Alles was recht ist: Sein oder Nichtsein (2011)

Lena Kalbach really has resigned from her position as a judge and accepted Friedrich Gross’s offer to open a law firm together. They have just returned from their vacation in Italy, and Lena is full of doubts about whether she did the right thing. After all, as a judge she had a secure job, and now she doesn’t even have her first client. That soon changes when the clergyman Lukas Schloss is arrested and accused of embezzlement. But, as it happens, Lena’s partner Friedrich is representing the opposing side: 30,000 euros are missing from the church’s funds, and the church leadership cannot simply sweep that under the rug. After an argument with Friedrich, Lena has decided not to run a firm together with him but to rent her own premises, so there is no conflict of interest in this regard. Lena also immediately succeeds in getting the priest “released” from pretrial detention, since he has confessed and is not considered a flight risk. The lawyer also manages to prevent his apartment lease from being terminated without notice, but Schloss certainly cannot expect his employer to show him any other mercy. After an attempt to reach an out-of-court settlement fails, the case goes to trial. Pastor Schloss offers no explanation for what he did, so his lawyer provides one instead. In her view, the pastor was blackmailed, because she cannot otherwise explain his behavior. Cornered, he confirms this, but gives no further explanation. The prosecutor, Dr. Nike Reichert, then adjourns the proceedings until it is established who benefited from the embezzled money. Lena researches online what might have made Schloss vulnerable and finds a lead pointing to Africa, where Lukas Schloss did development work ten years earlier. However, she is very surprised to discover that the man in the photos she found online only resembles the defendant; he is definitely someone else. She realizes that this is the reason for the blackmail. Lena confronts the pastor, and he explains that he admired Schloss’s work and had promised to continue it after Schloss’s death. That is why he wants to remain Lukas Schloss at any cost, even if it means a prison sentence and expulsion from the church. He became an impostor so he could be there for others. Lena must promise her client not to reveal this secret. She keeps her promise, but already has a plan in mind. She approaches Schloss’s employer, cathedral vicar Grossmann, and negotiates with him. Thanks to her skill, she actually manages to prevent his dismissal from church service and secure a transfer to Africa for Lukas Schloss. There, he can continue working for the people who do not care whether he is an ordained priest or simply someone who is there for them.