Dr. Klaus Olbing

My path to Streck Mack Schwedhelm

For me, it didn’t begin with a targeted decision. I had graduated with a doctorate in insolvency law. My elective traineeship shortly after German reunification saw me working in the new eastern federal states for a large auditing firm that had been charged by the ‘Treuhandanstalt’ with examining which former East German companies needed to be liquidated. I soon recognised that without a grounding in accounting and tax law, it would not be possible to decide which method (restructuring, sale, conversion, liquidation) would be right for each company and its shareholders. I had no knowledge of these legal areas. My instructor referred me to a job vacancy at the Streck Rainer law firm, as it was then called – a firm that at that time was quite unknown to me. In preparing for my interview, I soon realised what a unique opportunity I had been presented with: Legal work at the highest level in an extremely collaborative atmosphere. I’m thankful for having been given this opportunity, despite the fact that I had no significant knowledge of tax law.