Tobias Ziegler is a lawyer in the Big Apple, where he found his place after arriving from his native Germany and an experience in France. A fascinating road he invites us to follow...
Tell us how you ended up working in the United States.
I am a German citizen and U.S. Green card holder. I am actually eligible for American citizenship now, but I have not sought it yet. I have been here for over ten years. Initially, I came here for a scholarship. I loved it very much, particularly New York City, so I decided to stay.
What was the hardest thing about moving to the USA?
The coffee! (laughs) It is terrible, but the fact that this is the only hard thing I can think of means it was actually fairly nice and smooth to move here! For most Europeans, it is probably also difficult to cope with the absence of holidays.
Can you tell us about your lawfirm?
It is a full service lawfirm, we are able to assist both international and domestic clients in areas such as corporate, commercial, real estate, tax, family law, trust and estates and other areas..
For a New York based lawfirm, we are actually not very big in size. A lot of international firms here are very large, but also charge horrendous fees. We are much more competitive in that we are able dedicate ourselves personally to each of our clients, offer a more flexible legal fee structure to our clients than most other firms in New York and count numerous “New York SuperLawyers” and other highly recognized individuals among our attorneys. This is our business model.
What kind of clients do you have?
Various types of companies and individuals from around the globe, we are working with several embassies, chambers of commerce, consulates, etc. We frequently help companies entering the US market and do a lot of commercial and corporate law.
I personally head the international side of our business. We really cover the vast majority of our clients’ needs, except perhaps for a few very specialised niche areas under American laws, like patent law for example. For such cases we refer to people in our network, but the rest, we can handle in-house.
We also focus on real estate which is an important area in New York. This may include anything from commercial leases for stores, warehouses, to sophisticated development projects involving buildings or building complexes.
One area I specialize in is the legal representation of sports and sports marketing firms, we assist them in organizing mass sports events such as triathlons and cycling events; which is a lot of fun.
What would be your best advice for a lawyer who wants to settle in New York?
It's always very challenging to change countries in the first place. Unlike other disciplines, like medicine, in which the education and body of knowledge is somewhat similar from one country to the next, legal systems are not. By definition, as an admitted lawyer in one country, you are not automatically qualified to work in another country,. In Europe it is easier because of European laws and similarities between civil law countries. But going from a civil law country into a common law country will be very challenging.
You certainly need something that stands out, a niche of expertise or a particular target clientele.. I was born in Germany and studied in France so I naturally have very close ties to both countries and many clients from there. I am fortunate to also work very closely with the UKTI (United Kingdom Trade and Investment organization) –we frequently co-author legal and business publications- which allows me to work with a significant number of British businesses, mostly in the IT sector. I have found it to be a significant advantage to have a European background when working with clients from that continent as there appears to be a higher degree of mutual trust, not least because of the linguistic and cultural components.
And what would be your best advice to young lawyers in general?
Clients at an early stage of investment in a country often feel frustrated by not receiving the attention they need. I always try to make sure they can reach me personally. Even when I cannot take care of something personally and have to direct them to someone in my network, I will make sure to continue to monitor the matter. This way the client doesn't have to speak to ten different people and a relationship between the client and yourself begins to grow.
I would also recommend not to underestimate the importance of the people you're going to work with. The people that surround you will have a significant impact on your career. It is very important from an early stage to look at the people you will work with when you join a lawfirm: Will you get along with them? Will they allow you to grow? You can be in a great firm with plenty of qualified people and a huge salary, but your development will be hindered by a lack of good personal relationships. At an early stage, you really need that; it's not about the knowledge, it's about the personal development. You need people you can learn from as it relates to character and personality.
