A Master’s graduate from De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) has achieved her ambition of working for a ‘Magic Circle’ law firm.
Julia Johanna Spiegelmacher has joined Allen & Overy (A&O) – one of the elite group of five law firms based in London – as a part-time student.
She is “happy” and “thankful” to have joined A&O less than a month after graduating in LLM International Business Law with Distinction and top of her class.
The 24-year-old, who is based in the Frankfurt am Main office, said: “It’s a great chance. I have always wanted to work in such a big law firm, as the subjects are exactly what I want to focus on.
“The best things are colleagues, the internationality, the topics and the salary!”
Julia is also finding the A&O team supportive, and is being given work that helps with preparation for the state exam this summer, which will qualify her as a German lawyer. She then hopes for internships in different countries while continuing to work for A&O.
Born in Kaiserslautern, Germany, Julia decided to sit her Master’s in Leicester because of the partnership between DMU and the University of Mainz, where she is continuing her law studies.
Many aspects of the DMU course appealed. She said: “The course qualifies you for international law firms, which are in touch with several national law systems as well as international/European law.
“My favourite feature was the topicality of the subjects addressed, including International Sales Law and European E-Commerce.”
Julia says the staff could not have been better. She said: “I really liked the support and the enthusiasm of the teachers, especially Charles Stevens and Martin Morgan-Taylor. It was totally different from the German teaching system – a big plus!”
She also feels her time at DMU prepared her for her current role. Julia said: “Because of the more specialist legal areas and the language, I didn’t need a long start-up time and I do not need to do English courses.”
Julia says the skills required for her role at this prestigious company are German law, international law, a comprehensive knowledge of contract law, perfect English, endurance and discipline.
Her advice to prospective students is to work hard but enjoy their free time. She said: “The most important thing is to be happy. However, be disciplined and focus on your career!”
As an international student, she credits playing for the DMU netball team as being “part of my integration, as well as keeping me fit.”
Posted on Thursday 18 February 2016