Dr. Jörg Alvermann

My path to Streck Mack Schwedhelm

It all started at the notice board at Cologne University. Tax lawyers seeking student interns. Tax, of all things! It didn’t sound sexy, but I was young and needed the money. Next day I had my first ever interview – and it was also to be the last.

One of the main student assistant jobs at Streck Mack Schwedhelm was (and still is) proof-reading of the entire outgoing mail. We checked citations, spelling and orthography as well as keeping an eye on formalities. I understood little of the content – but the supposedly bone-dry tax world was full of life. Bound by a strict confidentiality declaration on pain of punishment, I read about minor and major sins, conflict and mutual understanding, investigation and arrest, companies and families, associations and trusts, actors and sportsmen, discotheques and snack bars. The supposedly stuffy tax lawyers turned out to be creative disputers and planners.

I stayed on and learnt about tax law, consulting and disputing. More precisely: I am still learning. And at least for me, there is no better place to do just that.