White-collar and tax criminal law for decision-makers and organizations

stetter Rechtsanwälte · Boutique firm for white-collar and tax criminal law · Munich · active nationwide and internationally

When criminal-law risks affect personal responsibility, organizational stability or economic substance, more than a legal assessment is at stake. What matters is whether you and your organization remain able to act under pressure and make well-founded decisions.

stetter Rechtsanwälte is a highly specialized boutique firm for white-collar and tax criminal law. We advise and represent decision-makers, companies and institutions exclusively in situations where criminal-law questions carry long-term consequences.

Our practice areas

Criminal-Law Prevention Strategic Defense Highly Complex Proceedings

The aim of our work is to keep risks manageable, secure control and preserve your ability to act – even under considerable criminal-law pressure.

Our approach

Your decision-making situation, not abstract legal questions

Our firm does not address abstract legal questions but your concrete decision-making situation.

It is not the offense that is at the center. Not the criminal provision. Not isolated defense.

At the center are you and your organization — and the ability to remain capable of acting under criminal-law risk.

This perspective shapes the structure, the working method and the communication of our firm. We analyze not only legal elements but the entire situation in which decisions are made: information available, time pressure, internal dynamics, economic consequences and reputational effects.

We assess risks, recognize escalation dynamics early and create a sound basis for decisions. In this way we integrate criminal-law questions not merely reactively into a proceeding, but strategically into the management of the overall situation.

Positioning

What sets stetter Rechtsanwälte apart

“This department demonstrates outstanding proficiency in handling the most challenging and intricate legal matters, setting the gold standard for sophisticated legal service delivery.”

Chambers Germany 2026

What makes our firm distinctive is consistent specialization, long-standing experience in highly complex proceedings and precise methodology.

Our conduct of mandates aims to secure strategic control even under uncertainty.

01 · SPECIALIZATION

Consistent specialization, not a mixed portfolio

While many firms run white-collar crime only as one area among others, stetter Rechtsanwälte focuses exclusively on white-collar and tax criminal law.

We do not take on general criminal defense. We do not handle routine cases. We run no mixed portfolio and no unrelated parallel practice areas.

This consistent focus creates exceptional depth precisely in the proceedings that can become existential for decision-makers, officers and companies.

02 · CORPORATE DEFENSE

Corporate defense since 2004

Since 2004 — that is, since the systematic criminal and regulatory prosecution of companies began in Germany — Dr. Sabine Stetter has defended companies, international groups and public-law entities.

With the founding of stetter Rechtsanwälte in 2010 she anchored this specialization consistently in a highly focused boutique firm and has continued it ever since.

This focus began at a time when corporate defense was not yet an established specialty. The firm's positioning today therefore rests not on a later decision to specialize, but on experience grown over many years in the core area of company-related criminal and regulatory proceedings — from early risk analysis to the strategic management of complex cases.

03 · EXPERIENCE

Long-standing experience in corporate and officer defense

The firm has more than two decades of experience defending companies and officers in criminal and regulatory proceedings.

This includes negotiating corporate fines in the triple-digit million range as well as guiding complex investigations and court proceedings with significant economic and reputational impact.

This experience covers in particular proceedings with international dimensions, parallel investigations by several authorities, complex corporate structures, political or public sensitivity, and long-term, far-reaching consequences for organizations and their leaders.

Strategic Defense Highly Complex Proceedings

04 · UNITY

Prevention and defense as one

For you and your organization, criminal-law prevention and strategic defense belong closely together. Both follow the same logic: recognize risks early, limit escalation and secure the ability to act.

Prevention makes it possible to classify sensitive constellations early and avoid critical developments. Defense takes over where criminal-law pressure has already arisen and control must be regained.

Both require the same understanding of how proceedings arise, how they escalate and which factors enable sound decisions under pressure.

Those who understand complex proceedings can prevent them. And those who work preventively and in a structured way defend more confidently later.

Criminal-Law Prevention Strategic Defense

Method

Methodology and legal working method

Legal microsurgery instead of broad-brush argument

In complex white-collar and tax criminal proceedings it is not broad defense approaches that succeed, but precise interventions at the decisive points.

Our work analyzes risks, points of attack and far-reaching consequences with a clear focus on substance, precision and effect.

Legal Microsurgery

Cross-instance thinking and the appellate perspective

We develop your strategy not only for the current stage of the proceedings, but with a view to the entire possible course of the case.

Our experience in appellate (Revision) proceedings sharpens the eye for legal errors and for the long-term tenability of lines of argument. We therefore use the appellate perspective from the very start of strategic planning.

Substance, not showmanship

In complex white-collar and tax criminal proceedings, it is not the loudest defense that helps you, but clean analysis, comprehensible argument, precise structure and targeted execution.

Investigators and courts respond to substance. Where the argument holds, movement in the proceedings often arises early.

Competence

Complexity and procedural competence

International experience and coordination

White-collar and tax criminal proceedings increasingly have cross-border dimensions — for example through parallel investigations in several states, international corporate structures or mutual legal assistance.

Such constellations require aligned lines of argument and coordinated communication across national borders.

We represent clients nationwide and internationally and, where needed, coordinate cooperation with specialized defense counsel in other jurisdictions.

Highly Complex Proceedings

Bundling competence instead of isolated handling

Complex proceedings regularly touch several areas of law and organizational levels.

We therefore work in partnership with specialized defense counsel, subject-matter experts and specialized lawyers — particularly from commercial and tax law — and integrate their expertise into one consistent overall strategy.

Our role remains clear: we lead in the criminal and regulatory core area and bundle the specialist competence the case additionally requires.

