Services
Our law firm specializes in CRIMINAL LAW, COMPLIANCE CONSULTING, SPORTS LAW, LABOR LAW, MEDICAL LAW, and CONSTITUTIONAL LAW.
criminal law
One of FEHN Legal’s main areas of expertise is CRIMINAL LAW. We advise and represent private individuals, companies, and executives in all areas of criminal law. This ranges from the prevention of criminal offenses to criminal defense itself. Our aim is to identify legal risks at an early stage, avert impending proceedings, and defend our clients with strategic foresight at all stages of the proceedings. Our expertise lies in areas such as commercial and tax criminal law, for example in cases of allegations of embezzlement, corruption, or tax evasion. In addition, we advise on insolvency criminal law, which often lies at the interface between corporate crisis and criminal defense. In construction criminal law, we represent construction companies, architects, and engineers, e.g., in investigations related to procurement and billing issues.
In labor criminal law, we also assist employers and human resources managers with issues such as illegal employment, temporary employment, occupational safety, etc. In sports criminal law, we advise on matters such as doping or manipulation allegations. In addition, we support companies in the area of compliance in order to avoid legal risks in the long term and strengthen internal control systems. Our advisors have many years of experience in criminal law, are often specialized and/or certified as specialist lawyers, and combine further professional qualifications with years of experience in criminal defense.
COMMERCIAL CRIMINAL LAW is one of our core areas of expertise. In a commercial context, criminal proceedings often involve considerable financial risks. We advise and defend companies, executives, and individuals against allegations such as embezzlement, corruption, fraud, or competition offenses. Our focus is on strategic and solution-oriented defense. We advise clients from the very first investigative measure, combining economic understanding with criminal law expertise.
Your contacts for criminal law
“You can’t make an omelet without breaking eggs,” as the saying goes, and in the construction sector, this can be taken quite literally. However, in the event of damage, these freshly broken eggs can lead to liability not only under civil law, but increasingly also under administrative or criminal law. Purchasers, investors, and entrepreneurs need particularly qualified advice and defense in order to protect themselves and their stakeholders. However, it is not only the execution that involves risks for everyone involved in construction. “Concrete gold” has become much more than just a home or workplace as an investment and speculative object. In addition to expertise, technical understanding is also required in CONSTRUCTION AND REAL ESTATE LAW AND CONSTRUCTION AND REAL ESTATE CRIMINAL LAW. Equipped with both, we are able to advise and defend you in the event of a dispute in a manner that is as individual as your real estate project itself.
Whether it is delaying insolvency, favoring creditors or debtors, withholding and embezzling social security contributions, or classic bankruptcy, the legal risks in a crisis are so widespread that almost anyone can be subject to criminal liability. The criminal risks extend to acts committed before and during the economic crisis. It is therefore important to closely examine and monitor the economic condition of the company in order to rule out criminal liability for its organs. This applies equally to creditors, as prematurely accepted satisfaction or security can not only lead to a reduction in the insolvency estate and thus to civil law consequences, but can also be punishable by law.
Even before insolvency occurs, it is therefore necessary to analyze the situation using business management calculations and legal expertise and to develop a strategy for a legally secure approach. We therefore provide comprehensive advice not only on INSOLVENCY CRIMINAL LAW in the narrower sense, i.e., actual insolvency offenses, but also in the broader sense, such as labor or tax criminal law issues, in order to protect you from further losses in the best possible way during the crisis.
While SPORTS compliance is concerned with preventing (and in some cases even criminal) legal violations by associations, clubs, and athletes (prevention), which also applies to violations of internal association rules that are subject to sanctions, CRIMINAL LAW deals with repression, whether through internal association sanctions or state sanctions. This includes, for example, competition manipulation, corruption, betting fraud, tax evasion, doping and narcotics violations, and in some cases even crimes against life and limb, among many others. In contrast, a purely internal association violation is, for example, the failure to take advantage of opportunities to win, provided that this is sanctioned in the relevant internal association rules. Prof. Dr. Dr. Karsten Fehn and Dr. Dr. Bernd Josef Fehn, F.TLE., provide defense before association and ordinary courts.
In addition to withholding and embezzling wages, LABOR CRIMINAL LAW also covers offenses such as undeclared work, illegal employment of foreigners, and illegal hiring of workers. Our team of consultants draws on their previous professional experience, for example as customs managers and as publishers and authors of the handbook on the former Act to Combat Illegal Employment and authors of a guide to financial control of illegal employment, to defend your interests.
