Hogan Lovells Germany strengthens Berlin Compliance & Investigations team with Counsel Lukas Ritzenhoff from Hengeler Mueller

Ritzenhoff comes with extensive expertise in conducting and managing compliance investigations and establishing compliance management systems. In addition to several cartel investigations, he has advised clients in complex international investigations with a corporate criminal background. He was also a member of a DOJ monitor team that assisted in the establishment of a compliance management system at an international company.

At the Berlin office, Ritzenhoff will contribute his experience to the advisory services of Hogan Lovells' existing Compliance & Investigations team and further expand the range of legal advice. Ritzenhoff will have a particular focus on advising venture capital-financed growth companies and their investors on compliance investigations and preventive compliance.  

Hogan Lovells opened the Berlin office with a focus on internal investigations and legal tech in May 2019 and has continuously expanded it since then. Ritzenhoff is the first lateral at counsel level to join the Compliance & Investigations team, which continues to grow.

Lukas Ritzenhoff said:

"I am delighted to join the Compliance & Investigations team at Hogan Lovells, which has an excellent reputation and an impressive track record. There is hardly a unit in the German market that approaches the topics of investigations and compliance with comparable strength and specialization. The truly international client work is just as appealing to me as the opportunity to make my mark at the Berlin office."

Sebastian Lach, Head of Compliance & Investigations, Germany, added:

"We are very pleased to have Lukas Ritzenhoff, an internationally experienced Counsel, join our team in Germany and in particular at the Berlin office. We will continue to grow and are very much looking forward to working together."

With a team spread across all five offices in Germany, Hogan Lovells has one of the largest teams in the market specializing exclusively in Compliance & Investigations. With the addition of Dr Lukas Ritzenhoff, as well as newly appointed partner Dr Angelina Leder (Munich) and newly appointed counsels Matthias Samol (Munich), Dr Sebastian Gräler (Düsseldorf) and Dr Hubertus Weber (Frankfurt), effective 1 January 2022, the overall team now counts five partners, seven counsel and one director of investigations. The practice is completed by more than 50 additional staff members who specialize exclusively in advising in the areas of Compliance & Investigations.

In 2020, compliance specialist Olaf Schneider had joined as a lateral partner the Compliance & Investigations team around Dr Sebastian Lach, Désirée Maier and Christian Ritz. In 2022, Dr Angelina Leder was appointed partner.