The founding partner Sören Schomburg advises national and international clients in the areas of commercial criminal law and tax criminal law, international criminal law, and extradition law. He has extensive experience in complex, frequently transnational internal investigations and with respect to search and seizure, especially raids involving data confiscation.

He defends clients throughout Germany, in Europe and before the European Court of Justice (ECJ), and against INTERPOL.

His longstanding experience and networking in these areas enable him to provide clearly targeted advice and defence strategies to clients. He represents national and international companies and their managers.

He has authored numerous specialist publications on commercial criminal law, on INTERPOL Red Notices, and on the European Arrest Warrant. In addition, he regularly holds lectures at legal conferences on topics related to international legal assistance in criminal matters and on INTERPOL.

After his studies at Humboldt-Universität in Berlin and King′s College in London, he completed his postgraduate legal clerkship at the German Federal Foreign Office and a law firm in Tokyo, among others, and worked at a leading law firm in the area of commercial criminal law. In 2011, he joined the law firm named Ufer Knauer at the time, where he was appointed partner in 2020.

In 2023, he joined forces with Prof. Christoph Knauer and Dr. Björn Boerger to found the law firm Knauer Partner.
Sören Schomburg advises clients in German, English, Danish, and French.

• Commercial criminal law

• Criminal tax law

• Extradition, legal assistance, and Interpol

• International criminal law/human rights protection under criminal law

• European Public Prosecutor’s Office

• Compliance/internal Investigations

• Corruption: prevention and defence

• Bank criminal law

• Capital market criminal law

• Patent and trademark criminal law

• IT criminal law /cybercrime

• Support in parliamentary inquiry committees

• WirtschaftsWoche 2019, 2023, and 2026: “Top Lawyer in White-Collar Crime”

• Handelsblatt’s Best Lawyers Ranking 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026

• Legal500 Ranking: “Next Generation Partner” in corporate advisory services

• Juve Ranking 2026/2027: “international, strategically strong, collegial,” “very conscientious and professional,” “outstanding market positioning,” “unmatched in terms of expertise and strategy,” “brilliant in matters of mutual legal assistance, very assertive in extradition proceedings”

• Juve Handbook 2025/2026: “very good at coordinating corporate representation; pleasant and collegial demeanor,” “level-headed and thoughtful strategist,” “consistently strong,” “great team player”

• Juve Handbook 2024/2025: “Confident in Cum-Ex proceedings,” “expert in international mutual legal assistance,” “team player,” “absolute specialist in extradition proceedings,” “pleasant and collegial,” “skilled in corporate defense”

• Juve Handbook 2023/2024: “shrewd, well-versed in international criminal law,” “very skilled at coordinating corporate representation,” “going from strength to strength,” “great team player”

• “Highly recommended” in the Leaders League Ranking for Dispute Resolution and White-Collar Crime 2022

• Daimler AG in the “diesel proceedings”

• Continental AG in the “diesel cases”

• Commerzbank AG (cum/ex proceedings)

• Hamburg Commercial Bank AG (formerly HSH Nordbank)

• UniCredit Bank AG (cum/ex proceedings)

• Deutsche Bank AG (“Kirch cases”; first instance and appeal)

• Deutsche Börse AG (cum/ex proceedings)

• Asset manager in transnational corruption proceedings

• Successful defence of Carles Puigdemont against his European Arrest Warrant and in various extradition proceedings (including USA, Russia, Argentina)

• Submission to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in the red notice proceedings (WS, C-505/19) and on double jeopardy interdiction (HF, C-435/22)

• Expert opinion on double jeopardy interdiction in the EU (ne bis in idem) regarding employees of Johnson and Johnson

• Successful cancellation of various red notices for German and foreign nationals

• Comment on: Federal Court of Justice (BGH), Decision of Jan. 22, 2026 - 6 StR 245/25 – “Prohibition of Double Punishment,” co-authored with Amelia Schwedersky, NStZ 9/2026, 577 [2026]

• Comment on: ECJ (Third Chamber), Judgment of June 19, 2025 – C-219/25 – “Binding Effect of Extradition Decisions Between EU Member States,” jurisPR-StrafR 15/2025 Note 1, Aug. 4, 2025 [2025]

• “Practical Commentary on the ECJ (First Chamber), Judgment of September 14, 2023 – C-27/22 (Volkswagen v. AGCM), co-authored with J. Schauf – NStZ-RR 2024, 31 [2023]

• “PUAG – Parliamentary Inquiry Committee Act,” Nomos Publishing [2023]

• “When Is an Extradition Decision Binding?” – Blog post for Kingsley Napley LLP, October 31, 2022 [2022]

• Co-author; Statement on the mutual recognition of extradition decisions by the European Criminal Bar Association (ECBA), June 21, 2022 [2022]

• “INTERPOL – A Case Analysis,” co-authored with G. Müller, WisteV 01-2022 [2022]

• “Unlawful Works Council Compensation—Is a Waiver of Repayment a Criminal Offense?”, co-authored with K. Giese, NJW 2022, 1415 [2022]

