Hello everyone,

I am totally new in this forum experience and hope to get some helpful advice by sharing my story with you. Like my title reveals I am a young Greek lawyer and have been in Lausanne, Switzerland for about 2 months now looking for a job. I did this because my husband-to-be is working as a researcher here and so I practically didn't have much choise.

The thing is that most job ads I've found require, as expected, either long work experience (which I haven't), or swiss diplomas/qualification. I am not expecting to be hired as a lawyer here, at least not right away, so I am willing to do an internship or even "move" to the banking sector, if that could be possible. I' ve already sent some applications, that seemed to be a good match, but haven't got any reply yet, and I fear that I might not be presenting myself the right way. As I have nobody in Switzerland, that I could turn to (my fiance is a physicist), I would be grateful to receive some advice on legal job websites, recruiters specialising in the legal field etc. or read someone's similar experience.

BTW, the language wouldn't be such a huge problem. I am fluent in German, as I have done a Master in Commercial and Internet Law in Germany, which I could surely adapt to the Swiss Law.

Thank you all in advance and hope to hear from you.

The search function is your friend:

SA qualified lawyer looking for info on finding job in Switz


American Lawyer Living in Zurich and Looking for Advice

And, if you intend to stay in Lausanne, French will be the language of necessity, not German.

Thanks! I am already learning French, but I am willing to work anywhere in Switzerland at the beginning.

Hi and welcome to our community.

I have edited your title, since you are not eligible to post a job ad and your thread would otherwise have to go. Check out Market Place forum stickies for more info.

Please, stop by at the intro section to say hello to all the possible advice sharers.

Cheers, MC
one of the forum mods.

Thanks Music Chick.

www.lawjobs.ch
www.nzzexecutive.ch
www.bluepencil.co.uk

I am already using the first one, but didn't know the other two.

Thanks a lot!

Still looking, so any piece of advice is more than welcome!

I'm probably not going to be of much help as I'm an equally unemployed lawyer

You may already be aware of this but UBS, Credit Suisse and some of the consulting firms like KPMG have internship programmes which could be a way to get a foot in the door. Both UBS and Credit Suisse are currently running recruitment campaigns for entry level trainees, if you look at their websites you'll find all of the details.

Hey BlancheNeige,

yeah I am aware of these projects. I intended to go for them once I would have excluded any other opportunity, because I would like to stick to my field, but I guess I'll give it a go!

Good luck!
I was in the same situation, lawyer from non - swiss university, coming to follow my boyfriend and trying to find a job. Took me 3 months, but I didnt really stay in legal area - I do think its almost impossible to work as a legal counsel here...
Just keep trying, I sent like hundreds of CVs and the result came!

If you were based in Zurich I would suggest:
http://www.jobfairzav.ch/
... but the next fair is only in May 2012.

Geneva might have something similar. Best check with:
https://www.odageneve.ch/fr/la-ordre...ats-a-trangers

Keep reading the complaints section of this forum and you're sure to find willing clients ready to employ your services with regards to rent, flushing toilets, mowing lawns, smoking in public, people daring to vote SVP, as well as the usual romantic casualties looking for revenge or maybe just distant love.

To be honest with you, its very, very difficult. There are tons of lawyers who want to work here (especially as there are no jobs anywhere else in the world). The best way to go is through specialist recruiters. I recommend you send around 30 cvs a day and you might get lucky in a couple of months. Finding a job is a job...

www.alecallan.ch is probably the best legal recruiter in the French speaking area. If you dont have any experience, I suggest you go for a paralegal position (the pay is very good), or as said above, go for an internship. I think the second option is the best becuase once your a paralegal, always a paralegal. However, it depends on you. The legal-financial sector is without a doubt the best legal area you can be in.

good luck!

Thank you all!

I know it's very hard to get a legal job as a foreigner in Switzerland. An internship is actually what I am aiming at. It will probably be the best way to set foot in the swiss job market, but still there aren't so many job offers. I am actually thinking of working as a legal translator/proofreader for some time. I already have lots of experience and I also like it a lot. I would hate giving up a big part of my studies, but still it would be better than nothing. Is it possible for lawyers to register and work as translators in Switzerland?

Stuff like that is what actually drove me away from my home country! There are so many lawyers there, that most of them end up dealing with boring, uninteresting cases, and probably get paid six months later or maybe never. But I guess payment would not be a problem in Switzerland!

Do you know any legal recruiters in the German speaking part? That's where I am actually focusing on, since I speak German, but not French

I can't help with legal recruiters in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, but when you submit your c.v. and/or go in to talk to them you'll really have to sell yourself and play up the advantages that you have as someone coming from outside Switzerland. In my experience (with Alec Allan in Geneva), if they can't easily find a little box to put you in then they're not particularly helpful.

And that's probably the hardest part...

Sorry Despina, I didn't mean to be too negative. I think I'm probably harder to place than someone who has a commercial law background and you'll almost certainly have better luck than I have using recruiters.