There are about 140,000 attorneys working in Germany (in the year 2008). A German legal practitioner either works as a self-employed professional or as an employee of a law company. The counselor-at-law is a so-called independent organ of the legal system. As a client you have the right to choose your preferred lawyer absolutely on your own. The following site offers a directory of attorneys assorted by German cities: Anwalt Dortmund.
Your advocate is independent of any instructions of third parties and should only chase your specific interests. He or she may not reveal details of your case to unauthorized third parties. Additionally your counselor-at-law has the right to make binding statements on your behalf. So it is very important to find a lawyer whom you really trust. German attorneys can be found here: Anwaelte Mannheim. This is a human edited directory of attorneys, which is growing constantly. Besides using Internet directories you can find the right counselor-at-law by studying the local press or by asking friends for recommendations.
The German legal practitioner can work as a generalist or as a specialist. As our world is becoming more and more complex, it might be a good idea to look for a lawyer who is specialized in a specific area of law. There are for example specialized attorneys for family law (divorces etc.), employment law, tax law, insurance law, inheritance law, road traffic law, medical law and several others.
Self-employed advocates face the same problems as any other entrepreneur. They are looking for ways to advertise their businesses effectively and cheaply. The Internet offers numerous opportunities to achieve that. There are already several directories of German legal practitioners online. Some of them charge a one time rate, and some of them do recurring billing. Legal practitioners can present their businesses in the following directory: Rechtsanwalt Augsburg. It is free of charge at the time of this writing.