Gleiss Lutz is a popular address for banks, financial institutions and private equity companies, thanks to the international orientation and experience in cross-border investigations and high-profile matters. The team is well versed in cum-ex and financial fraud-related matters and also focuses on issues pertaining to allegations of corruption, cybercrime, sexual harassment as well as bullying and misconduct. Practice head Eike Bicker is experienced in internal investigations, he is supported by Marcus Reischl, who frequently cooperates with the relevant authorities as well as parliamentary investigative committees. Christoph Skoupil offers expertise in criminal law and made partner in January 2023. Of counsel Dirk Scherp (criminal law and fine proceedings) retired in March 2023.

Hogan Lovells International LLP‘s internationally renowned practice advises well-known companies from the automotive, life sciences, pharmaceuticals and finance sectors. The team consists of lawyers and specialised experts and advises on alleged money laundering, corruption, supply chain and product liability matters as well as investigations, including criminal proceedings. The renowned practice head and co-CEO of the firm’s legal tech brand ELTEMATE Sebastian Lach has longstanding expertise in cross-border and FCPA, SEC/DoJ-related investigations and is supported by Désirée Maier (criminal law and investigations, life sciences), Olaf Schneider (corruption prevention, FCPA monitorships), Angelina Leder (official searches, fines and investigations), Christian Ritz (dawn raids, cross-border compliance and antitrust investigations) and counsel Lukas Ritzenhoff (antitrust law, compliance investigations). Philip Matthey (antitrust proceedings) and counsel Simone Ridder (investigations, dawn raids) respectively joined the team in October 2022 from the TRATON Group and from the public prosecutor’s office in Düsseldorf in July 2023. Sebastian Gräler (clients' representation in official investigations) made partner in January 2023.

Clifford Chance offers both preventive and forensic expertise in supporting national and international clients from the financial services, construction, real estate, manufacturing, technology and pharmaceutical sectors in allegations pertaining to money laundering, corruption as well as cum-ex and tax fraud. Co-head Peter Dieners is regularly instructed by pharmaceutical, medical device and chemical companies on all business-critical matters and jointly heads the team with Heiner Hugger, who is a renowned expert for investigations and the representation of companies and their employees. Other key contacts include Julia Baedorff (criminal law), Ines Keitel (employment law and data protection) and David Pasewaldt (compliance and criminal law).

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP‘s expertise is based on the close cooperation of the litigation, compliance and US-based teams, where the practice advises international companies and corporations on so-called bet-the-company mandates in connection with investigations and regulatory matters; this offering includes clients' representation in civil and criminal proceedings. Core competencies include the assistance with allegations in connection with sanctions and export controls, cyber attacks, cum-ex, AML, crypto regulation and ESG matters. Practice head Benno Schwarz has longstanding experience in FCPA, anti-corruption as well as corporate and compliance issues in high-risk countries such as Russia; Finn Zeidler is renowned for his expertise in anti-money laundering and crypto matters, while Ferdinand Fromholzer focuses on D&O liability and Kai Gesing advises on issues pertaining to antitrust, technology and data protection. Katharina Humphrey, who made partner in January 2023, regularly assists with cross-border internal investigations pertaining to CMS, ESG and sanctions.

Hengeler Mueller‘s renowned compliance practice is experienced in the finance sector and regularly offers support in internal investigations. Recent focus areas include alleged violations of the Russian sanctions regime, greenwashing allegations, contentious ESG matters as well as allegations of money laundering, data protection and tax fraud. The firm’s eDiscovery tool Nuix is particularly noteworthy in this context. Among the key contact are Vera Jungkind (data protection and AML compliance), Fabian Quast (regulated industries and IT forensics), Wolfgang Spoerr (corporate investigations) and Daniel Weiß (banking and finance, official investigations).

