Having studied law at University of Vienna and international business administration at WU Vienna University of Economy and Business, I was looking for a workplace that would allow me to combine both of my specialties. Freshfields as an international law firm is the ideal place for this, as our clients not only expect legal excellence, but also a thorough understanding of their business needs.
At Freshfields, I specialise in tax law, in which I also hold a PhD, and in the areas closely related to tax law, such as public and regulatory law, business law and private clients. Recently, I have also been focussing on the theme of the future, energy law, for our clients from a regulatory and tax perspective. Freshfields explicitly encourages associates to set their own focus and develop their own specialties.
Joining Freshfields was the right decision for me. Freshfields offers a diverse, exciting, and challenging workplace with a steep learning curve that continues for many years, as our work is hardly ever repetitive. Instead, we advise our clients in complex, multidisciplinary mandates that require tailor-made solutions. The international environment at Freshfields is also unique – the Vienna office is part of a global firm and we work seamlessly with colleagues from other offices and jurisdictions. Our colleagues might be the best thing at Freshfields anyway: dedicated, brilliant minds who are experts in their fields, but still down to earth, and truly living our team spirit.

While I was studying law in Salzburg, I had the opportunity to do an internship at Freshfields which was my first contact with an international corporate law firm. The intellectual property work I completed as an intern made me realise that I wanted to specialise in this field. After completing the internship, I moved to California in order to complete my LL.M degree and, following that, the New York bar exam, which I completed successfully. After the mandatory legal clerkship in Salzburg, I was very fortunate to re-join the intellectual property practice group at Freshfields.
Since then I have been able to work on a multitude of intellectual property-related projects for various international clients. Although my education and the experience I gained while studying abroad definitely had a positive impact on my ability to successfully complete client work, it is the daily dialogue with my colleagues that has been far more important and valuable for my development. At Freshfields, we believe that good teamwork improves our working atmosphere and leads to better results for our clients. Therefore, the most valuable aspect to me is collaboration and communication with my team members. I have always thought of Freshfields as a flexible workplace that values open-minded individuals who like to be part of a team with a desire to perform and create change. That is why I love coming to work every day.

When I decided to join Freshfields as an associate in 2010, it was important for me to be able to use the international platform of the firm. Ten years later I can look back on a career that has far exceeded my expectations: I work across borders every day with brilliant and inspiring colleagues from all over the world, I had the opportunity to spend six months at our London office, and now I am based at two of our offices, in Vienna and Brussels.

My daily work is very diversified and the cases I am working on are driven by the latest legal trends and developments. My area of expertise, antitrust law, constantly evolves with the economic environment and raises many challenging questions. At the moment, the focus is on the digitalisation of markets (from industry to tech specialists) and on the creation of a sustainable economy.

Working at Freshfields offers me exactly the right mix of legal analysis, client contact, insights into the business world and interdisciplinary work – teamwork is the key. Today I am doing what I hoped a lawyer’s job would look like as a student: I work on the biggest international cases and support our clients, for example by representing them before the ECJ or the European Commission. Furthermore, I have the chance to exchange ideas with the best minds in the industry. Besides, “agile working” is more than just a buzzword with us, which is important to me personally.

Even as a student, it was very important to me to develop both practical and international legal skills. To this end, when the time came to commence my professional legal career, I knew I wanted to work at an international law firm.
My legal education has continued throughout my time at Freshfields, a firm which places great importance on the continued development of all its staff. Freshfields seeks to develop lawyers who understand the markets as well as the law, and who can provide clients with pragmatic, commercial legal advice.
From day one at Freshfields, I have had the opportunity to work on very complex and interesting matters. Even as a junior member of a project team, I was given individual responsibility for particular parts of various projects, and this personal accountability was great for my professional growth. Now that I am more senior, I am taking on increasing levels of responsibility and new roles in project teams, which contributes to my ongoing development. Also being a mother, it is of great importance to me to combine an interesting, yet challenging work environment, with my families’ needs. Freshfields provides the opportunity to do so with flexibility, tailored part-time models and plenty of understanding and support.
At Freshfields, we often work on projects in multi-jurisdictional, multi-discipline teams, and the teamwork is one of the things I enjoy most about my job.
People are at the heart of any law firm, and the Freshfields Vienna team is made up of dedicated, outstanding people, many of whom are leaders in their respective areas of practice. Having the opportunity to work with, and learn from, such talented people makes it easy to come to work each day.

My professional path at Freshfields began directly after my studies. Freshfields impressed me with its international outlook, personal development opportunities and professionalism. I have also had the opportunity to complete additional training in real estate on the side. This initially quite individual approach soon developed into a close professional connection that has endured since 2006. Even during my first few years, I was able to work in a very broad spectrum of real estate business law. The international approach in my everyday professional life was noticeable from the very beginning. Expansion of our clients into the CEE region, pan-European transactions and investments by foreign investors were already among the main areas of operation for our group. Later on, exciting construction development projects and international bidding procedures became more frequent. Initial inquiries turned into ongoing client relationships, projects into solutions, colleagues into friends. I was able to learn a lot from this time for my current role as Head of Real Estate at the Austrian office.
Change is a constant – this often-used statement is all the truer for work in a dynamic commercial law firm. We are challenged not only to embrace change, but also to actively shape it. It is great to work in an environment that invests in the development of its employees and places great value on being an attractive employer at every stage. For me, this vision is one of the key factors in Freshfield’s success. It is fun to work with committed and open colleagues, to share knowledge and to learn from each other.