OUR LOGO, OUR NAMING, OUR SELF-IMAGE

Why did we choose the horse as a symbol in our logo?

The simplest explanation would be that the founder of the firm, Prof. Dr. Dr. Karsten Fehn, has been a passionate (dressage) rider for many years in his private life and is dedicated to the promotion of equestrian sports; for example, he is a member of the Trakehner Verband e.V. and on the board of the Förderkreis Dressur Neuss e.V. This is where his love of horses comes from. However, this explanation would be too banal - it rather only gave the impulse to add the horse as heraldic animal to the existing logo. After all, the work of a successful lawyer, tax advisor and defense attorney can be compared with the horse and with the requirements that have to be met when working with horses:

The horse as a symbol

It is said, "If you want to ride a horse, you have to make it your friend - a horse creates trust and self-confidence." In addition, in symbolism, the horse is attributed the meanings of "strength", "assertiveness", "sensitivity" and "instinct" (the unconscious).

All of these attributes are essential to our work as successful counselors, litigators and defenders. Without the trust of the people we work with (colleagues, negotiators, prosecutors, judges, clients) - namely in the quality and reliability of our work - it is not possible. It is obvious that assertiveness and perseverance are also necessary. The same applies to the instinct to do the right thing at the right time, for example, in contract negotiations or in litigation. Ultimately, it is this unerring instinct that makes a good and experienced attorney, litigator and consultant.

From horse to rider

Although our symbol is only the horse and it does not show a rider, the association to the rider is obvious and this is also intentional. Thus, in symbolism, rider and horse are often shown together as a symbiosis of the unconsciously strong (horse) with the consciously steering (rider). Ultimately, it is the rider who holds the reins and makes the decisions.

Accordingly, it is our philosophy to always hold the reins and thus the "reins of action" in our counseling, representation and defense. In order to protect and enforce the interests of our clients, we do not only want to react to the actions and measures of others, but already anticipate the next steps of others and thereby act with foresight ourselves and cause others to react.

Following on from this, the question arises as to what makes a successful rider and what parallels can we draw with our professional ethical convictions?

Successful riders are fully concentrated and focused

The rider must have the ability to fully concentrate on one thing at the right time. The rider's concentration must not be "on the outside" but 100% focused on the task at hand, anticipating his horse's reaction in the seconds ahead and acting accordingly. Lack of concentration and focus is immediately perceived by horses as sensitive creatures and they react to it. The consequences are mistakes in flying changes, incorrect lessons and course figures, unsuitable distance to the jump or poor routing in the course.

It is exactly this ability that the lawyer, advisor and especially the defense counsel need, not only, but especially in the trial: The concentration must be fully directed to the interests of the client, to the proceedings and to the contents of the file. An inability to concentrate or to focus will lead to a less than optimal response to a procedural development, the overlooking of an important detail in the file, a motion that was not made.

We take it upon ourselves to focus on your case at all times, to work on it with full concentration and to enter the proceedings meticulously prepared.

Successful riders are always in the here and now

Every rider - no matter what discipline - knows this situation: After the first drop in the course or a less than optimal lesson in the arena, nothing works anymore. It comes to further drops or lessons that do not work. The reason for this is the so-called analytical paralysis, i.e., the rider is busy with the analysis or an avoidance strategy after a mistake. In doing so, he forgets that there are still other tasks - obstacles or lessons - ahead of him. The focus is therefore in the past, which leads to a loss of concentration and lack of clarity in the aids. The successful rider is able to focus exclusively on the next task (lesson or jump) and make analyses that are correct and important only after the test has been completed.

We, too, conduct an extensive situation analysis - at the beginning of the mandate, during the mandate, before a trial and after each trial day. During a negotiation - virtually the parcours or dressage task - we are always in the here and now, reacting to current developments, remaining responsive and assertive.

Successful riders trust themselves and their skills

A rider who enters an advanced (S) level course or dressage test needs to have confidence in his sporting partner, the horse, and its ability, as well as confidence in himself; he needs a positive and optimistic basic attitude. Every thought leads to a biochemical reaction in the body. This reaction has an effect on one's own body language and posture, which in turn is perceived by the horse and triggers reactions in the horse. Why should a horse trust the rider if the rider does not even trust and believe in himself?

