I am profoundly shocked by the state of the legal profession in Germany, particularly when it comes to trial lawyers. This is not merely an observation but a serious concern that demands attention and discussion.
In Germany, the role of trial lawyers appears to be significantly diminished. Instead of being the robust advocates of justice and legal reasoning, many German trial lawyers seem to function more like specialized secretaries. Their primary task seems to be the preparation of documents for the judge, with little room for the profound legal thinking and advocacy that one would expect from a profession built on the pursuit of justice.
With my admittedly limited experience in the German legal system, I have observed a worrying lack of genuine legal reasoning and advocacy. Justice in Germany, especially in civil matters, often seems to be a mere formality, a process driven by paperwork rather than principled legal arguments.
This raises several questions:
- What has led to this apparent degradation of the trial lawyer’s role in Germany?
- Is the German legal education system adequately preparing its lawyers for the demands of true legal advocacy?
- How do German trial lawyers perceive their roles, and are they satisfied with this status quo?
- Given these conditions, are German trial lawyers among the professionals most likely to be easily replaced by AI?