Julia Dieball on curiosity and creativity in law

What motivated you to study law? Why did you want to become a lawyer?

Like some others, I more or less stumbled into studying law. I originally wanted to study medicine, but quickly realized that topics like death and illness were best left to others. Somehow, law just felt right: it’s about language, logical thinking, and understanding socio-political processes—things I already enjoyed back in school. It turned out to be the right choice.

After my legal training, I decided to become a lawyer. I enjoy the role of representing interests. It requires not only solid legal knowledge but also, at times, a high degree of legal creativity. After all, it’s not just about applying the law in a formulaic way—it’s about crafting practical, interest-aligned solutions. In the process, you gain invaluable insights into different areas of society and the economy. In short: you see a lot and learn a lot.

What excites you about your work? Would you like to share any career highlights?

The variety. Getting to know exciting people and companies. Constantly broadening my horizons and diving into new legal questions. That enthusiasm began during my studies. Founding the association recode.law was definitely a highlight of that time. In my still-young professional life, the highlight has been the responsibility I was trusted with early on—handling client communications, developing my own legal work products, and mentoring junior legal professionals still in training.

What fascinates you about public law?

Public law often has a bit of a dusty reputation—unless we’re talking about constitutional or international law. But in nearly every area, it touches on the foundations of how we live together as a society. It provides essential protection against state arbitrariness and inequality, regulates economic activity, creates incentives, and enables or limits new phenomena like artificial intelligence. Here, you don’t just get to witness the shaping of the future—you can help shape it as a lawyer, in contact with both public institutions and private-sector actors. That’s fascinating—and a lot of fun.

Why did you choose PSWP, and what makes PSWP special?

I got to know PSWP during my legal clerkship. I really enjoyed my time there. That’s thanks to its boutique structure, the team of young associates and experienced partners who care deeply about developing good lawyers, and the exciting mandates, which often involve completely unsettled legal questions that touch on the core of our legal system. For me, it’s this mix—the quality of the legal work, the strong training, and the demanding, current topics—that makes PSWP stand out. That was also the deciding factor for me.

What qualities define a good lawyer—now and in the future?

In my view, empathy, precision, a sense for risks and key issues, and quick comprehension will remain just as essential in the future as they are now. Equally important is a sensitivity to communication: after all, our work always involves people—whether they act in their own interest or as part of a larger entity like a company. And people want to be understood—both on a personal level and in terms of their legal problem. Hiding behind academic legal constructs and technical jargon doesn’t help much.

What impact is technology—especially artificial intelligence—having on legal work, particularly from a lawyer’s perspective?

Artificial intelligence, especially generative AI, can support us in many ways and help us enhance our legal capabilities. I believe that a curious and informed engagement with AI is essential for lawyers to remain competitive. Legal work—especially the text-heavy kind—is particularly affected by this shift. And that’s undeniably an opportunity: processes can be made leaner, faster, more structured; repetitive (and sometimes boring) tasks can be offloaded. These efficiency gains could also improve access to justice for consumers—for example, by streamlining high-volume procedures. As a result, compensation models will likely evolve too, as some tasks can now be completed in seconds. Against the backdrop of these multi-layered changes, I hope that strong legislative decisions and proactive industry initiatives will guide us toward solutions that benefit everyone. And of course, we all need to contribute to that effort.

What is your vision for legal work in five and ten years?

This is a particularly exciting question in light of technological change. Maybe this is how my grandparents felt when they got their first home phone line and could suddenly make long-distance calls—curious about what was still to come, a little awed by a technology that changed or even replaced familiar processes. Naturally, that also brings a lot of uncertainty. Given the speed of change—especially the advances in AI over the past two years—it’s hard to predict what things will look like even five or ten years down the line.

So here’s my general take: I believe the core pillars of our work will remain—resolving social conflicts, balancing competing interests, and human interaction. The way we work will change: it will become (even) faster, many tasks will disappear or be automated. We’ll be able—and required—to focus on one of the central goals of legal work: preventing or resolving conflicts. The mode in which we do that? Time will tell.