Focus Area III: Business – or: What actually ends up on the boss’s desk?

After Private International Law and Comparative Law, my third focus area turns to business. But what does “business” actually mean for a lawyer?

This time, instead of a classic technical article, I’m sharing a short interview about business law, SMEs – and the realization that legal problems in a company unfortunately rarely land on a desk neatly sorted by legal field.

Ms. Wolf, you completed your legal clerkship with a focus on business. What exactly does that entail?

First and foremost, it involves commercial and corporate law. For example, questions about the rights and duties of merchants, which corporate or legal form is suitable for which purpose, or the rights and obligations of managing directors and shareholders.

However, that is the world of legal education. In corporate practice, I later came to know “business law” in a much broader sense.

What does business law mean in practice?

Simply put: Everything that lands on the boss’s desk.

Small and medium-sized enterprises in particular often do not have their own legal department, and certainly not a dedicated specialist for every field of law. In those settings, legal questions first arrive at the executive management level.

And those questions might be: Can we sign this contract as it is? Are we allowed to use this customer data for that purpose? What do we do with an employee when things aren’t working out? Who is liable if something goes wrong with a project? How do we structure a partnership? Can we ship abroad? What risks are hidden in these Terms and Conditions? And what do we actually need to consider if we receive subsidies for our project?

At that moment, the legal label usually doesn’t matter much.

But that sounds like a lot of different legal fields.

It is. And that is exactly how I got to know business law in practice from the very beginning.

Both at the State Association of Baden-Württemberg Industry (LVI, now Unternehmer Baden-Württemberg – UBW) and later at the Forum Aerospace Baden-Württemberg (LR BW), I was the only lawyer among nearly ten colleagues. My boss at the time – an economist who founded and managed a total of four associations over the course of his career – placed great trust in me from the start.

It became clear very quickly: If a legal question popped up anywhere, it landed with me.

And “anywhere” could truly be everywhere. Contracts had to be reviewed or drafted, labor law issues needed clarification, it involved rental law or data protection – all the way to the merger of two associations.

That was essentially the best training for my work today. Because no one came to me and said, “I have a case regarding the law of obligations here, please.” There was a specific problem that needed to be solved. Which legal field was behind it was secondary at first.

And then the international component was added for you?

Exactly. In parallel, I developed and managed international projects for many years – including in Mexico, the Danube region, and Ghana.

And once companies and organizations from different countries work together, you realize that the world fits into individual legal pigeonholes even less.

Then it might initially be about a contract, but simultaneously about funding conditions, project structures, different legal frameworks, intercultural nuances, cooperation with ministries and authorities, or quite simply the question: How do we get this project implemented in practice?

There, too, I learned not just to look at the individual legal question, but at the entire project and the people and organizations involved in it.

Does a lawyer have to be able to do everything then?

No – and I don’t think it’s professional to claim that.

I have handled many different legal issues in my professional life. But that doesn’t mean I am the right contact person for every specialized field.

For me, it is much more crucial to grasp an issue in its entirety: Where is the actual problem? Which legal areas are affected? What can I cover myself – and at what point is a colleague with a specific specialization needed?

That is exactly why my network plays such a major role in my work.

Ultimately, for an entrepreneur, it doesn’t matter which lawyer handles which legal box. In the end, they need a solution that works for their company.

So you don’t see yourself only as a traditional lawyer?

I enjoy being a lawyer very much. But my career path was never exclusively legal.

I have advised companies, managed international projects, applied for and processed funded projects, worked with ministries and donors, built networks, represented interests, and carried responsibility myself as a managing director.

Because of this, I automatically view a legal issue from a business perspective as well.

A legally perfect solution is of little help to a company if it cannot be implemented in practice. Conversely, a wonderfully pragmatic solution must not, of course, lead to significant legal risks being overlooked.

The art lies somewhere in between.

Is that perhaps also the reason why you call yourself a “Lawyer and Integral Corporate Consultant”?

Absolutely.

For me, “integral” means not just looking at a small excerpt. After all, a company does not consist of individual pigeonholes. Law, strategy, organization, employees, financing, internationalization, and projects all influence each other.

My goal is therefore to first understand the big picture and then develop a solution that fits the respective company.

Or to put it another way: I don’t just want to explain what isn’t legally possible. The much more exciting question is: How can we achieve what you want to accomplish as an entrepreneur in a legally secure way?

You mention the “Mittelstand” or SMEs remarkably often. Why are they particularly close to your heart?

Because I worked directly with small and medium-sized enterprises for many years and know their reality very well.

Decision-making paths there are often short. Management is close to employees, customers, suppliers, and products. Decisions have to be made – often quickly and without being able to involve a dedicated specialist department for every topic.

That is exactly why, in my view, SMEs need advice that is not only technically correct but also understandable, accessible, and pragmatic.

I don’t want to give an entrepreneur a ten-page legal treatise when what they actually need to know is: Can I do this? What risk am I taking? And if it doesn’t work this way – how does it work?

Your career path has also repeatedly led you into very different industries. Does that help with this type of consulting?

Very much.

I have been and am just as much at home in cross-sector business associations as in aerospace, environmental technology, and international projects. This allows you to learn very quickly that the same legal question can have completely different practical impacts depending on the company and/or industry.

A family business with 30 employees may need a different solution than an internationally active industrial company or an association.

The law may be the same. The right advice is not necessarily.

And what, for you, constitutes good business consulting?

When the client knows not only what the legal situation looks like after our conversation, but also what they can do now.

In the best case, I haven’t made a problem more complicated, but simpler.

Because companies don’t hire me so that I can explain to them as impressively as possible how complex the law is.

They hire me so that we can find a solution.

And perhaps that is my very personal definition of business law in the end:

Everything that lands on the boss’s desk legally – and needs a solution.

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