Our Frankfurt colleague Ruth Junius-Morawe spent three months on secondment at Charles Russell Speechlys (CRS) in London. Her family joined her in the UK. She tells us about her experience of working at a UK law firm and what German firms could learn from them.
Flick Gocke Schaumburg: Ruth, you joined the CRS Tax Trust and Succession team in London from February to May 2023. How was working at CRS different from working in Germany?
Ruth Junius-Morawe: First of all, people in London start work a little later, which I personally like. And of course everyone calls each other by their first names. Offices in Germany tend to be large and each employee often has their own office, but in London that’s an unthinkable luxury. That said, of course a shared office also has advantages, especially if you’re new to the team. You can learn a lot in a short time by being in constant contact with your colleagues. My commute was also very different from my journey to work in Frankfurt – London always seems to be full of people who are on their way to somewhere else. That’s impressive to see, but it can be stressful, too.
“I was especially struck by how people combined a high level of professionalism with an informal communication style.”
Dr. Ruth Junius-Morawe
What did your work at CRS involve? What did your typical working day look like?
First, I dropped my children off at daycare (childcare is extremely expensive in London, but in our case it was also very good). Then I cycled to work in the busy traffic – quite an invigorating experience. Most of my colleagues arrived at the office at around half-past nine and started the day with a tea or coffee. My work was very varied. As well as working on UK-only matters, I had various cross-border cases where I advised on the German aspects and liaised with CRS colleagues, plus some FGS colleagues, for the UK perspective. The working day consisted mainly of emails, phone calls, drafting and revising documents, team meetings, and so on. That was similar to my working day in Frankfurt. But at CRS there’s more of a focus on in-house training for younger associates and highly professional, broad-based compliance and IT training for all professionals. Once my day at the office had ended, I picked up the children from daycare. The rest of my work then had to be done at home after the children had gone to bed – so even in London, life as a working mum can sometimes be a bit stressful.
What can we in Germany learn from law firms in the UK?
What I really like is the upfront communication about business figures, billable hours, recruiting and acquisition. I think that could help associates here learn a lot about how law firms do business. Networking is also more widespread and more professional, not only with clients and other advisors, but also with alumni, for example. Workplace diversity is also a much more advanced topic in the UK than in Germany. London is the perfect example of a diverse city, and that broadens people’s horizons. Ethnic, cultural and personal diversity is handled in a very open and natural way. For instance, CRS marks various religious holidays by sending greetings to everyone, no matter the occasion. There’s also a strong awareness of issues such as parental leave and other commitments outside of work.
Did you notice any differences between Germany and the UK in advising private clients?
I didn’t get a complete picture in my three months at CRS, but my impression is that the work with private clients in both countries is very wide-ranging. At CRS, the partners seem to be highly specialised in certain market areas – be it geographically (e.g. domestic, overseas, Middle East or Far East) or by subject (e.g. succession planning, real estate, tax).
After-work culture
The terrace on the 5th floor of Charles Russell Speechly’s office was a popular place to end the week with after-work drinks.
Where could we work together more closely? Where do our areas of expertise meet?
After a number of conversations and internal presentations, various areas have emerged that CRS and FGS are now working on together. The starting point is often the global mobility of our private clients. They need advice on dual citizenship, bi-national marriages, holding assets in different countries, relocations, and the consequences of spending time abroad for work or other reasons. Another important point is how private clients can benefit from advantages offered by the other jurisdiction, such as the UK remittance base for tax purposes.
Can you tell us about some of the cross-border cases you worked on?
They were very varied and wide-ranging. There were some complicated inheritance cases involving assets in Germany. I also worked on succession planning that involved a separate will being drawn up for assets in Germany, marriage contracts for bi-national couples, and applications for a German passport that has now become necessary again for travelling within the EU. I worked with some great colleagues at CRS on all those cases.
Now that your secondment has ended, what will you miss about your time in London?
I was especially struck by how people there combined a high level of professionalism with an informal communication style. CRS has a great cafeteria where you can see that in action. It’s used every day by colleagues from across the firm, and every two months it turns into a pub where people get together for a relaxed evening. I will definitely also miss the unmistakable British humour and the high degree of liberalism.