TAX CRIMINAL LAW AND ADMINISTRATIVE OFFENSES LAW are regulated in the German Fiscal Code. Tax evasion is commonly known. In contrast, customs violations—a customs offense—are an atypical tax offense. There are also special features with regard to the financial authorities’ prosecution, investigation, and audit bodies. Without detailed knowledge of their tasks, responsibilities, and powers, and in particular without being able to identify their limitations, a successful defense is not possible. Special expertise is required to prepare a voluntary disclosure, which can lead to immunity from prosecution for tax evasion if it is prepared correctly and submitted in a timely manner.
Key topics in MEDICAL CRIMINAL LAW, which is becoming increasingly important, include legal issues relating to bodily harm and homicide (including questions of proper patient information and consent, euthanasia, and abortion), the protection of embryos and stem cells, and medical confidentiality. However, issues relating to commercial criminal law also play a major role. These include, for example, billing fraud, breach of trust by contract doctors, corruption in the healthcare system, and tax evasion. We exclusively represent healthcare providers such as doctors, therapists, nurses, and midwives. We are happy to refer patients to competent contacts from our network.
The heads of the medical criminal law department within the medical law division both have in-depth specialist knowledge thanks to their doctoral studies in theoretical medicine, which, together with the expertise of our medical advisors, contributes to a successful defense. In the run-up to a criminal offense, we offer comprehensive compliance advice to avoid sanctions-bearing legal violations.
TRAFFIC LAW (e.g., drunk driving, leaving the scene of an accident, dangerous interference with road traffic, or endangering road traffic) requires a clever defense, and civil traffic law deals with issues such as compensation for damages and pain and suffering after a traffic accident, as well as contract law (such as when buying or leasing a car, including contract drafting and the resulting warranty claims). However, traffic offense law is probably the most relevant, as it standardizes the issuance of fines, driving bans, and entries in the Flensburg Driver Fitness Register (FAER) as state sanctions for misconduct.
In recent years, it has become apparent that the state’s interest in managing this “mass business” has led to a rather uncritical acceptance of the results of software-generated measurements at the expense of citizens (“standardized measurement procedures”). Against the backdrop of the rapid development of artificial intelligence, one can only urge people not to forego the assessment of an experienced specialist lawyer.
Compliance
From a compliance perspective, it is always better to avoid criminal offenses before sanctions are imposed. Compliance with laws, regulations, and internal guidelines is essential for all types of companies. We ensure that the company acts lawfully in order to minimize its legal and financial risks. This requires the development, implementation, and updating of internal controls and systems to prevent violations or detect them retrospectively through internal investigations. We help you ensure compliance with all laws relevant to you.
To this end, we assist in the implementation and monitoring of internal guidelines and procedures that may go beyond the legal requirements. Another area of compliance is the proactive identification and mitigation of risks that may arise from compliance violations in order to avoid prosecution, fines, and damage to reputation. This involves the use of compliance management systems (CMS) to plan, control, and monitor compliance activities. Our law firm also has in-depth expertise in data protection law, with a particular focus on compliance structures, governance processes, and the investigation of data protection-related breaches of duty.
We support you in implementing robust audit systems, including data protection and information security concepts, reporting and documentation procedures, and internal guidelines and control mechanisms. In this regard, too, we place particular emphasis on the legally compliant conduct and support of internal investigations and the assessment of possible breaches of duty and organizational violations, in which data protection issues regularly merge with aspects of criminal, labor, and insurance law. This includes, among other things, the analysis of data access, the handling of personal data, the preservation of evidence in digital environments, and the coordination of internal investigation measures with operational and compliance structures.
Our experience in highly regulated industries enables us to accurately assess insurance-related liability issues—from data protection incidents to compliance-critical matters. We combine legal expertise with a technical understanding of modern data processing to provide you with preventive and forensic strategic support.
Your contacts for compliance
sports law
SPORT LAW deals with sports arbitration proceedings and their relationship to ordinary jurisdiction, with the drafting of player and bonus contracts, e.g., in professional soccer, or the leasing of sport horses in equestrian sports. In addition to sports labor law, club and company law as well as tax law play an important role in the sports sector. Particularly in the case of non-profit sports clubs, the question often arises of how to allocate income for tax purposes, especially income from asset management and special-purpose operations versus income from commercial operations. Furthermore, medical law is an important sub-area of sports law, e.g., with regard to the Act Against Doping in Sports (AntiDopG), the Narcotics Act (BtMG), and the Medicines Act (AMG).
