Christian Pelz acts for German and international corporations, board members, senior management and private clients as defence counsel in all kinds of criminal and administrative offence investigations conducted by regulators, tax and customs investigators, prosecutors or courts. Christian defends and represents clients in national and international investigations, forfeiture and proceeds of crime proceedings, trials and before parliamentary commissions. He has particular experience in coordinating corporate and individual defence work as well as complex proceedings and litigation resulting from criminal or regulatory violations and involving criminal, civil, tax and/or regulatory proceedings. Christian also advises companies on all kinds of compliance issues. These include designing and implementing compliance programmes, developing compliance policies and guidelines, conducting compliance audits and handling compliance matters. He has extensive experience in internal investigations at a national and international level. Christian also helps corporations investigate and enforce damage claims resulting from criminal offences or other misconduct by business partners, board members and employees.

Distinctions

  • Recommended in “Who’s Who Legal: Germany – Investigations” for the areas Investigations, Compliance and Business Crime Defence (2020)
  • Recommended in ”Who’s Who Legal: Germany – Business Crime Defence” for the areas Corporates, Individuals and Investigations (2020)
  • Recommended compliance and white-collar crime, Legal 500 Europe (2020)
  • Recommended top lawyer white-collar crime, Wirtschaftswoche (2020)
  • Top-100 lawyer, kanzleimonitor/unternehmensjurist (2020/2021)
  • Recommended white-collar crime lawyer, JUVE Handbook (2019/2020)
  • Recommended tax crime lawyer, JUVE Tax Handbook (2022)
  • Recommended business crime defence, Global Investigations Review (2019)
  • Recommended investigations lawyer and forensic expert, Who’s Who Legal (2019)
  • Recommended white-collar crime lawyer, Euromoney’s Expert Guide on White-Collar Crime (2019)

Career

  • Studied law at the University of Munich
  • Experience abroad: trainee seat at a law firm in Windhoek (Namibia)
  • At Noerr since 1997
  • Admitted to the Munich Chamber of Lawyers

Memberships

  • Criminal law working group of the German Bar Association (DAV)
  • Association for European Criminal Law (Vereinigung für Europäisches Strafrecht e.V.)
  • German white-collar crime association WisteV
  • Center for Criminal Compliance, University of Gießen

Lectures

  • Honorary Professor at University of Augsburg
  • Compliance Officer (Univ.) – Certification course at the University of Augsburg

Publications

  • Co-editor Hocke/Sachs/Pelz, Außenwirtschaftsrecht, Commentary, 2nd edition 2020
  • Co-editor BeckOK-Geldwäschegesetz, 2019
  • Insolvenz – Strafrechtlicher Teil, Wabnitz/Janovsky/Schmitt, Handbuch des Wirtschafts- und Steuerstrafrechts, 5th edition 2019
  • Commentary on section 92, before sections 394 to 410 German Stock Corporation Act, sec-tion 20a Stock Corporation Act, Bürgers/Körber, Aktiengesetz, 4th edition 2017
  • Ertragsteuerliche (Nicht)Abzugsfähigkeit von Betriebsausgaben, insbesondere Aufwand für korruptive Handlungen, Rübenstahl/Idler, Tax Compliance, 2017
  • Strafrechtliche und zivilrechtliche Aufsichtspflicht, Personalorganisation und Arbeitsstrafrecht, Hauschka/Moosmayer/Lösler, Corporate Compliance, 3rd edition 2016
  • Unfälle und Katastrophen, Knierim/Rübenstahl/Tsambikakis, Internal Investigations, 2nd edition 2016
  • Internal Investigations und Legal Privilege – Zum Umfang des Beschlagnahmeschutzes in Deutschland, Lewisch (Hrsg.), Wirtschaftsstrafrecht und Organverantwortlichkeit. Yearbook 2017, p. 73-88.
  • Aktuelle Rechtsprobleme des § 4 Abs. 5 S. 1 Nr. 10 EStG, DStR 2014, pp. 449 et seq.
  • Die Selbstanzeige im neuen Außenwirtschaftsrecht – Chance oder Risiko?, wistra 2014, pp. 1 et seq.
  • We observe local law – Strafrechtskonflikte in internationalen Compliance-Programmen, CCZ 2013, pp. 234 et seq.
  • Commentary on sections 339-342 German Investment Code, Beckmann/Scholtz/Vollmer, Investment, 2014 et seq.