Services
White-collar crime and compliance
As a one-stop shop law firm boutique for compliance and white-collar crime, we cover all the areas needed to effectively address and resolve these cases. They range from civil law, civil procedure, criminal law, criminal procedure and administrative offenses to labor law, data protection, corporate law and governance. However, we always put one concern above all others: developing an overarching strategy that will best help our client.
We conduct internal investigations effectively with a laser focus and collaborate with clients to find the most successful way to defend companies and decision-makers in criminal and/or administrative fine proceedings or to prosecute crimes committed against companies.
Being specialists in this area, we speak the language of government agencies. However, we also understand that companies and groups of companies have different, often complex interests. As experienced litigators, we can craft a comprehensive corporate defense strategy that takes account of your liability concerns vis-à-vis customers or insurance companies. This 360° view of the circumstances adds real value to how we handle compliance cases and avoids inefficiencies.
When it comes to prosecuting willful crimes against companies, we are known in the market as “a white-collar criminal’s worst nightmare.” We know what to do if your company has suffered losses from fraud, corruption or criminal breach of trust, if your intellectual property and trade secrets are stolen or if you are a bankruptcy trustee handling a criminal bankruptcy or a creditor owed payment by a bankrupt company involved in criminal activities.
Our constant, in-depth experience with real compliance cases feeds into how we advise clients on prevention in a targeted manner, i.e. when establishing, expanding or modifying their compliance systems. Clients can count on us to provide honest, results-driven counsel in this area as well.
Areas
- Full-service law firm for white-collar defense and investigation: criminal law, civil law, corporate law, data protection, labor law, insurance law, procedural law – our interdisciplinary approach and true expertise in our areas of practice are absolutely unrivaled.
- Representation of companies and associations injured by criminal acts: internal investigations, criminal complaints, witness support, civil prosecution (damages), civil trials, asset seizure, resolution of labor law issues, asset protection, asset recovery, criminal forfeiture, representation vis-à-vis insurance companies (D&O), fidelity bonds and criminal legal expenses insurance
- Corporate defense: combining civil and criminal defense (essential for companies, in our opinion), internal investigations, strategic consulting, crisis management, representation during searches, corporate criminal law, investigations, international criminal law, focusing on corruption, bribery, fraud, breach of trust, bidding cartels, criminal labor law, data protection, joint defense agreements
- Compliance consulting: design, implementation, modification and revision of compliance programs, ongoing compliance consulting, analysis and evaluation of compliance systems (i.e. compliance due diligence), systematic (international) risk analyses, credible presentation of lessons learned from compliance incidents, training, development/modification of compliance policies, whistleblower systems and policies, shop-level agreements for internal investigations, compliance audits, external sparring partner for compliance officers, ombudsman, compliance monitoring
- Compliance litigation / civil trials with connections to criminal law: defense against civil claims, compliance clauses, liquidated damages, pursuit of civil claims, asset seizure, D&O liability for compliance, termination proceedings before labor courts, rights of access and disclosure under data protection laws, antitrust damages, product liability, post-M&A litigation of compliance issues, liability for fraudulent intent, etc.
- Strategic consulting on compliance: advising of governance bodies (management, supervisory and advisory boards), second opinions, monitoring/management of internal investigations and defense representations, presentation to other stakeholders, broad network of attorneys, forensic experts and other advisors in and outside Germany
- Internal investigations: focused processing of complex circumstances when asserting rights, defending against claims and defending companies, compliance audits with or without cause, PMO coordination and management of audit firms, forensic companies and other law firms (abroad), (independent) internal investigations during M&A transactions, investigations of transaction targets, expertise in data protection and labor law to achieve reliably actionable results
- D&O liability in compliance cases: civil defense against accusations / damage claims due to insufficient compliance monitoring, witness support for internal investigations and governmental proceedings, representation in the event of dismissals, warnings, curtailed bonuses, etc.
- Criminal bankruptcies: civil and criminal prosecution of damages from the bankrupt company (theft, breach of trust, wrongful delay in filing for bankruptcy), support with internal resolution, presentations to creditors’ committee, representation vis-à-vis insurance companies (D&O, fidelity bonds) and other parties subject to claims (liability of tax advisors)
- International criminal law: application of national criminal law to extraterritorial offenses, international cases, particularly corruption and fraud, extensive network of high-level specialists abroad, experience with cases in the US, UK, Croatia, Serbia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Russia, Ukraine, Nigeria, Cameroon, Libya, etc.
