Iris Hähner, Germany / November 2019 – January 2020

As part of my legal traineeship, I stayed at the Heskia Hacmun law firm in Tel Aviv, Israel, from November 1, 2019 – January 31, 2020. There were several reasons for this, but I can anticipate that it was a great decision. On the one hand, it was important to me to gain experience abroad again and in my opinion the legal clerkship offers good opportunities in this regard. On the other hand, I find Israel very interesting as a country and Tel Aviv as a city in particular. As Heskia Hacmun sometimes also works in German and English and there are many mandates in Germany, the firm offered perfect opportunities to combine the familiar with the new and to get a look outside the box.

The work was cross-legal and cross-border and accordingly very exciting. In my eyes, it is very important to deal internationally with other legal systems, and Israel is definitely a great option for such an argument.

The people in the office were all very warm and lovely. I felt comfortable at all times and was always able to ask all questions, regardless of whether they were legal, cultural or personal. The tone was friendly and the atmosphere was familiar. Everyone was very flexible and I had the opportunity to get to know the country and the people. Traveling in Israel was incredibly exciting. The country has a lot to offer both culturally and in terms of landscape and I would recommend everyone to take their time and visit as many places as possible. The people in the country are incredibly open and helpful and I have met many great personalities.I have had several opportunities to attend court hearings with the law firm in Jerusalem, Be’er Scheva, Lod and Tel Aviv. Even though I unfortunately don’t understand Hebrew, this was always a great experience. The atmosphere and the (visually perceptible) way of conducting a court hearing are different from what I knew from Germany. A lawyer from the law firm also helped me to follow the conversations by telling me the course on the tablet in English.The language barrier as such does not particularly restrict everyday contact with people, since everyone speaks English very well. In my opinion, however, it is advisable to take a Hebrew course beforehand, since basic knowledge (especially with regard to writing) is very helpful.In summary, as I said at the beginning, I had a really great time and would highly recommend everyone to take the effort that such a stay abroad can entail. The experiences you have are very formative and will last a lifetime.