Justice: Judicial Assistants - Thuringia Offers Side Jobs for Legal Trainees

The German state of Thuringia is introducing a new model project to bolster its judicial system by creating 20 positions for judicial assistants. This initiative, announced by Justice Minister Beate Meißner, aims to attract more young legal professionals to serve in the state's courts and prosecutor's offices.

Starting in September, eight of these positions will be advertised for the Regional Court of Erfurt and the local prosecutor's office. The program, slated to begin in November, is designed to open a new chapter in Thuringia's efforts to recruit new talent. Justice Minister Meißner described the project as a "win-win situation."

The judicial assistant role will allow legal trainees, known as "Referendare," to gain additional professional experience during their training period. Simultaneously, their work will support judges and prosecutors by handling auxiliary tasks, thereby relieving their workload. This setup provides Referendare with a deeper insight into practical legal work, while the judiciary gains potential candidates for future positions.

Thuringia intends for this program to make the justice system a more attractive employer and to retain young lawyers in the state after they pass their second state examinations. The competition for junior lawyers is intensifying across Germany, similar to other sectors. Judicial assistant positions are already offered in other German states, such as Saxony.

The pilot phase, involving the eight initial positions, is expected to run until the end of the year to test organizational processes. The plan is to eventually establish up to 20 such positions across Thuringia, with approximately 2.7 million euros allocated in the state budget for this and the upcoming year. The judicial assistant role is a paid sideline, independent of the main legal training, and involves a maximum of 32 working hours per month, typically four to eight hours per week. Assistants will earn around 30 euros gross per hour, aligning with entry-level salaries for the higher judicial service. Their duties include legal research, drafting proposals, and compiling case files. Thuringia has seen a significant increase in Referendare, from 125 in 2024 to an expected 231 this year. For the first time in a long time, new hires for judges and prosecutors in 2026 (75) exceeded retirements (45), halting a previous trend.

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The fight for young lawyers in Germany is becoming increasingly difficult, as in many other sectors.