The Ministry of Justice and researchers from the University of Cologne and the Cluster of Excellence ECONtribute have launched a joint research project that will examine the career plans of legal trainees at the beginning and end of their legal preparatory service. Matthias Heinz and his team will take an in-depth look at the legal preparatory service in North Rhine-Westphalia: “We are interested in: What criteria are decisive for the choice of career? What expectations prevail? Do priorities change in the course of the preparatory service? Are expectations disappointed? What positive experiences are made? Where does the training need to be readjusted?”, says Matthias Heinz (translated from German). Anonymously and voluntarily, all of the approximately 2,000 legal trainees of a recruitment year will be asked about their professional goals, expectations, and wishes, but also about their experiences during the preparatory service. The survey begins with the recruitment into the legal trainee service and ends shortly before the final examination.