English + German + T14 JD = ? Forum

[x47point6]

Any interesting career paths for someone fluent in German and English with a degree from an OK school? Still a 0L, but playing up the German thing hadn’t occurred to me until just now.

[nealric]

Might be a slight bump for a firm that does a decent amount of work with Germany, but its unlikely to be a game changer.

[baboon309]

Any interesting career paths for someone fluent in German and English with a degree from an OK school? Still a 0L, but playing up the German thing hadn’t occurred to me until just now.

There are so many bilingual lawyers in this country.

[swester]

Ummmm...are you referring to a T14 (as in the title) or to an "OK" school (in your post)?

Also, German is like any other second language - it will help you market yourself to a firm or to an int'l organization that operates in countries where the language is necessary. Here, essentially Germany and Austria. Other than that, it's just a pretty line on your resume.

The only high demand languages that I could see being truly attractive to employers in general would be Spanish and Chinese. Or maybe Russian or French if you plan to work in Europe. Although I'm sure somewhere around here will disagree, I sense that the overall utility of German is somewhat limited (unless you are working in Germany, of course).

[Z3RO]

I know how you feel, OP. I'm fluent in German as well, but I literally cannot imagine a scenario where it will help me. Even if I became in-house council for BMW, all the educated Germans speak perfect English.

[CanadianWolf]

There is at least one German employer that hires US law grads who are fluent English/German speakers. The initial interview via telephone is conducted entirely in German. There is also at least one giant German pharmaceutical company which hires American MBA and/or law grads.
For the most part, German is not a great second language; several prominent undergraduate schools have dropped it from their curriculums.

[stratocophic]

Any interesting career paths for someone fluent in German and English with a degree from an OK school? Still a 0L, but playing up the German thing hadn’t occurred to me until just now.

Never would have guessed!

[ReelectClayDavis]

1) Learn Spanish
2) Practice BIGODESSALAW in Argentina.
3) Profit
4) Do this until your visa gets protested by the Shoah Foundation.

[LjakW]

1) Learn Spanish
2) Practice BIGODESSALAW in Argentina.
3) Profit
4) Do this until your visa gets protested by the Shoah Foundation.

I see what you're trying to do here and it is funny, but I don't get the "BIGODESSALAW" part.

[Grizz]

1) Learn Spanish
2) Practice BIGODESSALAW in Argentina.
3) Profit
4) Do this until your visa gets protested by the Shoah Foundation.

Funny, but you got the meme wrong.

[ReelectClayDavis]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ODESSA

Bit of WWII nerd-dom

[x47point6]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ODESSA

Bit of WWII nerd-dom

For further Germanophile pulp reading, check out The Odessa File by Frederick Forsyth, and any of the books in Philip Kerr's Bernie Gunther series, particularly A Quiet Flame, apropos of the above post, since that one's set in Argentina.

[underdawg]

i hope you're not putting the "fluent in english" part on your resume. i would trash that if i ever saw that shit

[jks289]

I speak German as well (not fluently, but well enough) and landed a job out of college in Germany working in insolvency. Especially for Chapter 15 Bankruptcy work, documents need to be filed in both American and German courts. Plenty of German lawyer speak excellent English, but they always needed a native speaker to prepare and proof court documents. Every major firm I encountered (and plenty of smaller boutique firms) had at least a few American attorneys on staff.

[sjsteece]

http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/intern ... d_mllp.cfm