Report from the 2016 Winner of Young Lawyers Award

6 July 2016 Natalia Rutkowska.

My two-week placement at the Austrian host law firm Zumtobel Kronberger Rechtsanwälte OG was a very enriching experience. From my first day I have been involved in pending cases and worked on legal opinions in the field of intellectual property and antitrust law. I was asked to analyse not only Austrian, but also German and even Swiss regulations and jurisprudence in order to provide an in-depth and comparative standpoint on examined issues.
I held interesting discussions with experienced lawyers who actively involved me in an in-depht analysis of several detailed issues and were always eager to know my opinion. Therefore I had a chance to learn directly from the Austrian colleagues.
I was not only presented with several different fields of expertise practised by Austrian colleagues, but was also given a chance to get acquainted with matters lying in my personal field of interest, that is commercial and companies law. As a mutually beneficial activity I did some comparative analysis of Polish and Austrian law of commercial companies.
I was also invited to the meeting held i.a. by the host law firm in the castle Klessheim close to Salzburg. It gave an opportunity to become acquainted with entrepreneurs cooperating with the law firm. The event was enriched by tasting of the finest wines.
Working on a daily basis in a foreign language with native professionals was definitely beneficial both for my personal development as well as legal and language skills. Such placements are definitely recommendable for young lawyers. Consequently, it is a contribution to future cooperation with foreign language speaking clients seeking assistance with cross-border cases.
I would like to thank the WLN board for this opportunity as well as to express my sincere thanks to the whole team of Zumtobel Kronberger Rechtsanwälte OG for their warm welcome, cooperation, team spirit and support.