Second-year law student Cassandra Allen is pictured in front of the Kathedrale Sanctissimae Trinitatis in Dresden, Germany. Photo courtesy of Cassandra Allen.

Ich bin ein Berliner

This past summer, I had the privilege of having my first legal experience be an international one, working for CMS in Berlin, Germany. For those unfamiliar with Berlin, it is a place where history, food, art, culture, and innovation come together to create a dynamic, surprisingly organic, way of life. When I woke up for my first day of work and walked to the bus stop, I was quickly greeted by the sight of determined working class professionals cycling to work in full office attire. As I rode the bus to the office, I couldn’t help but feel nervous. CMS is an incredibly prestigious law firm and I felt I had only just survived my first year of law school. However, as the bus drove past iconic sights like the Tiergarten and Potsdamer Platz, I could not help but feel inspired. So much history had happened in Berlin, and here I was about to make my own.

The CMS office in Berlin, Germany. Photo courtesy of Cassandra Allen.

I quickly got to work in the international arbitration department, meeting fellow interns, trying my luck at comparative civil procedure research, and learning the ropes of corporate culture. Each legal department enjoyed a close bond and employees diligently stopped by everyone’s office as they came in for the morning, just to say hello. A highlight was the monthly luncheon on the top floor of the office which overlooked all of Berlin with iconic sights like the Bundestag and the TV tower. As interns usually worked from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, we quickly developed solidarity with one another, something solidified by lunch breaks and hot chocolate runs.

In my short time with CMS, I was fortunate enough to shadow an attorney for a trial in historic Potsdam, network with industry giants at the firms private equity social, and had the opportunity to engage deeply with different cases despite my limited experience. CMS kept me busy and my capacity for flexibility, problem solving, and critical thinking in my legal work product grew immensely because of the firm’s willingness to let me give things a try.

The Ampelmännchen, or “traffic light man,” is a well-known symbol of Berlin and East Germany. Photo courtesy of Cassandra Allen.

Admittedly, even while abroad, the best part of any job is getting to go home. After all, there was a whole country to explore! Coincidentally, I was in Berlin during the 2024 Euro Cup, so weekends cafe hopping and people watching were extra lively! As a history and political science junkie, I was eager to go to as many museums as possible, Berlin humbly boasts over 170. Some of my favorites included the Futurium, Deutsches History Museum, and the German Spy Museum.

On several weekends, I was able to venture further out into Europe to visit friends and family. I was fortunate to explore Dresden, Munich, Hamburg, and Leipzig. As well as Prague, Szczecin, and Vienna. On the long train rides I spent ample time in disbelief that I was even in Europe for a whole summer, fighting imposter syndrome, soul searching, and relishing in feelings of triumph that I was able to adapt to a new challenging environment. In hindsight it feels a bit like a fever dream, after all who would have thought that I would have traveled to four different countries while interning at a major international law firm just six weeks after first-year exams. I will always remember the summer of 2024 as a time of exploration, full of blisters on my feet, and proof that I can do hard things and come out on the other side victorious.

By Cassandra Allen, a second-year student at the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law.