day in Frankfurt, answers the question, "Why Jones
Day?"

Testimonial from Maximilian Lüderwaldt, Trainee, Düsseldorf

Since September 2021 I am a legal trainee in the Düsseldorf office of Jones Day. I applied to the office a year in advance while moving to North Rhine-Westphalia and was invited to an interview only two days after submitting my application.

My interview was in-person and started with a conversation with two of the Firm´s partners. After an hour, they were joined by an associate and a research assistant. I found this format quite helpful as an applicant, because professionals at multiple stages of their careers and at multiple levels in the Office were represented and open to questions. The interview included both legal and personal questions. A few days later, I received a call offering the possibility to spend my lawyer´s station at one of the most prominent law firms in the world, Jones Day.

While I mainly work with the M&A Practice, I value the fact that trainees at Jones Day, do not operate solely in one Practice, but are also involved with matters from other practices within the Firm, and constantly in touch with other trainees and lawyers in the Office and throughout the Firm.

From a trainee´s point of view, being involved in with client work right from the beginning is particularly interesting.  Tasks are not just completed and delivered without further information afterwards, but rather, detailed feedback is provided frequently.  Furthermore, trainee lawyers are given the opportunity to establish many external contacts and regularly accompany the Firm´s lawyers to appointments such as client-meetings or notary visits.

Inside the Office, there are many opportunities to receive further training and to talk to experts in various subject areas, with formats such as the monthly “M&A roundtable.” There are also plenty of social events including a big Christmas party (dependent on the Covid-situation of course).

Another valuable aspect is the interaction with other interns, trainees, and research assistants. There are a good many of us beginning our careers in the legal profession sitting together in small groups, and everyone is always available to help each another, sharing knowledge about current matters with the entire team. At the same time, it is advantageous that there are never too many trainees as this ensures that individual support and integration is always possible.

The team spirit of the Düsseldorf Office is inspiring. In addition to the high professional level, a very comfortable atmosphere prevails. All doors are open – literally. Everyone is included, without regard to their function or level. The lawyers, including the partners, invest a lot of time in the education of the legal trainees. Each trainee gets assigned a personal mentor who is always willing to answer questions, and who provides meaningful advice to his/her appointed mentee. Additionally, the Firm is always supportive if someone wants to engage in their own projects or events.

Another special experience that demonstrates The Firm’s effort made for trainees, was the opportunity to work in the Firm´s Frankfurt Office for two weeks. I had the opportunity to see first-hand how Jones Day works as One Firm Worldwide, and how the lawyers in that Office operate and interact in with the same common goals of the lawyers in Frankfurt and throughout the Firm, which are to collaborate and best serve clients. There was one notable difference however: while the Düsseldorf Office is right next to the Königsallee with its very own flair, the Frankfurt Office is in a skyscraper with a unique skyline view.

Preparing for the Second German Legal State examination is intensely supported and encouraged by the Firm. Not only does one get free days for classes at court and during exam weeks, which the trainees spend at a state court of North Rhine-Westphalia or at the district government, but trainees are given a generous voucher for further legal education and support for the German Bar Exam. A partner of the Firm even makes it possible to simulate the state examination´s oral exam, as he was an examiner for the Government himself for a long time.

I have had an amazing experience as a trainee in Jones Day’s Düsseldorf Office and can say without unequivocally recommend it to anyone interested in a law career in Germany .