50 years at Gorrissen Federspiel

Tove Reinau says goodbye to Gorrissen Federspiel after 50 years of service. She looks forward to her retirement with gardening, art and culture.

Tove Reinau’s first day of work at Gorrissen Federspiel was on 1 December 1972. It was the same year King Frederik IX died, RUC was established, and Denmark voted for joining the EC. In other words, Tove Reinau has witnessed several generations of development of both the firm and society from her office at various locations in Aarhus. It has been a development in which digitalisation and IT in particular have played a key role in her job as an administrative assistant and a PA.

“In the beginning, we typed everything on a typewriter. It was a cumbersome process. Every time we needed to correct the smallest thing, we had to start all over again on a new piece of paper. It was a relief when we got the first word processing programmes in the 80s. From then on, things have just gone incredibly fast.”

As an illustration of the change, Tove Reinau can still hear how her old superior, Supreme Court Attorney Georg Løber, exclaimed “peace is over” as a welcome to the firm’s first fax machine around 1986-87. He realised what a shift in communication the machine heralded.

Handshake from the Crown Prince

The time leading up to 1 May 2023, which was Tove Reinau’s last working day at Gorrissen Federspiel, is fairly well organised. In early March, she will travel to Copenhagen for an audience with Crown Prince Frederik and receive the Royal Medal of Recompense for “50 years of meritorious uninterrupted service.” That day will be a day of celebration, so she will meet with her family for lunch after the formal ceremony. “I wouldn’t say that I’m a roya- list, but when you’re invited, of course you show up.”

From then on, it is a slow countdown to an emotional but also anticipated goodbye to friends and colleagues.

Tove Reinau’s 50th anniversary was on 1 December 2022, but the thought of retiring at the darkest time of the year was simply too depressing.

“I’d like to retire when nature is in full swing, and I can spend time in the garden. It feels more right,” she says, explaining that life as a newly retiree will initially be filled with lots of art and cultural experiences.