Business criminal law has gained more prominence in recent years. This type of law deals with any criminal offense either comitted by an executive of a company or any offense that is detrimental to a company. The prosecution is thus focussed on executives, boards, and managers of a company. Most of the accused have no criminal record and no prior convictions. The defense in taxation dispute cases often encounters offenses found in business criminal law. The consequences of the economic offenses felt by the company are often more severe than the consequences of the tax offense. This is especially true for offenses such as corruption that can be sanctioned in other countries as well.
Companies can be sanctioned by courts in these cases even if they are noninvolved third parties. In business criminal law, the accused are usually unaware of the investigation against them until a search or arrest is carried out.
The consequences of prosecutorial investigation affect companies in two ways: first by the negative publicity that legal action creates; and secondly by search and seizure practices that leave companies unable to carry out their business while the investigation is going on. A lot of times computers (hardware as well as software) and files and reports are seized. Another practice that is potentially troublesome for a company is a monetary arrest.
In these cases the timely selection of legal counsel is paramount, since an attorney can gather all necessary information needed to draft a potential legal defense in this case by accessing the investigator's records. The earlier the defense is set up, the better the chances to actively influence the outcome of the investigation.

My expertise is in cases of:

• fraud 
• defalcation 
• corruption and bribery 
• capital market criminal law
• labor law
• antitrust law

Labor Law

Labor law contains special provisions for employers and HR managers. These arise from the Criminal Code (StGB), as well as from labor, social, administrative and tax law.

We represent employers and HR managers especially in the following cases:

• Illegal employee leasing (AÜG), employee secondment (AEntG), employment of foreigners (AufenthG, SchwarzArbG)
• Payroll tax evasion (§§ 370, 378, 380 AO)
• Evasion of social security contributions (§ 266a StGB)
• Violation of minimum wage provisions (§ 21 MiLoG)
• Excessive working hours (ArbZG) and occupational safety violations
• Obstruction of works councils and their members

Antitrust Law

Antitrust law prohibits anticompetitive agreements and practices as well as the abuse of dominant market positions. Violations are sanctioned both in the Law against Restraints of Competition (GWB) and in the Criminal Code (StGB). In the case of administrative offenses under the GWB, the person acting may be personally liable as well as their supervisors and the company itself.

We defend affected companies as well as their managers and employees against the following allegations:

• Anticompetitive agreements in tendering procedures (§ 298 StGB)
• Submission fraud (§ 263 StGB)
• Administrative offenses (e.g., formation of price or quota cartels)