This month, we come to know Julia Jensen from the law firm Eurojuris Aalborg.
Openly, Julia shares her exceptional childhood with us: exciting, but complicated and restless as she had to take care of herself at an early age. The Danish lawyer was born in Leningrad, today's Sankt Petersburg, to a Finish father and a Russian mother. At the age of 4, her family moved to Helsinki, Finland. However, it did not take long that her mother remarried and relocated to Denmark, taking Julia with her.
Julia’s horizons expanded as she was sent to boarding schools in Italy and France. So did her language skills: back then she spoke eight languages. At the age of 17, Julia went back to Russia to receive further education. During this time, she made strong personal and hands-on experiences that impacted her life. Eventually, she was able to settle down in Denmark, where she also went to law school.
Now, Julia is the owner of Eurojuris Aalborg, practising in Criminal Law, Real Estate Law, Immigration Law, and Litigation. Before joining Eurojuris Aalborg, she worked for a bigger international law firm in Denmark. In the 100-lawyer law firm, she was not given ‘enough space for development’. To Julia, this means, ‘not having the necessary space to do what one is qualified to do’. Instead, she was put into a ‘fixed frame’, with no chance to realise her potential.
Looking back, Julia says, ‘I did not know what my focus would be. But I was sure it was important to make use of my language skills. Therefore, being in charge of international clients seemed natural.’ After five years, Julia decided to quit and to join a smaller law firm seeking a generation shift.
Last year, Julia started the generation shift at the law firm and had a fusion with a second law firm besides. With her multi-lingual skills, she works with various foreign clients, focusing on international relations. We continue to talk about Eurojuris, where Julia can bring in her multi-national background. At the same time, the network helps her to handle trans-national cases: ‘I had a Russian client having a dispute with a Finnish client, with the arbitration court situated in Finland with a Swedish judge. With the help of the Eurojuris network, I was able to organise and prepare everything within four days.’ What is more, I know my colleagues in Eurojuris, I'm am always looking forward to seeing them again, and I trust them.’
Another interesting fact about Julia is her current appearance in the Danish media. ‘I am working on a high profile case in Immigration Law. The case is even subject of a documentary.’ Her media relations came as a surprise as Julia never sought media attention. Nor did she claim to be an expert in police cases, what she is sometimes portrayed as by journalists.
Julia clarifies, ‘I am really not the expert, and have done nothing to deserve that. So, when I get asked if I am a specialist in this area I am very honest: I have three cases. It is up to you to decide what to think of that.’ But as journalists consider her to have ‘a clear voice’ and ‘to speak out frankly’, Julia is contacted on a regular basis. It brings along pros and cons: ‘I receive all kinds of phone calls. I even got asked on the phone if I can get someone a job in a pizzeria.’
Still, more important than her career is her family. Julia is a mother of five with all of her children living at home. The strong-minded mother gives an insight into her family management: ‘My husband takes care of our children five days a week, only few days they are in kindergarten’. All the same, Julia is very present in her five sons’ lives and is their confidant. ‘With a good structure, this is possible.’
Links:
Web: eurojuris-aalborg.dk
Facebook: www.facebook.com/EurojurisAalborg/
Documentary ‘I politiets vold: Betjentens ord mod dit’: www.dr.dk/tv/se/moerkt-og-mistaenkt-dr2-dokumentar/-/i-politiets-vold-betjentens-ord-mod-dit
