125 years – that is the age of a lawfirm, the oldest in Bergen, Norway's second biggest town. “Stiegler” was founded in 1889 by attorney Carl Christian Stiegler and remains active today. This year, the third generation of the Stiegler family of lawyers has ended, when Dag A. Stiegler announced his retirement.
Still, the reputation of the lawfirm remains exceptional. “When I had the opportunity to join Stiegler”, says Kjetil Lundsberg (EJ Norway), “I jumped on it. Their firm was famous in the city and I knew they were great professionals”. Kjetil and the other associates of Stiegler have been invited to Amsterdam by Eurojuris president Hans Jonkhout to celebrate the anniversary of their lawfirm. “I first met Hans in a Eurojuris conference”, explains Kjetil, “and he said he would love to invite us for this occasion. He took us sightseeing and to restaurants. We had fascinating discussions comparing our legal systems. Netherlands and Norway are so close, only a short flight away, and still our regulations can be very different. The drug policy is the best example, with Norway being quite the opposite of the Netherlands on that matter!” Kjetil said he was keen on seeing the old taverns of Amsterdam, as “modern and high-tech bars are everywhere in the world”.
Specialised in Labour Law, Kjetil has been a member of Stiegler since 2009. He was visibly impressed by his experience working with this family. “The son of the first Mr Stiegler practiced law until he was 89! We are all proud to have worked with the Stieglers and we will carry on bearing their name proudly. It is a great brand name in our city; we could move our office but never change the name!” The Stiegler lawfirm reportedly goes upwards, with a rising number of cases. “And we also look to the future: keeping such an ancient name does not mean we will forget to advance; we have to be really modern”.
When asked what being modern means for a lawyer, Kjetil answers “it means we need young, educated lawyers. And keeping up to date, because everything today goes much faster than in the times of the first Mr Stiegler. We have to take part in the electronic revolution”. Kjetil adds another concept: socialising is an important part of a lawyer's life. “In Stiegler, we are not only workmates, we spend a lot of free time together. We all share a good connection. And something else is important: we accept that to be a good lawyer you need to have a family life and a social life. Be highly effective during the day and then take quality time with your family and friends, you will come back to the office with charged batteries. It is also important to be socially active so you get in touch with the real world, otherwise you deal with cases impacting the life of people without knowing what life is about outside of your little office”.
Kjetil concludes with three pieces of advice: “to be a success as a lawyer you need three things: one, know the legal system and the law perfectly, two, be a good person, three, understand economics and sales”. And this comes from someone in a lawfirm with 125 years of success!