We trust each other as partners in the partnership and we have confidence in our own ability, which we have acquired not only through our extensive academic training, but also through decades of professional experience. We believe that this self-confidence leads to positive reactions for our clients on the other side, among prosecutors, judges, and public officials.

Successful riders constantly try to perfect themselves and get support when needed

Isabell Werth once said to the firm's founder, Prof. Dr. Dr. Karsten Fehn, "Every rider needs support from below." Every successful rider will constantly question his riding and try to keep improving. He will seek the right professional support and advice for this, if necessary.

The above quoted sentence of Mrs. Werth - who is not only the most successful dressage rider in the world, but also a lawyer - is in a figurative sense a daily reminder also for the professional practice: Nobody can do everything or do everything equally well. To recognize one's own limits and to stay within these professional limits or, if necessary, to call in expert support in the interest of the client (e.g., in the form of experts, specialist lawyers from other fields of law, etc.) and to recognize this need in good time is one of our strengths. It is not only in the world of sports that we are excellently networked.

Although successful riders practice an individual sport, they are nevertheless empathetic "team players".

When it comes down to it, every rider is on his own when it comes to making decisions in the course or in the arena. Nevertheless, he is a "team player", because every successful rider will understand his horse as a partner on whom he depends and with whom he has to coordinate. If he fails to do this, he will not successfully negotiate a course or pass a dressage test.

The same applies to legal proceedings or contract negotiations: There, you are on your own with your decisions, you have to make the right decision at the right time. Without a strong team - the employees of one's own law firm and, of course, the client, whose interests are the sole concern - long-term success is not guaranteed. The team can also consist, e.g., in the context of a so-called base defense, of several and even a multitude of lawyers who jointly develop ideas and strategies and in which it is necessary to be involved in order to ensure a joint success.

The diamonds were part of the logo from the moment of the firm's foundation (2004 - at that time still as an individual law firm), first in different shades of gray, later (2014) then in graduated shades of green.

The choice of color is, of course, no coincidence. Green has a calming and natural effect. The color "green" is associated with "life", "nature", "contentment", "happiness" and "hope". It is certainly also our task to reassure our clients with factual distance and by observing the necessary objectivity, to steer the proceedings in the right direction and thus to make our clients satisfied. At the same time, we ourselves always want to remain natural in the sense that we provide human advice and are always authentic with regard to ourselves vis-à-vis the client. This includes both an open ear and an understandable language.

The diamonds chosen as symbols have corners and sharp edges - just as we literally have and use them when necessary to assert our clients' interests against opponents, public prosecutors, courts and authorities. We can build the barrier necessary to place ourselves protectively in front of our clients, to be what the lawyer was in the sense of Cicero (106 B.C. to 43 B.C.): the advocate for the client. In doing so, we claim - symbolized by the different gradations of the color green - to act in a coherent manner, adapted to the respective situation, in the respective necessary intensity levels.

The two long strokes separating "FEHN" and "Legal" result from the originally used single stroke. After Dr. Dr. Bernd Josef Fehn joined the firm as a partner as the brother of the firm's founder, "one Fehn" became "two Fehns". The two strokes may represent a stylized Roman two (II) and demonstrate the strength of the combined professional expertise of Prof. Dr. Dr. Karsten Fehn and Dr. Dr. Bernd Josef Fehn.

Finally, we have included the English word "Legal" in our naming, firstly because it can be translated with the German meanings "rechtlich", "gesetzlich", "rechtsgültig" and "rechtssicher" and we offer our clients legally secure, legally valid advice. Secondly, we use this English vocabulary to address our international, in particular U.S., cooperation partners and clients, to refer to our function as the legal office of the European Centers for Dental Implantology (ECDI) and to point out our memberships in the International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC), the European Criminal Bar Association (ECBA) as well as at the European Fraud and Compliance Lawyers (EFCL) and Tax & Legal Excellence (TLE).