Just graduated chilean lawyer. I have done 3 internships: one for the chilean government, tax law for a big law firm, and another for university. I have a Diploma in Corporate and a Minor in Economics and Regulatory Law. I want to internationalize my career. Currently I'm im Germany (family reasons) learning german in order to reach level C1, but I'm a bit clueless about my career path, but willing to go back to university in Europe and hopefully make good use of my education to get a job here in Germany. Don't know where to start. Last year I got accepted at the EMLE Programme, but I wasn't sure about career prospects. Would I be eligible for this programme? What are the career prospects in Germany?

Hi there.





I am a graduate of the program. In all honesty, the program didn’t provide me with any career opportunities. I'll tell you my story so you can judge.







After the program, I sent numerous applications to law firms in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, and the UK. Furthermore, I also sent numerous applications to international institutions. All in vain. I was submitting job applications for more than 4 years. All in vain. In my home country, where I am stuck at currently, the program is also useless. However, I knew that with regards to my home country, but the idea was to find a job after the program. I believed that the program would help me. How wrong I was…



In my experience, that is the case because I come from an economically insignificant country in world terms, because German employers see non-German lawyers as less valuable, and because I didn’t have the money to work for free or for a dab salary.



If you are from an economically significant country, e.g., China, the program can help you to get a job in Germany. Otherwise, it won’t. However, even if you land a job in Germany, be prepared to work on minor tasks, do longer hours than Germans, be paid less then Germans (especially in German law firms), and have no realistically attainable career.





What You could do is to try and work for international organizations. But that means to do unpaid internships or to be paid badly. So, you need money for this.





In all honesty, this program is worth it only if you do not need it for your career and if you land a full scholarship or if you can afford it with ease (i.e., if you are rich).





As for my advice. Do an LLM in the UK or in the USA. Those LLMs can provide you with a career and even German employers will value such an LLM since they always need common law lawyers. An LLM from those countries will also open job opportunities in the UK and the USA, and those employers are far more open and fairer than Germans.





So, don’t do this LLM, do one in the UK or USA. I regret my decision, the money I spent on this LLM, and most notably, the time I waste on the program and in the belief that the program will help me with a career abroad.

[Edited by Postignition on Feb 08, 2024]