A&O Shearman follows an interdisciplinary and cross-border approach and focuses on supporting companies from the finance, life sciences and technology sectors. The practice frequently assists with comprehensive investigations into allegations of accounting fraud, tax evasion as well as external staff issues, misconduct by management personnel and embezzlement. The team also draws on the expertise of the eDiscovery team as well as the international network. Wolf Bussian (financial sector investigations) and Jan Erik Windthorst (compliance violations) jointly head the team and are supported by criminal lawyer Tim Nikolas Müller (tax, capital markets and corruption law).

Baker McKenzie is experienced in internal investigations with cross-border aspects and advises DAX40 companies and international corporations across all industries. The team focuses on the support in connection with money laundering allegations, antitrust law, data protection and criminal tax law as well as integrity issues (discrimination, bullying, harassment, retaliation). The practice is jointly led by Andreas Lohner (anti-corruption investigations) and Nicolai Behr (corruption, fraud and #MeToo investigations). ESG and sanctions advice is covered by Anahita Thoms, while Annika Schürmann assists with antitrust and criminal proceedings.

DLA Piper‘s interdisciplinary investigations expertise is regularly called upon by DAX companies from all industries, where the team advises in the context of alleged money laundering, tax offenses and corruption as well as foreign trade law and antitrust law violations. A mainstay is the cooperation with the renowned criminal law practice, here, Emanuel Ballo (corporate and employee representation), senior counsel Jürgen Taschke (criminal law) and Christian Schoop (environmental crimes, cyber attacks) are the key contacts; The latter jointly heads the compliance team with Jens Kirchner, who is experienced in employment law-related investigations. Moritz von Hesberg focuses on corporate law investigations and made partner in May 2023.

Linklaters is experienced in supporting companies from the energy, aviation, automotive, manufacturing and consumer goods sectors in internal investigations; international matters are covered thanks to the frequent cooperation with the firm’s network. This cross-border expertise is regularly called upon in connection with allegations pertaining to #MeToo, compliance violations, EU and Russia-related sanctions, antitrust law, criminal law and cum-ex. Hans-Ulrich Wilsing (corporate law, governing bodies) and Kerstin Wilhelm (clients' representation and investigations) jointly head the team. Jens Blumenberg and Christian Hundeshagen assist with alleged tax fraud matters, while Daniela Seeliger is well versed in  antitrust law. Associate Jacqueline Kusserow (in addition to internal investigations, dispute resolution and risk assessment regarding sanctions) is another key contact.

Noerr primarily assists DAX companies in the financial services, manufacturing and technology sectors with internal investigations and advises on allegations in connection with regulatory and tax law, sanctions, ESG, data protection and HR compliance. Torsten Fett is well versed in stock corporation and capital markets law and jointly heads the team with Sophia Habbe, who regularly supports cross-border investigations in connection with diversity and inclusion. Christian Pelz is experienced in corruption, fraud and embezzlement-related investigations, while Alida Gölz, who was appointed to associate partner in January 2023, covers regulatory issues and internal investigations. Senior associate Jana Hanke handles the criminal law interface. Stefanie Bischof (regulatory investigations) left the firm in June 2023 for an in-house position.

White & Case LLP supports companies from the financial and automotive sectors, as well as online platforms, which instruct the team on forensic compliance matters. The practice is well versed in cum-ex and cum-cum mandates and also assists with investigations into allegations pertaining to current topics, such as whistleblower systems, HR compliance, AFC and liability issues as well as traditional criminal law matters, including corruption and environmental-related allegations. New practice head Daniel Zapf (previously at DLA Piper) joined the Frankfurt-based team in May 2022 and has expertise in compliance and internal investigations, while former practice head Karl-Jörg Xylander joined  CCI-LEGAL in February 2023 and Thomas Helck (commercial and criminal tax law) formed his own law firm HELCK Legal in April 2023. Tine Schauenburg (liability matters) and retired partner of counsel Nils Clemm (investigative and supervisory authorities) are among the key members of the Berlin-based team.

