Trying to keep up with modern developments Stefan Kirchner! Rovaniemi, 13. tammikuuta 2014
An old system
The current structure of legal education in Germany goes back to roughly the 18th century.! Often criticized - slowly adapted.! But enough freedom for individual lawyers / students to find their niche although taking this freedom comes at a price - in time.
Federal System
Slightly different rules in all 16 States! Basic structure, principles! Legal Degrees recognized nation-wide
The Problem
The overwhelming majority of graduates does not become judges or public officials.! Some changes in recent years to bring the legal education closer to the demands of the legal market.! That does not mean that universities train students to become attorneys.
University: usually 4-6 years of fulltime study > 1st State Exam in Law! followed by 2 years of practical work (Referendariat) > 2nd State Exam in Law
Failure is punished
1st and 2nd State Exam can be taken only twice (1st State Exam three times if the first time was after less than 4 years of university).! Failing twice means that the candidate cannot advance further, bans candidate from attempting the exam elsewhere in Germany.! Failure rates vary, e.g. 40 % failure rate at the first attempt would be somewhat high but not unusual, 10-25 % of candidates fail completely, not counting drop-outs (approx. 1/3 to 1/2 of beginners).
Today the aforementioned model is complemented by grades earned already in university in specialised courses (e.g. business law) in the form of exams, papers etc.
Types of classes
Lectures: professor talks, some interaction! Under the Gieen model, lectures are supplemented by working groups: a maximum of 30 students, led by older or recently graduated students, solves case studies together.! Exams at the end of a course are usually a combination of case studies and questions, advanced exams are bigger case studies (also, the exams in the first and second state exams are case studies). ! Advanced exams are referred to as exercises: over the course of a 12 week semester, there are usually 3 written exams and 2 take-home exams (4 weeks) and 9 case studies which are explained by the professor
1st semester
General part of the Civil Code! Constitutional Law I: Organisation of the State! General part of the Criminal Code! Basics of Law, e.g. Legal History, Legal Sociology, Criminology
2nd semester
Law of Obligations! Constitutional Law II: Civil Rights! Special Part of the Criminal Code I! Basics of Law, e.g. Legal History, Legal Sociology, Criminology
3rd semester
Property Law! Administrative Law I: General Rules! European Law I! Administrative Law Procedures! Special Part of the Criminal Code II! Legal Philosophy! Obligatory foreign language law course, e.g. Introduction to English Contract Law, U.S. Constitutional Law, Chinese Law, ...
4th semester
Corporate Law! Labout Law! Civil Procedure I! Inheritance Law! Administrative Law II: Municipal Law, Public Construction Law, Public Security Law! European Law II! Advanced Exam in Criminal Law
5th semester
Advanced Exam in Civil Law! Advanced Exam in Public Law! Trade Law! Civil Procedure II! Family Law! Criminal Procedure! Legal Methodology! 2 specialisation courses (8 h /week)
6th semester
3 specialisation courses (8 h / week)! Key qualifications (soft skills, presentations, drafting contracts etc.)! fairly recently introduced
Ideal scenario
This model is the absolute ideal scenario and only functions if the student does not take any additional course which would be interesting, does not study abroad and does not have to work to make a living.
As undergraduate
Students can already specialize intensively - but they will pay a prize in terms of needing more time to finish their studies.! A minimum degree of specialization, though, is expected.! On offer are usually specialised courses and seminars in which students conduct researach and have to present and defend their results in front of fellow students
In the Referendariat
The Referendariat consists of two years of practical work followed by the Second State Exam. The written part of the Second State Exam is in month 21, the oral part after the end of the 2 years.! The two years usually include 4 months in a local court for private law, 4 months in a prosecutors office or a criminal law court, 4 months in public administration, 9 months in a law firm and 3 months in an other legal setting. The Referendar is expected to take care of finding appropriate positions, although the first posting is always selected by the justice ministry. Often a Referendariat position can open the door to future employment, in particular in the last 3 months.
As practising attorneys
Fachanwalt (Specialised Attorney)! limited number of specialisations, e.g. family and inheritance law, adminstrative law, criminal law, medical law, corporate law...! participation in seminars / written exams plus a minimum number of cases in the field!
e.g.: 3 written exams, 1 in general administrative law and 2 in selected fields, e.g. public construction law, public business law, 5 hours each, plus 120 cases, including a 40 in court!
cooperation with universities possible (e.g. distance education courses), or weekend / evening seminars! 2,000 EUR for a course would be a fairly normal price