"Happiness is coming home and feeling that I have made others happy"
The teachers remember him as a student "with a great sense of justice", "apparently without doubts, and with a constant eagerness to always know more." "Being a good student" was always one of his priorities and becoming one day a lawyer accompanied every stage of his journey. Therefore, when in 2012-2013 he finished his studies at the Vilamoura International School, it was with great enthusiasm that he embraced the academic path at the Faculty of Law of the University of Coimbra.
Now 26 years old, and practising law since 2018, Tobias Hamann considers himself "a person satisfied with the results achieved. "Sitting at one of the tables in the CIV Bar, in a conversation interspersed with the enthusiasm of passing teachers who offer him the greeting that the pandemic allows - the former student takes a trip back in time. "These are beautiful memories," he says, his face reflecting past situations.
The consistency of the educational project
"I have very good memories of the 12 years I spent in this house”, he says. "My parents never had any doubt that this was the right place for us to study because we always observed exemplary educational methods, of excellence, whether in human resources, in teachers, or at the technical level and in the educational project, which was very consistent," he adds. "Something that - from what I see on social networks and which, now that I'm back here, is apparent to me - continues to be a priority and continuous commitment of CIV that, more than following the guidelines or policies in education, seems to be ahead of time."
The former student treasures the annual projects (one of the aspects of the CIV curriculum that aims to stimulate the student to think and question the knowledge around him). "We were motivated from an early age to explore our creative side, which is eminently practical, especially after ‘5.º ano’. The annual projects are a very effective way of promoting the student's creative profile. We have to concentrate on a specific theme, develop it thoroughly, discuss it critically, with a mentor, and finally present it in front of the whole class, forcing us to leave our comfort zone…”, he recalls.
While vogueing between the themes covered over the years: Music, History, Cultural Heritage of some countries..., he stresses that it was his choice to present most of the annual projects in French. "I have always taken advantage of this linguistic added value provided by the CIV. I consider that languages are key to success at the professional level, in whatever field."
"Were it not for these projects," he assumes, "I would have had much more difficulty in carrying out university projects. Even today, the skills brought by the annual project make it easier for me to structure the 'legal memos' that I do in my client work," he adds.
The appeal of Advocacy
When talking about results, he always shows a certain twinkle in his eye. "I have always strived to be a good student," he confesses. "It was always a priority for me, not because I was forced to be one, but because I was motivated to be one." Between the area of Sciences-Medicine (with which he confesses not to identify much) - and the possibility of becoming a lawyer, there was never any doubt and in the ‘9.º ano’ he made his choices with certainty.
"I went from secondary school to college fluidly, as if there had been no interruption, with continuity and comfort. Not least because Secondary School had been quite demanding," he recalls. "But", he stresses, "me and many of my colleagues never had to resort to extra-curricular tutoring, because the classes themselves, and the support outside of them, were more than enough to be able to take the national exams with good results."
In Coimbra, at the Faculty of Law, he came to prove that "all theory is the necessary substrate for us to feel comfortable in practice". He got a 17 as a final grade (Bachelor's degree), we were in 2017. In July 2020, in the same University, he presented a Scientific Master's in Legal and Business Sciences/Mention in Business Law: "The new deal of the limited partnership in Portugal", in which he was awarded 18 points.
The results speak for themselves, proving that the desire to be a good student went on for life. Thus the distinctions were emerging: "Doctor J.J. Teixeira Ribeiro Award", for the highest marks obtained in the area of Legal and Economic Sciences (2013-2014); "3% of the best students" Award (2014-15); "Doctor Marnoco e Sousa" School Award and "3% of the best students" Award (2015-2016); "3% of the best students" Award (2016-2017) and "Wolters Kluwer Portugal" School Award (2017.05.12).
The labour market and time management
But those who are led to think that academic results are the result of an exclusive dedication to study are disillusioned. He assures having spent "70 percent of the semester celebrating". After all, "what's the point of being an excellent student if you don't enjoy life? - he questions. "Were it not for the 70 per cent of bohemian life, I would not have had the same motivation to continue being an excellent student; and being a good student also allows us to party better, with more joy. On the other hand, joy allows us to have motivation to study hard." (laughs)
It was the results that opened up his entry into the job market. "Even before finishing my master's degree, I started working at the Faculty, as an assistant, in the area of corporate law. In the last year of my master's degree I started working as a trainee on the permanent staff at PLMJ", the law firm most referenced by the media in the first months of 2021. It was, in fact, an invitation to return, since Tobias Hamann had already done a summer internship at that firm in 2017.
The area of business law (chairs that aroused the most interest in the student and in which he achieved the best results) remains his favourite, but his day-to-day is made up of a diversity of legal problems, whether they address issues "whether at the level of town planning, furniture, tax, criminal." "Fortunately - and unfortunately - I deal with all these matters," he justifies. "The client ends up demanding that we become a specialist in these areas. And that requires 100 per cent dedication, which can involve ten hours of case study, hours that cannot be recorded or billed, insofar as the client assumes we are specialists in the area. What I really like, however, are corporate matters, and on these I consider myself a specialist.
The day to day life of a lawyer
We asked him what his day-to-day life is like. "I wake up at seven o'clock, I'm in the office at eight, and I would like to consider that I work until six o'clock. But, in fact, I work until 9, 10 pm; with exceptions, there are days when I leave at 5 pm, and others when I leave at 2 am. Work in the legal profession, unfortunately, knows no timetables. In the little time he steals from this demanding schedule, Tobias Hamann enjoys "doing sport, going out with friends, dining out, socialising." The secret always seems to lie in one word: management. "In the last year and a half I have managed to reconcile the personal and professional side in a very good and healthy way, but I recognise that there are people who would require more time and dedication to their personal life."
And in the midst of that life, "what is happiness?" one wonders. "(smile) Happiness is coming home after a day's work where the hours have been put to good use, and the result has been positive, and having the notion that I've done a recognised job. Basically, to come home and feel that I've made others happy. I'm happy when people feel happy, respected... I sit on the sofa and know that the day went well. A person sleeps happy."
After all, he says, "today, recognition is no longer given by marks, but by the happiness that the client shows when he sees the case treated or well resolved. That really makes a person happy. That, and the family, the emotional and affective life also contributes to feed this picture of happiness".
And when the results are negative? - we asked. "Having positive results is a must," he reiterates, confessing himself "very stubborn and proud". "After the attempt to solve the problem, it becomes learning," he adds.
Dreams...
Tobias Hamann has as a reference the maxims that help him to "learn to deal with frustration", but also some people, like professor José António Gonçalves, "for the strength and motivation he offered me, for his humanist side and for the way he could captivate a whole class, from the most attentive to the most rebellious." But perhaps the biggest reference will be his family, which Tobias Hamann refers to as "my anchor".
In five years' time, the former student will be 31. He hopes by then to have reached the senior associate position in the office, and to have a family. "Family is a priority for me. But to do that, I have to be very stable, consolidate my work. And then, yes, solidify my family. In Portugal, always. It's my country of choice." Why? - we ask, bearing in mind his German roots. "Firstly, because I grew up here", he says, "and secondly, because I identify with the way of thinking of the Portuguese people. I feel at home, respected. It's a very open country, and one where I've never felt foreign!"
The former student dreams of one-day retiring at 55 "and looking after a five or six-hectare plantation where he watches the produce grow. A hobby. I like the idea of having something organic, something connected to the land... In my job you end up losing a bit of connection to what's real."
