Nadja Vietz: Profile of an Internationally Renowned
Attorney
By Megan Clark
Posted September 30, 2007
Nadja Vietz
The Berlin wall
came down in November 1989, giving a freedom to East Germans
that many had never known, including Nadja Vietz. Vietz, born in
Herzberg, Germany in 1972, knew life was different in East
Germany compared to other places, but for her it wasn’t as bad
as many think.
Life in a Communist
state was normal for Vietz; she hadn’t known anything different.
There were obviously strict rules, but she followed them and
never gave the government any problems. Others were not so
fortunate. “There were people who could not go to school because
their parents were not members of the party, they were religious
and therefore were not allowed to do things like that,” says
Vietz. She was also aware that while she was lucky enough to
attend school, that in every class there was an undercover
Stasi, who monitored the students every move and reported
back to the government. It was just best to stay under the
radar, whether it was apparent who the Stasi was or
wasn’t says Vietz.
It was reported
that over 1,000 people died trying to flee East Germany during
the 28-year period. There were orders to shoot anyone trying to
cross the Berlin wall, including children. Vietz and her family,
however, were allowed to take a plane. At the age of 7, they
moved to West Africa for three years on a special exchange
program with the government. Her father who worked for the
University saw the opportunity to leave for a while and teach in
Mali, a country whose government was supported by
East Germany.
They eventually
went back to East Germany, even though they had an opportunity
to stay in France once when their travel plans were rerouted to
Paris. They chose not to because they had family back in
Germany
and that’s what was most important to them.
Vietz continued her
education back in Germany and was on the path to becoming an
attorney. When she was 18-years-old, the Berlin wall finally
came down and East Germans were allowed to cross borders. “I
think I was too young to really appreciate it,” says Vietz about
the historic moment. However once she realized the new
opportunities available, Vietz took off to France for a year on
an exchange program to study law. When she went back to Germany
she took the German equivalent to the
U.S.
bar exam and began working at a law office. After two years, she
moved to France where she met her husband, Ignasi. From there
her and Ignasi moved to Spain where he is originally from. Vietz
worked as a lawyer in Spain for 4 years, while Ignasi continued
his work at the international office of the U.S. based company,
Microsoft.
When Ignasi was
asked to move to the
Seattle
area and work at Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond, he and
Vietz packed up and headed for the Northwest. After arriving in
Seattle,
Vietz started to study the common law system practiced in the
U.S., which is significantly different than civil law, which is
commonly used in Europe. This was also when Vietz started to
lean English for the first time in her life.
After being in
Seattle for two and a half years, Vietz passed the bar exam for
the state of Washington and is currently working at a law firm
in Seattle. Her past experience in different countries has helped her
as a
U.S.
attorney because she is also able to work with German and
Spanish clients. The demanding career of an attorney has not
gotten in the way of raising her 2-year-old, Lola, either. “You
need a lot of support to balance being an attorney and a
mother,” says Vietz. “My husband is really supportive.” Someday
Vietz hopes to retire in Spain but it happy living and working
in Seattle. “In Europe, you are judged a lot on what you’ve done
and past experiences,” says Vietz. “The U.S. is more
open-minded. Here you are judged on your ability and what you
can do.”
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