Regina Glaser studied law at the University of Cologne and was admitted to the German bar in 1997. Since 2005, she has been a partner at Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek in Düsseldorf and holds a leading position in the firm’s employment group. Furthermore, she is a member of the firm’s management board for international alliances. She is a member of the American and German Bar Association, EELA, secretary and counsel of the Global Employment Institute.

What do you enjoy most about working in labour and employment?

I was inspired by employment law issues. Dealing with employment law means dealing with people. I love bringing people together in an employment relationship and solving issues in employment-law-related matters. Labour law is not an abstract area of law, but it is always about bringing people together and about resolving conflicts.

Name one of your most memorable matters to date.

On my very first day at Heuking I settled about 100 labour cases before the labour court representing a hotel group in a mass dismissal case. This took more than 10 hours and was really exciting.

On what type of matters have clients frequently asked your advice on during the past year? Why?

Clients frequently needed advice regarding the transfer of undertakings and how to manage or to avoid it. Also in the last two years I advised some clients regarding platform workers and their status. This is because many online platforms were established to connect consumers and workers during the pandemic. Other major issues were teleworking and work permits for non-EU nationals.

What challenges do restructurings create for employees and do you expect to see more of these issues given the impact of covid-19?

Restructurings often mean for employees that they will be laid off in the course of a mass dismissal. As a result, the remaining employees have to perform more tasks in the same time. The challenge for me as counsel of the employer is to keep the costs of restructuring in line with the budget and customised to the client’s needs. In my opinion, the number of restructurings due to covid-19 has not yet skyrocketed in Germany. This is as many companies received support in the form of loans and subsidies to keep up their business and because the government has provided extensive financial aid, so-called short-time working allowances, for employees who could not be employed during the pandemic. Due to this, companies did not have to pay any or only part of the salary and were not forced to dismiss their employees. In my estimation, the number of dismissals did not increase significantly during the pandemic in Germany. Due to the government’s financial aid, most companies were able to maintain their qualified workforce that they can reactivate when the economy picks up again.

As the former co-chair of the discrimination and equality law committee at the International Bar Association, what further steps can the legal industry take to increase diversity?

Many companies have already taken diversity management measures. However, not always with the desired effect. The main reasons are that those involved either do not believe in their impact or do not make their enforcement one of their priorities. Moreover, the adopted measures often do not consider the companies’ basic structures. I believe that executives need to be fully committed to diversity to ensure equality in the legal industry. To encourage this commitment, executives could be held accountable if the goals to ensure such equality are not met, e.g. equal payment for men and women and the reduction of the gender pay gap. Further digitisation and the establishment of childcare facilities might help to increase the number of women in management positions. It makes perfect sense to speak up for more diversity. Studies have shown that diverse teams are also more successful economically. An improved work-life balance would definitely also help to promote diversity.

With the hybrid work model becoming increasingly prominent, what challenges and opportunities do you foresee clients navigating over the next two years?

This model is an opportunity to improve the work-life balance. It is, however, not easy to lead employees remotely, in particular young employees and trainees. Moreover, hybrid working can weaken the cohesion of teams as social cohesion is lost. On the plus side, hybrid work reduces the need for office space and thus lowers costs, e.g. less energy consumption.

What makes Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek stand out from its competitors in the market?

We are very fast growing. Since I joined HKLW in 2000 the number of lawyers and the turnover have quadrupled. The key to our success is that we are very entrepreneurial and business-minded specialist lawyers who always focus on the economic aspects when advising clients, giving them quick and pragmatic answers. I think that distinguishes us from our competitors.

What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

I used to believe that being a professional meant being structured and focused and separating personal life from the job. I changed my approach when a colleague advised me to make real contact first. Thus, I always start conversations by asking about the well-being of the person I am talking to instead of jumping straight into business. Focusing only on business without looking right or left is not always the best way. I am utterly convinced that we should bring all that we are to our work. I no longer believe that people have a professional self from Monday to Friday and a real self for the rest of the time. I think it is better to make our true self known, to talk about our personal situation and to admit that professional decisions are often driven by emotions.