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Ich arbeite als Staatsanwalt u. mein Betriebsname heißt Habas and Associates

Ich bin mir unsicher über das Wort Betriebsname. Wie sagt man "Company's Name" auf Hochdeutsch? Im Wörterbuch steht, dass das Präfix dafür "Betriebs-" heißt. Also bin ich unsicher, ob dieses Wort richtig ist.

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    This isn't directly related to the question, but a Staatsanwalt cannot work at a private practice; they work for the government. A Rechtsanwalt works for a private practice (well actually lots of other kinds of attorneys work for private practices too)
    – thekeyofgb
    Jan 23, 2014 at 0:34

3 Answers 3

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  • DE: Üblicherweise würde man Firmenname sagen/schreiben.
  • EN: Usually you'd use (say/write) Firmenname.

I don't know about your jurisdiction, but I think Staatsanwalt which can be translated as attorney but is usually translated as prosecutor or federal prosecutor or even state attorney is a different thing entirely. In Germany a Staatsanwalt wouldn't have his own law firm (Kanzlei/Anwaltskanzlei), see below.

However, in case of an attorney (most likely Anwalt, Rechtsanwalt in your context, not Staatsanwalt) it would be:

Ich arbeite als Anwalt und meine Kanzlei heißt Habas and Associates

  • Anwalt could also be Rechtsanwalt
  • Kanzlei could also be Anwaltskanzlei or Rechtsanwaltskanzlei

"Eingedeutscht":

Ich arbeite als Anwalt und meine Kanzlei heißt Habas und Partner

or

Ich arbeite als Anwalt und meine Kanzlei heißt Habas & Partner

But as pointed out in a comment to this answer, it sounds better to say

Ich arbeite als Anwalt bei/in der Kanzlei Habas & Partner

Conclusion: I think you attempted a literal translation of "law firm" here ... which doesn't work well.

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  • When can I use the prefix "Betriebs-" ??
    – DerPolyglott33
    Jan 23, 2014 at 1:24
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    @DerPolyglott33: there are loads of cases where you can use it. But even if it was applicable like, say, for a carpentry (unless you use the specific term "Schreinerei"), you'd say "Name des Betriebs" instead of "Betriebsname". "Betriebs-" can even be used outside the scope of referring to a firm, like it does in "Betriebsrat" (a staff association) or "Betriebsprüfung" (roughly an IRS investigation). One such example would be "Betriebssystem" (operating system). It's not suitable for law firms, though :)
    – 0xC0000022L
    Jan 23, 2014 at 1:40
  • @Vogel612: agreed, that sounds also good. Will add it in for future readers.
    – 0xC0000022L
    Jan 23, 2014 at 14:51
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Unfortunately, the accepted answer suggests something that is wrong. A companies name is simply "Firma". That is "legal name of the business" is the true meaning of the word. Here is a citation from Wikipedia:

Eine Firma (abgekürzt: Fa.; von lat. firmare „beglaubigen, befestigen“) ist der Name, unter dem ein Kaufmann seine Geschäfte betreibt, seine Unterschriften leistet und unter dem er klagen und verklagt werden kann.

From this, it is also apparent, why we cannot use "Firma" for a law firm, at least not in Germany, as an attorney is simply not a merchant.

To be sure, we can use the word "Firma" figuratively, like in

Ich gehe in die Firma.

but this should not let us forget the literal meaning. Because, when you say "Firmenname", this is then non-sensical "name of the name of a business".

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    Fortunately, though, the accepted answer answers the actual question in the context (law firm). Btw: so it's okay to say "die Firma heißt ..." but not "der Firmenname ist ..."? Are you kidding? You must be. I mean you have valid points, but a.) Wikipedia is not the reference point for everything and b.) if it was for literal meaning you should rethink every use of "komisch", "seltsam" and "merkwürdig" in each respective situation. Do you?
    – 0xC0000022L
    Jan 23, 2014 at 14:58
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    @0xC0000022L "die Firma ist ..." would be correct, though "die Firma heißt" is probably acceptable as figurative meaning. You are right that Wikipedia is not the end of all wisdom, but in this case, the definition is simply correct. I suggest that everyone who says "Firmenname" will signal lack of education, but I could be wrong, of course. Anyway, things and their names are confused far too often, so just don't.
    – Ingo
    Jan 23, 2014 at 15:05
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    @0xC0000022L There are other sources besides Wikipedia, for example the relevant paragraphs of GmbHG (and similarly for other forms, but I only have that at hand). Firma is - legally and perhaps contrary to everyday use - the name and not the institution or building.
    – Hagen von Eitzen
    Feb 11, 2014 at 18:48
  • Yes, there are other sources, the Duden for example states (meaning 1a) that »Firma« means “company”, which, I assume, most German native speakers will agree with.
    – Raketenolli
    Feb 12, 2020 at 9:48
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Schön ausgedrückt würde man sagen: Ich arbeite als Rechtsanwalt für die (oder "in der") Kanzlei Habas und Kollegen.

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    Das wurde bereits von den anderen Antworten abgedeckt, nur dass du "Partner" durch "Kollegen" ausgetauscht hast.
    – Em1
    Feb 11, 2014 at 15:39

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