Legal traineeship at thyssenkrupp: Legal advice on an international level
After his first state examination in law in Bonn and various traineeships in Düsseldorf, Viktor Rieping had originally planned to go to Brussels for his next position. However, he decided at short notice to get to know other career prospects in addition to the traditional path to a law firm. He took the opportunity to get to know the work of an in-house lawyer at thyssenkrupp. The positive experiences he had during his elective internship convinced him: Viktor started his career at thyssenkrupp as a fully qualified lawyer.
After his first state examinations in law in Bonn and various traineeships in Düsseldorf, Viktor Rieping had originally planned to go to Brussels for his next placement. However, he made the last-minute decision to explore other career prospects outside the traditional law firm route. He made the most of the opportunity and familiarised himself with the work of an in-house lawyer at thyssenkrupp. Viktor had had such a positive experience working at thyssenkrupp during his elective placement that he could think of no better place than here to start his career as a fully qualified lawyer.
After studying in Bonn and Barcelona and passing his exams, Viktor began the practical part of his training to become a fully qualified lawyer. Viktor first embarked upon a legal traineeship at Düsseldorf District Court and completed his administrative placement at the German Embassy in Mexico City before joining a renowned law firm in Düsseldorf for his judicial placement. Here, he mainly dealt with antitrust law and intellectual property law.
When Viktor had to cancel his originally planned elective placement in Brussels at short notice due to the spread of COVID-19 in 2020, he applied for a job at thyssenkrupp. It turned out to be the right decision. “My three-month legal traineeship at thyssenkrupp proved to be very exciting and international. I was immediately impressed by being able to provide legal advice directly at an operational level and within my area of responsibility,” Viktor reports.
Great range in an international group
One thing is clear: Viktor would definitely recommend thyssenkrupp to other trainee lawyers as a possible legal or elective internship: "As an international group, thyssenkrupp is perfect for getting to know the activities of an in-house lawyer and deepening your own knowledge of legal issues at companies. Colleagues in the legal and compliance departments actively involve you in advisory mandates, you develop your own legal solutions and can contribute on an equal footing."
The positive experiences during his legal clerkship made a lasting impression on Viktor: as a fully qualified lawyer, he found his professional home at thyssenkrupp - and benefited from the enormous range of business segments and areas of responsibility at thyssenkrupp.
First, Viktor took up a position as a compliance officer/ in-house lawyer at thyssenkrupp Materials Services - the largest plant-independent B2B materials trader and service provider in the western world. Together with the compliance team there, he implemented the thyssenkrupp compliance program in the areas of anti-corruption, antitrust law, data protection, money laundering prevention and foreign trade law.
Exciting legal issues and varied day-to-day business
In the meantime, he advises the thyssenkrupp Automotive Technology segment - which brings together leading suppliers and engineering partners in the automotive industry - as Legal Counsel. Here, he is fascinated by the varied and exciting legal issues he is confronted with. His specialist focus is primarily on civil law, in particular contract law, contract review and drafting. In addition to legal issues in the automotive supply business, he deals with the challenges of plant construction on a daily basis.
In his day-to-day practice, he is constantly having to get to grips with complex issues and develop legal solutions and options. One particular challenge is to communicate these complex legal aspects to internal colleagues in a comprehensible way. The focus is then on asserting legal interests against contractual partners with strong market positions, where creative solutions and perseverance are essential.
"I particularly enjoy the close exchange and cooperation with colleagues from other specialist areas in order to develop suitable solutions for both the challenges of day-to-day business and overarching strategic business decisions," explains Viktor. In his day-to-day work, he maintains the highest standards of legal advice and enables his colleagues to successfully assert the company's interests in commercial negotiations. In doing so, Viktor appreciates the constant support of his colleagues and the exchange of experience with them - despite a high degree of independence and freedom in his own area of responsibility.
If you are also interested in spending your legal or elective traineeship at thyssenkrupp, click here.