As a law firm, we are legal partners of SC FORTUNA KÖLN Spielbetriebs GmbH, which we assist in the drafting of player and bonus contracts, among other things, as well as in numerous other legal matters. During his time as in-house counsel at BAYER AG, our founding partner Prof. Dr. Dr. Karsten also advised Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH on trademark and licensing issues, among other things. In addition, we are legal advisors to DEUTSCHER GALOPP e.V. and good governance officers for TRAKEHNER VERBAND E.V.
Are you an officer or representative of a sports club or sports association, a professional athlete, a player advisor, or a player agent? Are you looking for a player advisor? Do you have legal questions in this context? Please contact us!
Your contacts for sports law
labor law
In labor law, we advise employers on individual and collective labor law matters, both in and out of court. We draft contracts and implement employers’ decisions with a business perspective. In addition to drafting contracts and advising on issues relating to employer decisions, we support and plan corporate structural decisions from the initial idea to implementation. We also cover the core areas of criminal labor law. This includes not only the withholding and embezzlement of wages (see Criminal Labor Law for details).
MEDICAL (CRIMINAL) LAW
We are proven experts in MEDICAL LAW and MEDICAL CRIMINAL LAW. We exclusively advise healthcare service providers, in particular doctors, dentists, hospitals, and pharmacists, as well as manufacturers of pharmaceuticals and medical devices. We work closely with liability insurers and act on behalf of service providers.
In the INPATIENT SECTOR, we also advise on liability law, medical device law, research law, hospital law, and assist with structural feature reviews.
In the OUTPATIENT SECTOR, we advise on dental and medical malpractice law, (dental) medical fee law, (dental) medical professional law, therapeutic products advertising law, panel doctor law, panel dentist law, including all matters relating to medical care centers (MVZ) and dental care centers (ZMVZ). In addition, we advise you on changes to the shareholder structure and legal form of a group practice, joint practice, supra-local professional association (ÜBAG), and MVZ operating company, as well as on practice sales. We also represent you in efficiency audits.
We also have particular expertise in all legal issues relating to telemedicine (DIGITAL HEALTH) and medical data protection law.
Your contacts for medical (criminal) law
Constitutional law
We handle constitutional cases before the Federal Constitutional Court and the constitutional courts of the federal states. This applies to constitutional disputes involving public bodies, judicial review proceedings, and individual constitutional complaints. In particular, our two founding partners, Prof. Dr. Dr. Karsten Fehn and Dr. Dr. Bernd Josef Fehn, F.TLE, have, on the one hand, extensive legal expertise in constitutional law through numerous publications and, on the other hand, many years of forensic and teaching experience in constitutional law.
Attorney Prof. Dr. Dr. Karsten Fehn is also a member of the Constitutional Law Committee of the German Federal Bar Association and, due to this professional activity and the opinions he has written in this context in accordance with Section 27a of the Federal Constitutional Court Act (statements by knowledgeable third parties), he is highly qualified to conduct constitutional proceedings and is very familiar with the development of the case law of the Federal Constitutional Court.
Awards
Prof. Dr. Dr. Karsten Fehn
FINANCE MONTHLY MAGAZINE IN THE CATEGORY “MEDICAL LAW, GERMANY”: “MEDICAL LAWYER OF THE YEAR
ACQ5 ANNUAL AWARD PROGRAMS GLOBAL AWARDS 2020 MEDICAL LAWYER OF THE YEAR – GERMANY CRIMINAL LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR – GERMANY
CORPORATELIVEWIRE GLOBAL AWARDS 2020/21 AWARD WINNER: PROF. DR. DR. KARSTEN FEHN – MEDICAL LAWYER OF THE YEAR
2020 CORPORATE EXCELLENCE AWARD: 2020 LEADING CRIMINAL LAW EXPERT, GERMANY
INTERCONTINENTAL FINANCE & LAW TOP 100 LEADING FIRMS 2020: FEHN | LEGAL CORPORATE INTL. GLOBAL AWARDS WINNER 2021
GLOBAL LAW EXPERTS: LIST OF RECOMMENDED LAWYERS
Dr. Dr. Bernd Josef Fehn
MAGAZIN THE SILICON REVIEW
Referenzen
Below you will find an excerpt – anonymized and only insofar as these proceedings have already been made public by the press – of prominent criminal proceedings in which Prof. Dr. Dr. Fehn has acted as counsel or defense counsel.
