Hello to all,

i am a Greek law graduate searching for the most suitable llm. I want to do an llm which will offer me career prospects. The competition is high so i am really worried about making the best choice. I haven't decided yet the topic of my llm but i am interested in IP and competition law / IT law or energy law or commercial law in general. However, i do not know if it is better to look for llms in german universities so as to attend llm in german language ( i have a good level) or in english. Do you think if i ll improve my german legal language will i have more chances to have a job or do u think it is better to write and talk perfectly in english? Please keep in mind that my level in english is C2 Proficiency and in german C1.

What do you think guys?

Hi frozenfire,

I feel qualified to answer your question and hopefully help you to make a decision. I am a German law graduate and teach at a English-language LLM programme in Germany which covers competition, business and regulatory law (IP, energy, telecommunications) and economics.

I think it depends on what career you are aiming for: In a company or a law firm? If you want to work in Germany (which I kind of assume, based on your question) German will definitely be an asset. For German law firms, it's useful to participate in day-to-day activities, for German companies it's useful to be completely integrated in the internal procedures. The big law firms, however, will have a lot of German-trained lawyers, so German will not be an 'extra bonus' for you. These law firms hire foreign-trained lawyers for their specific skills which tend to focus either on the jurisdiction you were trained in, i.e. Greece or on EU/international law. Here, you can excel with an outstanding command of English to set your self apart from other international applicants. For Germany companies, the situation might be slightly different. Depending on the size and structure of the company, English or German could be more useful. The bigger and more international a company is, the more likely you will be doing business in English anyway. On the other hand, if the company has specific offices for other countries, the German office might only cover Germany.

If you're looking beyond Germany, English tends to be the lingua franca. Whether in Brussels, Amsterdam or Switzerland. I would probably suggest to focus on either German or English without completely ignoring the other. So if you study in English you can still take German classes to improve both language skills.

Best regards and I hope I could help,
Dominik

Hello to all,

i am a Greek law graduate searching for the most suitable llm. I want to do an llm which will offer me career prospects. The competition is high so i am really worried about making the best choice. I haven't decided yet the topic of my llm but i am interested in IP and competition law / IT law or energy law or commercial law in general. However, i do not know if it is better to look for llms in german universities so as to attend llm in german language ( i have a good level) or in english. Do you think if i ll improve my german legal language will i have more chances to have a job or do u think it is better to write and talk perfectly in english? Please keep in mind that my level in english is C2 Proficiency and in german C1.

What do you think guys?