In each issue of our newsletter, members of our firm introduce themselves personally. This time it is Sabrina Arndt from our Frankfurt office.

One thing runs like a thread through my CV: the city of Frankfurt. I was born here and grew up in nearby Taunus. I studied at Goethe University in Frankfurt, completed my legal training, and now I work and live here too. So I'm a true Frankfurt native.

It may sound a little boring at first glance, but when you take a closer look, Frankfurt has a lot to offer. Due to its small geographical size, Frankfurt is both a “village” and a banking metropolis with international flair. On the one hand, the city is easy to navigate by bike, and Frankfurt's legal world is actually quite small. So it's not unusual to see a familiar face or two from your student days on Frankfurt's Freßgass during your lunch break. On the other hand, Frankfurt Airport is your gateway to the big wide world right on your doorstep.

This is an advantage that I have come to appreciate more and more in recent years during my travels to the USA, Dubai, and within Europe. The USA in particular—where I had the opportunity to visit both the West and East Coasts—impressed me greatly with its diversity, beautiful nature, and vibrant cities.

I first became aware of intellectual property law as a field of law during my specialized studies at university. I took part in a seminar on trademark law, which I still remember fondly today. Two motivated lawyers enthusiastically presented cases from their everyday work and taught us the basics of trademark law. This sparked my enthusiasm for the field. What I like most about the areas of intellectual property law—be it trademark law, competition law, or topics from the field of media and press law—is that they usually involve very clear case scenarios that relate to a specific product or a single statement. Dynamic cases taken from real life. Law does not always have to be a boring subject, as the saying goes. Since the various areas of intellectual property law often overlap and are applied in parallel in a single case, there is also plenty of variety from a legal perspective.

I found my first job in this exciting field of law at Friedrich Graf von Westphalen—right in the heart of Frankfurt, next to the Alte Oper. What I particularly like here is the diversity of the cases we handle, which include not only intellectual property law but also contract law issues. I also particularly appreciate the close and uncomplicated exchange with clients, as well as the space for individual work and the collegial atmosphere.

What I like most about my work as a lawyer in general, apart from the variety and creativity that the profession offers, is being able to advise and assist clients, especially in challenging situations, and to always achieve the best possible outcome for them using my legal expertise.

After work, you will often find me playing sports or enjoying my small garden, which I have only recently been able to call my own. For me, this is the perfect balance to my work as a lawyer, which is, after all, mostly done from behind a desk.