The Anti-Competition Playbook: How a European Firm Thrives by Partnering with US Lawyers

Welcome to Latte with a Lawyer, the essential podcast for attorneys navigating the global legal landscape. In this episode, Felix Hilgert, a German-qualified lawyer leading the West Coast office for the 250-year-old European firm, Osborne Clarke, explains his firm's unique position in Silicon Valley: not practicing US law, but acting as a crucial bridge for American tech companies expanding into Europe and Asia. Felix shares how a firm that began by advising 18th-century railroad engineers now builds its own proprietary legal tech to manage complex, multi-jurisdictional compliance projects for the world's biggest tech players. Felix also pulls back the curtain on Germany's grueling legal education system—a high-stakes gauntlet where failing the final bar exam after seven years of study can leave you with no degree to show for it. He charts his own journey from an aspiring diplomat to a 'video games lawyer' and details how his firm leverages its deep expertise in GDPR and other European digital regulations to become an indispensable partner for US companies. Discover how Osborne Clarke turns potential competitors into collaborators, building a powerful referral network by intentionally staying out of the US legal market. Linkedin:   / felix-hilgert-34a11184   FIRM Website: https://www.osborneclarke.com/locatio... Learn more about EmotionTrac and our AI-driven Emotional Intelligence Platform: https://legal.emotiontrac.com/