I first heard about Freshfields at a career event in London. I was just about to finish my master’s degree and had started thinking about my future. It was not at all clear that I wanted to become a lawyer, because until then I had mainly done internships in industrial companies.
After university, it was important for me to finally gain some practical experience; to find a place where I could create something new with law as my starting point. I also wanted an international environment and, above all, exciting mandates. Freshfields was the only law firm which offered specialisation according to industries – called sector groups – in addition to the traditional division into practice groups according to areas of law. That fascinated and ultimately also convinced me.
I then got the number of a lawyer at Freshfields, mustered all my courage, and introduced myself. Since I had not yet decided on a practice area, I first applied for an internship. The decision to join the banking and finance team was ultimately a pure gut decision. In the beginning, I was thrown in at the deep end. When you start, your work is very broad and it’s all about seeing as many things as possible. Over the years, I have become acquainted with our practice group in all its diversity, from classic loans to complex, structured products, from contracts to litigation.
My work largely consists of dealing with people – clients as well as colleagues. Our service is teamwork. That’s what ultimately makes Freshfields what it is for me: motivated and versatile people, each of whom is special in his or her own way and makes a contribution.

Even though I never saw myself working at a big international law firm, I decided to form my own opinion when I got the opportunity to do an internship at Freshfields during my studies. This gave me an insight into the work of an associate. Because of the exciting projects and the great colleagues I encountered during my time as an intern, I decided to start as an associate in the employment law team (People and Reward) and that definitely was the right decision.
Since I joined Freshfields in 2015, the work has provided me with new challenges every day and remains varied due to the constantly changing questions and issues. The broad range of employment law activities includes drafting contracts, advising on employment aspects of transactions, and representing clients in employment litigation. This, coupled with the wide range of internal training opportunities as well as the chance to do international secondments within the Freshfields network, gives me the opportunity to constantly develop both professionally and personally.
The working atmosphere is characterised by mutual respect and trust, and working together with colleagues from other practice groups not only leads to new connections and friendships, but also provides an insight into other areas of law. For me the community and the team spirit among colleagues, in addition to the exciting work for clients, are the reasons why the experience of working at Freshfields is so unique.

At the end of my studies and the subsequent legal clerkship at a Higher Regional Court, several important questions arose for me: major international law firm – yes or no? Can Austrian law studies, which mainly deal with national law, even be reconciled with a professional career on an international level? During the “Freshfields Unplugged” internship, I was given the opportunity to get to know the international work environment of Freshfields and ultimately discovered that the answer to both questions was “yes”. The internship was thus the beginning of my professional career at a global law firm.
The daily work as an associate at Freshfields is a valuable enrichment for my legal education. From the very beginning, you will be given the opportunity to work independently as well as a fully-fledged team member on complex, international mandates. Within the practice group ACT (Antitrust, Competition and Trade), we deal with a variety of international matters affecting various economic sectors on a daily basis. This results in a very broad range of legal expertise, covering the entire spectrum of competition and antitrust law advice. Throughout our daily work, we cooperate closely with colleagues from various Freshfields offices such as Brussels, London, Berlin, or Washington.
There is no such thing as a monotonous work routine; every day and every mandate is different, offering new and interesting challenges that enable constant learning and development on a professional and personal level. As Freshfields attaches great importance to helpfulness, collegiality and team spirit, colleagues from the entire network are always available to offer advice and support.