Cult lawyer Ingo Lenßen: Ice hockey plays this role in his life

Cult lawyer Ingo Lenßen (63) returns to television. After becoming a TV favorite with formats such as “Lenßen & Partner”, “Lenßen clarifies” or “Lenßen takes over”, he will be included in the Sat.1 afternoon program with the new format “Lenßen helps”, in which the station is again relies on scripted reality, return (from November 18th at 6 p.m. in double episodes on Sat.1 or on Joyn).

In “Lenßen Helps”, Lenßen and his lawyer colleagues Lisa Cramer and Lennart Hartmann will offer people help with a legal advice bus. In an interview with the news agency spot on news, the 63-year-old explains what fascinates him about television, how he assesses his new team and which cases particularly concerned him this time. He also reveals why he relies on tailored suits in his work and how much time he invests in his famous mustache.

Ingo Lenßen: I wasn’t at all surprised because I had been in contact with my producer at UFA for some time and we were discussing a new format.

Lenßen: What makes television fascinating is that you work together with a large number of people on an innovative process. Legal work, on the other hand, is usually done alone. But there are innovative moments there too, especially in the courtroom.

Lenßen: We were a little surprised at how much interest we received. People came to our bus – not only for photos and autographs, but also with a large number of legal questions. When we could and time permitted, we answered these too.

Lenßen: Once there was a case of an older lady who wanted to be forbidden from driving a car because her daughter-in-law said she was no longer able to do so and was almost demented. The old lady was completely lucid and physically fit. Of course she could drive a car. It really moved me during filming because she was treated so unfairly and because they wanted to accuse her of something that was taken from all over the world.

The second case was that of a father who did not want to have contact with his son. The child was always happy when he was told daddy was coming. Then dad didn’t come and the boy ended up completely desperate. Of course we could have ensured that the boy had access rights. But what sense does that make if the father doesn’t want to? So it was important to understand why the father doesn’t want contact? Then came a very surprising turn of events. It actually had nothing to do with the boy. In the end the two had each other again.

For me, the most moving case of my career as a lawyer is that of the man who was accused of being the head of an international drug trafficking gang and who remained innocent for a year. He was acquitted after 22 or 24 days of trial because it emerged that he had nothing to do with it and that instead the police, completely ignorantly, only pursued alleged evidence against him, which, however, did not exist at all. Nothing exonerating him was found.

Lenßen: That you listen to them and that you understand their aspirations, alongside the legal claims they have. What I still find difficult is to endure ignorance – to endure people who don’t listen to others and only see themselves.

Lenßen: The capacities and the capacities of the public prosecutor’s offices and the courts that we have. And sometimes it’s the money.

Lenß: We form a good team because they both specialize in certain areas and their knowledge and mine combined make a whole wonderful team. Lisa Cramer is very well versed in family law thanks to her many years of experience. Lennart’s spontaneity, his will to assert himself and his great knowledge in the IT sector contribute to this.

Lenßen: Clothing is also a question of respect. If an older lady comes to me for inheritance law advice and goes to the hairdresser first, I can’t sit there in a jogging suit or in jeans and a sweater and receive her. You command respect by approaching her in sensible clothing, hence a suit. I wear tailored suits because I want it to be a bit fun. Pigeon blue and Siemens gray are not my color. It also has to bring a little joy.

Lenßen: A maximum of three to four minutes a day. I’ve been wearing it since I was 21 and I think it’s nice when I arrive home and people recognize me. Neither my wife nor my son have ever seen me without it.

Lenßen: It still plays a big role in my life every game day because I check my cell phone several times during the game when I’m not in the stadium and check the score. Sometimes I also stream and watch the game live on some service provider. The last time I was on the ice myself was filming with my team at the Christmas market last year.

Lenßen: By doing at least half an hour of exercise every day – from endurance sports such as the spinning bike or cross trainer to yoga.

Lenßen: Yes, I still have some fantasies about this, but now is not the time. Now we’re doing “Lenßen helps” and I absolutely love it and want to do it for a long time.