Early this year, the Law Firm Caemmerer Lenz gained an additional expert with Swantje Schreier becoming a specialised lawyer in Inheritance Law.
The trans-national law firm comprises lawyers, public auditors and tax consultants based in Basel, Karlsruhe and Erfurt. Swantje is located in the Karlsruhe office, which after its foundation in the 1950s grew continuously and developed an interprofessional character in the 1980s. Now, it offers expertise in taxation law, company auditing and business management consulting, alongside all main fields of business law.
We talked to Swantje Schreier to learn about her successful exam and current work.
After completing the theoretical part of the exam in 2015, she continued her work, focusing on inheritance and family law, compiling a list of topical cases. A time-consuming task, as the cases need to cover all areas of the specialised field. Ultimately, she presented the list of cases to the bar association where a commission then evaluated their applicability.
During the preparation of relevant cases, Swantje was supported by her law firm. She points out, ‘Caemmerer Lenz very much supports the specialisation of its lawyers. Overall, specialists are sought by both the firm and the clients.’ And as the complexity of legal matters is continually expanding, teamwork is essential. Only through close collaboration, the team can ensure the comprehensive support of its clients.
She affirms, ‘The associates are usually aware of each other's work. When a colleague is preparing for a specialisation, collaborations are frequently offered.’ It can be necessary in specific cases, Swantje points out and specifies, ‘there is very little demand for younger executors. Clients prefer more experienced lawyers above a certain age when it comes to the execution of their estate.’
Now, among other affairs, Swantje is handling cross-border inheritance cases. A matter, that was part of her training. One highly relevant legal act is the ‘Regulation (EU) No 650/2012 on matters of succession and on the creation of a European Certificate of Succession’. The regulation simplifies proceedings and aims at avoiding conflicting decisions. ‘Before, international successions often involved a higher complexity and legal uncertainty for the beneficiaries’, Swantje explains. Overall, the regulation allows a greater scope and possibilities for clients while a clearer application of the law.
In the future, Swantje will continue to deepen her knowledge in inheritance and family law, both in theory and in practice. And later this year, the firm will celebrate the 20th Anniversary of its trans-nation merger between the practices in Germany and Switzerland. We are sending our best wishes for continued success, congratulations!
Links:
Caemmerer Lenz: www.en.caemmerer-lenz.de
EU-ErbVO: eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/DE/TXT/
Regulation (EU) No 650/2012 on matters of succession and on the creation of a European Certificate of Succession: eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1329/2014: eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/
