Legal Education in Germany

Trying to keep up with modern developments Stefan Kirchner! Rovaniemi, 13. tammikuuta 2014

Part 1: The System

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

Goal of Legal Education

Train judges and public officials! Basic requirements contained in the German (Federal) Law on Judges (Deutsches Richtergesetz)

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.

2 Steps: University and Practice

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

No Bachelor / Master System

One of the last holdouts in Europe against the Bologna System: No Bachelor / Master system in German Legal Studies! Master Degrees available on top of 1st State Exam! but: Limited practical value as doctoral studies are possible after the 1st State Exam (no Masters Degree required)

The Value of State Exams

2nd State Exam required for almost all legal professions (attorneys, judges, public officials, prosecutors, in-house counsel...)! Hardly job opportunities with only 1st State Exam (some research or back office or in-house mid-level public official positions, but high competition from graduates with 2 State Exams but bad grades)

The grade is everything

The grades of the 1st and 2nd State Exams are virtually all that matters for job prospects. ! Grade system: 0-18 points, 4 required to pass, 9 = very good.

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).

Why State Exams?

Law graduates are supposed to be allrounders.! The idea that lawyers are experts is relatively new.! Now also reflected in studies, State Exams and continuing education for attorneys.

Benefits of State Exams

Universal standard despite differences in the details of the legal education among different states / universities! Allows a nationwide recognition of degrees! until a few years ago, attorneys were only admitted regionally, not nationally! Quality control, no need for specialised job entry exams for judges, public officials etc. (2nd State Exam is equivalent to the bar exam)

Downsides of State Exams

Students are forced to study issues which will never be relevant for their practical work! Studies take very long (4 years minimum)

How does a State Exam look like?

Example: 1st State Exam in Hessen (basic structure, today complemented by university exams, the grades of which count towards the final grade)!
4 written exams, 5 hours each (1 each in criminal law, civil law and public law, 1 in a selected area, e.g. public and European Law)! 1 day oral exams, approx. 1 hour each on civil, private, criminal law, plus 1 hour each on two selected areas of increasing levels of specialiasation (e.g. constitutional and european law and public international law) !

Example: 2nd State Exam in Hessen!

8 written exams, 5 hours each, case studies (4 x civil law, 3 x public law, 1 x criminal law): counts for 2/3 of the grade! 1 day oral exams, civil, criminal, private law and one selected area, e.g. business law, including presenting a case after 1 hour preparation time: counts for 1/3 of the grade

Determining the final grade: the new model

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.

Part 2: University Education Contents

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, ...

After the 3rd semester

If the necessary exams have not been passed after the 3rd semester, the student can no longer continue the studies! This is a fairly new rule, which helps weaker students to drop out early instead of failing years later in the State Exam

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

7th and 8th semester

Prepare for the First State Exam! usually with commercial courses (which can easily cost thousands of Euros)! some universities offer one year preparation courses

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.

Part 3: Specialisation possibilities

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 University after the 1st or 2nd State Exam

LL.M. and similar degrees (not relevant for the practice of law)! Doctoral degrees (usually individual rather than doctoral classes, although coordinated doctoral courses are emerging)! new: shorter specialised courses for graduates

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

Part 4: Specialisation as a Chance for Universities

Need for specialisaiton

Increasing number of attorneys! Average grades are insufficient to land good jobs! But everybody has the chance to find a niche, although this does not guarantee a sufficient income - yet, it means more job security than starting a local general practice law firm without any specialisation! Small niche = high level of specialisation = small market! Harvard Business Review (early 2013): There are hardly economies of scale in law firms. Small, highly specialised, law firms (boutiques) make a lot of sense, e.g.:!
Rock Music Lawyer: An attorney from a small town north of Frankfurt is specialising in representing emerging hard rock music bands in negotiations with record labels! There are a total of 2 (out of 150,000 attorneys nationwide) Veterinary Medical Malpractice Attorneys who specialise exclusively in horses, one each in North and South Germany! Administrative Law for municipalities in one specific state

University education for practitioners

Specialisation requires special knowledge. Some universities have started to offer Diploma courses (shorter than LL.M.) for post-graduates, usually in connection with a specialisation of the university! e.g. the University of Marburg (famous for the medical faculty) offers Postgraduate Diplomas in Medical and Pharmaceutical Law! While there are no study fees for regular undergraduate courses, universities can charge for such courses, similar to Fachanwalt seminars! Alternative to Fachanwalt education (Fachanwalt degrees are limited to specific areas in which they are recognized by the Federal Chamber of Attorneys), universities are freer top develop more specific courses in area for which there is not yet sufficient demand for Fachanwlte. ! Shorter than a doctorate, still relatively rare, meaning that it indicates a certain level of formally recognized specialisation

Thank you for your attention.