New continuing education qualification bundles IT, data protection, and marketing in the legal sector

With the regulation signed on August 24, 2026, and promulgated on September 2, 2026, in the Federal Law Gazette (Bundesgesetzblatt) Part I No. 246, a new recognized advanced training qualification is created: “Certified Professional Specialist for Information Technology and Marketing in Legal Affairs” (male) or “Certified Professional Specialist for Information Technology and Marketing in Legal Affairs” (female). The Certified Professional Specialist Information Technology Marketing Legal Affairs Advanced Training Examination Regulation (BSIMRFPrV) enters into force on the day after its promulgation.

The regulation was issued by the Federal Ministry of Education, Family, Seniors, Women and Youth in agreement with the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection and after consultation with the Main Committee of the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training. It is based on §§ 53, 53a, and 53b of the Vocational Training Act and positions the qualification at the first professional advanced training level of higher-qualifying vocational education. The regulation was signed by Federal Minister Karin Prien.

A Qualification for the Digitized Law Firm

The new qualification responds to the digitalization of law firms and bundles seven fields of activity that graduates are expected to handle independently and responsibly:

• Maintaining and supporting the technical infrastructure
• Implementing measures for data protection and data security
• Managing the content of social media platforms
• Assessing opportunities and risks in the use of Artificial Intelligence
• Implementing marketing strategies while considering market developments
• Designing and implementing service-related marketing concepts
• Implementing requirements for anti-money laundering prevention

To acquire the necessary skills, knowledge, and abilities, a learning volume of at least 400 hours is generally provided.

Three Examination Areas

The examination is divided into three examination areas. The area “Office Organization and Office Administration” covers, among other things, law firm organization, electronic legal communication, data protection, and document management. The area “Information Technology and Data Protection” includes the planning of technical infrastructure, data security, data processing on behalf of a controller, as well as the review of software and license agreements. In the area “Marketing and Media,” AI-supported marketing tools, the law firm’s homepage, social media presence, as well as email, print, and direct marketing are examined.

The examination consists of a written and an oral exam. The written examination comprises three supervised papers with processing times of 120, 180, and 120 minutes; the oral examination is a 30-minute case-related professional discussion with 15 minutes of preparation time. The examination is passed if at least 50 points are achieved in each examination component. The overall grade is weighted at 20 percent (office organization), 40 percent (information technology and data protection), and 20 percent each for the written and oral performance in the field of marketing and media.

Who is admitted

Admission to the examination is granted to those who can prove one of the following requirements:

• completed training as a legal assistant (Rechtsanwaltsfachangestellte/r), legal and notary assistant (Rechtsanwalts- und Notarfachangestellte/r), patent attorney assistant (Patentanwaltsfachangestellte/r), or notary assistant (Notarfachangestellte/r)
• completed training in another recognized profession with a duration of three years plus at least one year of professional experience
• a two-year training plus at least two years of professional experience
• at least 60 credit points according to the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System in a related field of study plus two years of professional experience
• at least four years of professional experience

The professional experience must have significant connections to the aforementioned activities. Failed examination components may be repeated twice within a period of three years.

Significance for the industry

With the new qualification, legal and notary assistants with ambitions for advancement are provided for the first time with a nationwide recognized further education path that combines IT competence, data protection, artificial intelligence, and marketing in the legal sector. The regulation thus creates a clear, standardized qualification for a professional group that is increasingly in demand in the course of the digitalization of law firms.

Source: Federal Law Gazette, Part I No. 246 of September 2, 2026, pp. 1–8 (official reference: BGBl. 2026 I No. 246).