On Thursday, 22 May 2025, ILF students and staff excitedly started off their 4-day field trip by taking the ICE train to Berlin, the capital city of Germany. Upon arrival, shortly after checking into the hostel located in Berlin Mitte, the group visited the law firm Görg where it was warmly welcomed by the founding partner of Görg’s Berlin office, Dr. Roland Hoffmann-Theinert and his colleagues. A number of short presentations were held with Dr. Hoffmann-Theinert starting by first giving an overview of the “German Legal Market – some Facts and Figures in a Nutshell”. This was then followed by presentations on “German Energy Policy and the Legal Framework” by Dr. Christoph Riese, “Career in a German Law Firm – a Self-Reflection” by Moritz Kurras, “AI – A Game Changer in the Legal Market?" by Tobias Schuh and Luisa Damm and finally “Bridging the Gap – Bridging Different Purchase Price Expectations” by Tilman Herbst.
In the evening, our students had the opportunity to visit the glass dome of the Reichstag Buidling and enjoy the georgous view of the city from the top by walking through the architectural beauty!
On next morning, the group embarked on a guided walking tour of Berlin led by an expert tour guide who provided a comprehensive overview of the city’s rich historical background, carefully explaining the significant landmarks as well as the complex history of Germany and Berlin.
On the evening of Friday, a get-together dinner was held at Baret, the restaurant located on the rooftop of Humboldt Forum. The Humboldt Forum is a museum dedicated to human history, art and culture, located in the Berlin Palace on the Museum Island in the historic centre of Berlin. During the course of dinner, we had the honor of having 2 guest speakers, Dr. Ralf Thaeter, ProximusCounsel, Member of the Executive Committee of the football company Hertha BSC GmbH & Co. KGaA and former partner of the law firm Herbert Smith Freehills, as well as David Smith, ILF Alumnus 2015/16 and Partner at Eversheds Sutherland, addressing our students by speaking about their past experiences and highlighting some tips for the future careers of our students. With a breathtaking view of Berlin’s skyline from the restaurant and its terrace, our students and guests enjoyed the evening with good vibes and conversations tremendously.
On Saturday, our students were free to further explore the delightful city of Berlin on their own, many of whom did by visiting its excellent museums, important historical sights as well as attending the cultural and entertaining social activities. As the football finals of the DFB Pokal was held at the Olympic Stadium that evening, the city was bustling with many football fans, who definitely livened up the city even more than it usually is.
The trip concluded on Sunday afternoon with our students returning by train, tired but filled with lots of good memories of learning, having fun and just being together with everyone on the class trip.
We thank all speakers for their contributions and warm welcome as well as our students for joining us in Berlin and making this trip a wonderful one!