CMS is experienced in preventive matters, such as management systems, and also offers forensic support to clients in the technology, construction, manufacturing and pharmaceutical industries. The practice assists with internal investigations into allegations pertaining to employment law and sanctions violations, money laundering and fraud. Clients also benefit from the forensic legal tech tool CMS Evidence. Harald Potinecke heads the practice and is experienced in criminal and corruption law as well as official investigations. He is supported by Joachim Kaetzler (money laundering and anti-corruption) and Daniel Kaiser (criminal law and clients' representation). Till Komma (compliance violations and cross-border investigations) was appointed to counsel in January 2023.

Herbert Smith Freehills LLP‘s compliance team assists with investigations into national and cross-border allegations of corruption, fraud, embezzlement and money laundering; this expertise is regularly called upon by companies from the automotive, finance, manufacturing, aviation and infrastructure sectors. Practice head Dirk Seiler is well versed in criminal law, clients’ representation and asset tracing. Counsel Enno Appel (financial services regulation) left the firm in December 2022 for an in-house position.

Jones Day‘s German division of its global investigations and white collar defense practice is experienced in ​​internal investigations and cooperations with investigative authorities. Recent instructions include the assistance with allegations of misconduct, corruption, employment law-related crime and money laundering; the team also handles cross-border investigations. Practice head Thomas Preute has forensic expertise pertaining to corruption, antitrust and competition law, export control, fraud as well as human rights. European counsel Michael Mayer is experienced in anti-corruption matters as well as issues pertaining to Russia and Eastern Europe.

Latham & Watkins LLP routinely advises on due diligence matters in the transaction sphere and is also instructed by German and international companies on internal investigations pertaining to antitrust law, sanctions and embargoes, banking supervisory and employment law as well as data protection, this also includes cross-border investigations. Thomas Grützner (human rights and misconduct investigations), Tobias Larisch (corporate law and corporate governance) and Tim Wybitul (data protection and whistleblower systems) jointly head the practice. Wolf-Tassilo Böhm, who was appointed to counsel in January 2023, advises on data protection and cybersecurity.

Morrison Foerster‘s practice is primarily instructed by financial institutions, automotive manufacturers and other international corporations facing allegations of corruption, sanctions, environmental crimes and other compliance violations. Practice head Roland Steinmeyer focuses on advising governing bodies on German, European and US compliance requirements as well as on corporate and criminal law issues and is supported by Patrick Späth (corporate law, D&O liability), Felix Helmstädter (foreign trade law, sanctions and export control) and counsel Jakob Tybus, who regularly assists with internal investigations.

Criminal law and compliance boutique CCI-LEGAL is based in Munich and active since March 2023. The firm strengthened its capacities in both preventive and forensic compliance with the arrival of the renowned compliance and criminal law expert Karl-Jörg Xylander from White & Case LLP. The team focuses on assisting international companies with internal investigations, AFC compliance and supply chain due diligence.

Pohlmann & Company‘s team complements its traditional focus on preventive compliance with experience in internal investigations, crisis management and liability matters; this expertise is regularly called upon by governing bodies. Practice head Andreas Pohlmann advises on corporate governance issues, while Nicole Willms is experienced in whistleblower systems, internal investigations and the enforcement of disciplinary measures. Julia Kahlenberg focuses on Asia-related compliance and investigations and Martin Schorn advises on criminal investigations and fine proceedings. Counsel Isabelle Plath is well versed in D&O matters.

Rosinus Partner focuses on compliance and investigations, including matters pertaining to allegations of corruption, cum-ex, embezzlement as well as the diesel emissions scandal. Criminal lawyer Christian Rosinus and Mathias Grzesiek, who specialises in cyber-based criminal law, IT criminal law and data protection, jontly head the practice. Janina Brandau (white collar crime and tax law) was appointed to partner in January 2023.

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP‘s team regularly assists with compliance audits and internal investigations, both in cooperation with and independently of German and American investigative authorities. Financial services providers, technology companies and corporations with business interests in Russia regularly instruct the team on allegations of corruption, fraud, money laundering and sanctions violations. Practice head Bernd Mayer primarily advises on anti-corruption and anti-money laundering, while counsel Michael Albrecht vom Kolke is a key contact for Russia-related issues.