We are legal partners of SC Fortuna Köln and advise ‘Die Fortuna’ in particu-lar on legal matters relating to player and bonus contracts, sponsoring con-tracts, the law of associations and much more
MORE THAN 8500 OUT-OF-COURT AND COURT PROCEEDINGS IN MEDICAL AND MEDICAL LIABILITY LAW CONDUCTED FOR PHYSICIANS AND HOSPITALS
ADVICE OF THE DFB E.V. IN TAX (CRIMINAL) LAW MATTERS
DEFENSE IN THE SO-CALLED CUM-EX COMPLEX
PROCEEDINGS AGAINST RESPONSIBLE PERSONS OF THE SAVINGS BANK COLOGNE/BONN, CONCERNING VARIOUS INVESTMENT DECISIONS
DEFENSE IN THE PROCEEDINGS CONCERNING THE SO-CALLED FORD CORRUPTION AFFAIR
DEFENSE IN THE PROCEEDINGS AGAINST PHYSICIANS/SHAREHOLDERS OF THE LABORATORY ASSOCIATION COLOGNE/BONN
DEFENSE IN THE LIMBURGER ORAL SURGEON TRIAL CONCERNING THE ACCUSATION OF NEGLIGENT HOMICIDE IN THE COURSE OF AN OUTPATIENT OPERATION
DEFENSE IN THE PROCEEDINGS CONCERNING THE SO-CALLED COLOGNE PARTY DONATIONS AFFAIR
DEFENSE IN THE PROCEEDINGS CONCERNING THE SO-CALLED LUSTREISEN AFFAIR AGAINST PERSONS RESPONSIBLE FOR INDIVIDUAL ENERGY SUPPLIERS AND LOCAL POLITICIANS
DEFENSE IN THE PROCEEDINGS CONCERNING THE SO-CALLED COLOGNE GARBAGE SCANDAL
REPRESENTATION IN THE PROCEEDINGS CONCERNING THE WITHDRAWAL OF THE CHOLESTEROL-LOWERING DRUG LIPOBAY/BAYCOL AS SYNDIC COUNSEL FOR BAYER AG AND LATER AS INDIVIDUAL DEFENSE COUNSEL
DEFENSE IN CONNECTION WITH INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS
NUMEROUS INDIVIDUAL DEFENSES OF CORPORATE OFFICERS, (EXECUTIVE AND SELF-EMPLOYED) PHYSICIANS, DENTISTS AND VETERINARIANS AS WELL AS PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS
CRIMINAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL COMPLIANCE ADVICE
REGULAR EXPERT OPINIONS, E.G. FOR THE UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL AACHEN (MED-ON-@IX, TEMRAS, EMURGENCY, SMS-RETTER ETC.), ON EMERGENCY MEDICAL ISSUES FOR A PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION, ON AIR RESCUE ISSUES FOR A MAJOR GERMAN AIR RESCUE COMPANY AS WELL AS ON NUMEROUS MEDICAL CRIMINAL LAW AND WHITE-COLLAR CRIMINAL LAW ISSUES ON BEHALF OF VARIOUS COMPANIES AND ORGANIZATIONS
THE WORK OF PROF. DR. DR. FEHN’S ACTIVITIES AS A DEFENSE ATTORNEY AND LEGAL ADVISOR ARE ACCOMPANIED BY NUMEROUS LECTURES
e.g. at the Police Leadership Academy or the German Police University, the Federal University of Applied Sciences for Public Administration, at university or university dental clinics (Frankfurt am Main, Aachen, Witten-Herdecke), at the German Dentists’ Conference, before medical associations, in medical quality circles, at the Malteser School, federal congresses on rescue services and control centers, etc.
In addition, there are numerous PUBLICATIONS by Prof. Dr. Dr. Fehn in the form of books, book contributions, essays in professional journals (e.g. wistra, MedR, GesR), which have attracted attention in the legal literature and even in the case law of the Federal Supreme Court (BGHZ 153, 269, 274; OLG Nürnberg, OLGR 2001, 225).