Experience in proceedings with public impact

Proceedings with high economic significance, political sensitivity or heightened public attention require more than classic defense.

They demand clear prioritization, coordinated communication and the ability to hold a robust overall line even under high pressure.

This experience benefits you when your case is not only legally demanding but also economically, organizationally or publicly sensitive.

Mandate

Conduct of the mandate and collaboration

Legal depth and entrepreneurial understanding

We combine legal precision with a clear understanding of entrepreneurial decision-making. This creates collaboration on equal terms with management boards, managing directors and responsible executives, as well as with supervisory boards and other officers.

In these constellations, criminal-law risks are not only legal questions but at the same time economic, organizational and personal challenges. This is precisely where we come in.

Personal mandate conduct and direct communication

Our structure remains deliberately lean and highly specialized. We conduct mandates personally — with clear responsibility and direct lines of communication.

You work directly with the responsible lawyers and have fixed points of contact throughout.

This structure creates clear responsibility, short decision paths and continuous strategic leadership of your mandate across all phases.

Transparency in strategy, risk and cost

Criminal proceedings create uncertainty. Transparency creates clarity.

We clearly outline:

Which risks realistically exist
Where defense opportunities lie
Which scenarios are likely
Which steps we recommend
What impact those steps may have

We neither downplay nor dramatize.

Complex proceedings are often resource intensive. We therefore work with clearly defined phases, transparent billing structures, and regular updates on effort and case development.

Especially in economically sensitive situations, cost transparency is an integral part of professional representation.

Responsiveness

Responsiveness and organizational stability

High availability and fast response

In acute investigation or search situations, every hour often counts.

You reach us at short notice and receive rapid initial orientation. We coordinate the next steps in a structured way and continuously adapt the strategy to actual developments.

Our clients can expect:

fast feedback
available points of contact
structured coordination
flexible adaptation to current developments

For us, rapid response is not an added service – it is a prerequisite for effective defense.

Back office and organizational stability

Complex criminal and regulatory proceedings require not only legal precision but also robust organizational processes.

An experienced back office supports our work through structured communication, deadline and scheduling coordination, secure document management and reliable internal processes.

Especially with large case files, numerous parties and high time pressure, organizational stability is a key success factor.

References

Facts, figures
and appreciation

Trust does not arise through volume, but through robust experience, precise work and clients who rely on clear leadership even under pressure.

+25years of specialization

+15years of stetter Rechtsanwälte

+750mandates handled

“Thank you for the professional collaboration! We had never imagined such an outcome, and yet in the end everything turned out well!”

Managing director of a mid-sized international company

“Thank you for the perfect handling!”

Feedback from a global law firm

“Thanks to everyone involved in this outstanding work. Precise, clear, to the point. We are all delighted and exceedingly grateful.”

General counsel of an industry association

More references

CONFIDENTIAL ORIENTATION

Confidential initial conversation

When criminal-law risks affect personal responsibility, organizational stability or economic substance, an early assessment is decisive.

In a confidential initial conversation we clarify your situation, the possible risks and the next sensible steps. You receive a realistic assessment — even when no investigative measures have yet taken place.

Discretion, clarity and clear orientation are at the center.

FAQ

Frequently asked
questions

When should we engage a specialized defense lawyer?

Not only once a proceeding is already running. In many cases, risks, escalation or far-reaching adverse developments can be steered far better if legal expertise is involved early — for instance in internal investigations, critical business transactions or first official inquiries.

Do you represent only companies or also individuals?

We represent both companies and organizations and their officers and responsible executives. In complex proceedings, effective defense often requires a coordinated strategy for the organization and the individuals acting at the same time.

Do you also take on mandates with an international dimension?

Yes. Many white-collar and tax criminal proceedings have cross-border dimensions — for instance through international corporate structures, parallel investigations in several states or mutual legal assistance. We coordinate such proceedings nationwide and internationally and work where needed with specialized counsel in other jurisdictions.

How quickly can you respond in acute situations?

In search, investigation or crisis situations, a fast response is decisive. We endeavor to be reachable at short notice, to give initial orientation quickly and to coordinate the next steps in a structured way.

Do you take on mandates outside Munich?

Yes. We represent clients nationwide and — depending on the individual case — internationally. The Munich location does not limit our work.

How does a confidential initial assessment work?

In a first conversation we clarify your situation, possible risks and sensible next steps. You receive a realistic assessment of your position together with guidance on how to proceed. The conversation is of course confidential.

Why a boutique firm rather than a large firm for white-collar crime?

Boutique firms like stetter offer genuine depth without conflicts of interest from mixed portfolios. The lead partners handle the mandates personally. That means direct responsibility, no delegation to inexperienced associates.

What qualifications does Dr. Sabine Stetter hold?

Dr. Sabine Stetter is a specialist lawyer for criminal law and a specialist lawyer for tax law – a dual qualification that is rare in Germany. Added to this are several years of work in appellate proceedings before the Federal Court of Justice and more than 25 years of practice focused on white-collar and tax criminal law.

How many mandates has the firm handled?

More than 750 mandates in over 15 years of practice, including numerous highly complex corporate and officer defenses – also with an international dimension and corporate fines into the triple-digit million range.

Does the firm also advise in English?

Yes. International clients and proceedings with US/UK connections are handled in English. stetter Rechtsanwälte is set up for international mandates.

What does 'substance, not showmanship' mean in concrete terms?

It means: no glossy promises, but legally robust work. Clear risk assessments, transparent communication and a strategy based on the reality of the case file – not on wishful thinking.