• “Things Remain Exciting Following the Federal Fiscal Court’s Ruling on Cum/Ex”, co-authored with Prof. Dr. Christoph Knauer, LTO, March 18, 2022 [2022]

• “The Determination of ‘idem factum’ under Art. 50 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and Art. 54 of the Schengen Convention in Cases of Economic Criminal Law Allegations,” co-authored with D. Reitner, ZWH 2021, 189–195 [2021]

• “General Provisions under the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement,” New Journal of European Criminal Law, Special Edition, March 2021 [2021]

• “Compliance: Criminal Liability Risks for Employers During the Pandemic,” co-authored with K. Giese, NStZ 2020, 327 [2020]

• Chapter “Interpol Wanted Notices—Preliminary Provisions: Sections 19,” in: Schomburg, Lagodny, Gleß, Hackner, International Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, C.H. Beck, 6th ed. 2020 [2020]

• Chapter “International Economic and Tax Criminal Law,” co-authored with Dr. Sabine Stetter, in: Munich Lawyers’ Handbook on Defense in Economic and Tax Criminal Cases, C.H. Beck, 3rd ed., 2020 [2020]

• Commentary on the ECJ judgment of May 27, 2019, in Joined Cases C-508/18 and C-82/19 PP—Issuance of a European Investigation Order by a German Public Prosecutor’s Office, in WiJ 3/19, 115ff. [2019]

• “Cum/Ex Transactions—Are Criminal Law Doctrine and Practice Reaching Their Limits?”, co-authored with Prof. Dr. Christoph Knauer, NStZ 2019, 305 [2019]

• “AML and Criminal Defense: Challenges in an Evolving Global Regulatory Framework” — Presentation as part of the Academy of European Law’s online seminar “Anti-Money Laundering for the Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Defense,” May 19, 2026

• Discussion on “Safeguarding INTERPOL’s Systems: Recommendations for Reform” organized by the European Criminal Bar Association (ECBA), together with Camille Gosson, Jago Russell, and Alex Tinsley, March 6, 2026

• Mr. Schomburg moderated the “Webinar MR2.0 – Enhancing Mutual Recognition in the EU” organized by the European Criminal Bar Association (ECBA), together with Katarzyna Dabrowska, February 18, 2026.

• “Mutual Recognition of Extradition Decisions” – Speaking at a webinar with Vania Costa Ramos and Rebecca Niblock at the European Criminal Law Association, April 22, 2025

• “White-collar crime prevention and defense: challenges in an evolving regulatory framework” – Presentation at the 2024 ERA Annual Conference in Trier, March 22, 2024

• “Providing an Update on the RefE’s Current Status Regarding the New IRG” – Presentation as part of the 45th Criminal Defense Lawyers’ Day, with Ms. Sprenger (BMJ), March 2, 2024

• “The Significance of Whistleblower Protection” – Presentation at the “Eleventh Annual London White Collar Institute” conference of the Criminal Justice Section-ABA, London, October 9, 2023

• “The Significance of Whistleblower Protections and Incentives for Internal Investigations in the U.S. and Germany” – Presentation at the conference “Whistleblowers, Internal Investigations, and Compliance Design in the United States, Germany, and Austria” at the University of Illinois College of Law, May 23, 2023

• “The Ruling Pursuant to the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) Decision of June 2, 2021 – 3 StR 21/21” – Presentation on defense strategies under European law in connection with the BGH case law as part of the working group at the 44th Criminal Defense Lawyers’ Conference in Berlin on May 13, 2023

• “European Investigation Order in Cross-Border (Tax) Criminal Proceedings” – Presentation as part of the WisteV event “Transgressing Rules, Transgressing Borders?”, November 25, 2022

• “The European Investigation Order” – Presentation as part of the DAV’s Criminal Law Working Group, May 31, 2022

• “Deletion of Red Notices and Rights to Information from International Investigative Authorities” – Presentation as part of the 7th International Criminal Law Conference of the German Criminal Defense Lawyers Association (Deutscher Strafverteidiger e.V.), April 1, 2022

• “Interpol—Boundless Search or Prosecution Without Borders?”—Presentation as part of the Wistev event “Transnational Prosecution and Criminal Defense—Key Issues in Criminal Proceedings with International Dimensions,” March 3, 2022

• “International Law Enforcement through Red Notices and the European Arrest Warrant” – Presentation as part of the International Bar Association Conference (RAK) in Frankfurt am Main, November 2, 2018

• “Corporate Compliance” – Presentation as part of the 2nd Annual Legal Counsels Forum in Kyiv, Ukraine, November 23, 2014

• “Compliance for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises” – Presentation to members of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce for East Frisia and Papenburg, November 18, 2013

• Wirtschaftstrafrechtliche Vereinigung e.V. (WisteV)

• European Criminal Bar Association (ECBA)

• Defense Extradition Lawyers Forum (DELF)

German, English, Danish, French