Practice Management Software for Germany Rechtsanwälte (2026)

Every German Rechtsanwalt who holds client money (Fremdgeld) must keep it on a separate Fremdgeldkonto — a dedicated client trust account — strictly segregated from the firm's own funds. The rule is set out in § 4 BORA (Berufsordnung für Rechtsanwälte) and reinforced by § 43a BRAO.

Key requirements:

• Client money received (settlement proceeds, advance payments, deposits) must be forwarded to the client without delay (unverzüglich), unless there is a legitimate reason to hold it.
• Where a temporary hold is justified, the money must sit on a Fremdgeldkonto, never on the firm's operating account (Geschäftskonto).
• Each client's funds must be traceable in the firm's books — typically via per-matter sub-ledgers.
• The local Rechtsanwaltskammer (RAK) can demand evidence of compliance at any time. Misuse of Fremdgeld is a disciplinary offence and a criminal offence under § 266 StGB (Untreue).

For very small balances, a single pooled Fremdgeldkonto with per-matter ledger tracking is standard. For substantial amounts held long-term, a per-matter sub-account (Anderkonto) is often opened, with interest credited to the client.

German lawyers bill in one of two ways, governed by the Rechtsanwaltsvergütungsgesetz (RVG):

Statutory fees (gesetzliche Gebühren) — the default. Fees are computed from the Vergütungsverzeichnis (VV RVG, Anlage 1) based on the Streitwert (amount in dispute) using the value table in Anlage 2. Each procedural step (Verfahrensgebühr, Terminsgebühr, Einigungsgebühr) is multiplied by the relevant Gebührensatz (e.g., 1.3 for a typical Verfahrensgebühr).

Fee agreements (Vergütungsvereinbarung) — § 3a RVG allows an hourly rate (Stundensatz) or fixed fee instead, provided the agreement is in writing, identifies itself clearly as a Vergütungsvereinbarung, and — in court matters — is not below the statutory fee.

A few important rules:

• Initial consultation for a consumer (Verbraucher) is capped at €190 net plus USt under § 34 RVG if no separate agreement is made.
• Statutory fees are calculated from Streitwert tables — practice management software should compute these automatically when you enter the value in dispute.
• Time-tracked work for hourly bills should be logged in 6-minute increments with a clear narrative per entry.

Unlike many jurisdictions, Germany does not impose a federal mandatory CPD hours requirement on general Rechtsanwälte — § 43a Abs. 6 BRAO requires lawyers to keep up to date, but does not set a numerical floor.

However, there are two important exceptions:

• Fachanwälte (specialist titles) — under § 15 FAO (Fachanwaltsordnung), holders of a Fachanwalt title (e.g., Fachanwalt für Arbeitsrecht, Fachanwalt für Steuerrecht) must complete at least 15 hours of certified continuing education per year in their specialty area. Evidence is filed annually with the local RAK; failure can lead to revocation of the title.
• Syndikusrechtsanwälte (in-house lawyers) have parallel obligations under their admission rules.

Even for general lawyers without a Fachanwalt title, documented Fortbildung is increasingly expected by clients and is strongly recommended. Track your hours, certificates, and topic areas — this also supports professional indemnity insurance applications.

To practise as a Rechtsanwalt in Germany you must:

• Pass both State Examinations (Erstes und Zweites Staatsexamen) or hold an equivalent EU lawyer qualification recognised under § 11 EuRAG.
• Apply for admission (Zulassung) at the Rechtsanwaltskammer (RAK) for the district in which your office is located. The local RAK — not the federal BRAK — is the day-to-day regulator.
• Maintain mandatory Berufshaftpflichtversicherung (professional indemnity insurance) of at least €250,000 per claim under § 51 BRAO.
• Hold a beA (besonderes elektronisches Anwaltspostfach) — the mandatory secure electronic mailbox used for filings with all German courts since 2018. Use of beA is obligatory; non-use of beA where electronically required is a procedural error.

The federal BRAK sets uniform professional rules (BORA, FAO, etc.), while each of the 27+ regional RAKs handles admission, complaints, and supervision.

Legal services provided by a German Rechtsanwalt are subject to Umsatzsteuer (USt) at the standard rate of 19% under § 12 Abs. 1 UStG. (The narrow VAT exemptions in § 4 UStG cover certain medical, educational, and financial services — they do not apply to general legal advice.)

A compliant German lawyer's invoice (Rechnung) under §§ 14, 14a UStG must include:

• Sequential invoice number (fortlaufende Rechnungsnummer).
• Issue date and supply/performance date.
• Your firm name, address, and Steuernummer or USt-IdNr (VAT ID).
• Client name and address.
• Description of services rendered (Leistungsbeschreibung).
• Net fee broken down by RVG position or hours billed.
• USt at 19% shown as a separate amount.
• Total gross.

For cross-border B2B services to clients established in another EU member state, the reverse charge typically applies (§ 13b UStG): the invoice shows 0% USt and the note "Steuerschuldnerschaft des Leistungsempfängers / Reverse charge". Disbursements paid as agent for the client (Gerichtskosten, Behördengebühren) are durchlaufende Posten and outside the USt base.

Pitfall 1: Receiving Fremdgeld onto the Geschäftskonto. Even a brief stop on the firm's operating account is a § 4 BORA breach. Have the client wire client funds directly to the Fremdgeldkonto.

Pitfall 2: Unwritten fee agreements. An hourly rate or fixed fee that is only agreed verbally falls back to statutory RVG fees if challenged — and you cannot recover above the statutory amount in court. Always issue a written Vergütungsvereinbarung.

Pitfall 3: Missing the consumer consultation cap. Charging a consumer more than €190 net for an initial consultation without a prior written agreement is an automatic § 34 RVG cap violation.

Pitfall 4: Forgetting beA filings. Since 2022, electronic filing via beA is mandatory for lawyer-to-court communication. Paper filings where electronic is required can be rejected as formally invalid.

Pitfall 5: Fachanwalt CPD slippage. If you hold a Fachanwalt title, missing the 15-hour Fortbildung quota under § 15 FAO can result in revocation of the title. Track hours throughout the year, not in December.

Many German firms run on long-established on-premise Kanzleisoftware — RA-MICRO, Advoware, AnNoText, Kleos, or DATEV Anwalt classic — and find themselves with annual maintenance fees that scale poorly for a 1-3 lawyer Kanzlei.

A structured migration follows four steps:

• Export matter list (Aktenliste), client ledger including Fremdgeld balances, and the time/billing journal as CSV. Most vendors offer an export; some require an XML/SQL dump.
• Reconcile the Fremdgeldkonto export against the live bank statement before importing — never inherit a discrepancy.
• Import open matters first, then closed matters from the 6-year (commercial) / 10-year (tax) retention window, and archive the rest read-only.
• Run parallel for one full month — issue bills from both systems and verify RVG calculations and 19% USt rounding match exactly before switching off the legacy system.

EZ@Work supports CSV import of matters and ledgers, automatic RVG Streitwert lookups, and a migration checklist aligned with § 4 BORA Fremdgeld rules.