“Julia Sophia Habbe is super committed” (Chambers, 2026). Clients praise her as a “go-to adviser” and are “very happy and satisfied” with her counsel (JUVE, 2021). Her advice is “very careful and concise”; she “discusses the issues at both a strategic and tactical level and thinks with the goal in mind” (Legal 500 Germany, 2024).
Biography
Dr. Julia Sophia Habbe heads White & Case's investigations practice in Germany. Management and supervisory boards of multinational companies turn to her in their most critical situations: governance crises, regulatory enforcement, internal investigations, activist pressure and high-stakes litigation. She combines the perspective of a boardroom adviser with the instincts of a seasoned litigator, guiding leadership teams through matters in which legal exposure, reputation and shareholder value are at stake at the same time.
The hallmark of her practice is liability prevention for board members: business judgment frameworks, crisis governance, decision-making processes and documentation strategy built to withstand later scrutiny by courts, regulators and shareholders. She represents clients across the full spectrum of complex corporate and civil litigation, regulatory enforcement proceedings, class actions and mass claims, and has acted in complex mediation settings. She also advises activist shareholders on positioning, stakeholder communications and dispute strategy. Her experience spans nearly 20 years - including almost a decade as a partner - across a broad range of industries.
Before joining White & Case, Julia Sophia served as Co-Head of Compliance & Investigations at Noerr, having begun her career at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in dispute resolution and core corporate. A member of the Commercial Law Committee of the German Bar Association (DAV), she has authored more than 45 publications on corporate law, capital markets regulation and civil procedure and lectures on compliance and negotiations at the University of Siegen. She is a sought-after speaker on governance and compliance, including at the Deutsches Aktieninstitut and the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, and regularly presents alongside the Honourable Falk Bernau, Judge on the Second Civil Senate of the German Federal Court of Justice (BGH), on board liability (Organhaftung).
Experience
Board Advisory & Crisis Governance
Deutsche Bank
Advising the management board as business judgement counsel in various settlement decisions
Companies from various sectors, including financial institutions
Business judgment opinions, including comprehensive forensic analysis, prepared before or after key management decisions
Commerzbank AG
Advising the supervisory board and investigating the responsibility of management board members for penalty payments in the US*
Deutsche Börse AG
Advising the supervisory board on suspected insider trading by the former chairman of the management board*
DAX 40 company
Advising the management board on potential claims for breaches of duty in connection with years of global corruption practices in the group, which had previously been the subject of settlements with US authorities*
Deutsche Bahn AG
Advising the management board in connection with investigations into consultancy agreements with former members of governing bodies of group companies*
Global insurance company
Advising the management board on possible fraudulent financial reporting practices in several European countries*
Financial institution
Advising the management board on possible cross-border manipulation and misconduct in the foreign exchange market*
International financial institution
Advising the management board on cross-border regulatory matters vis-à-vis a federal authority concerning the scope of regulatory consolidation of the financial services company
Investigations
DAX 40-listed industrial group
Advising the management board on a cross-border internal investigation into a significant compliance incident at a fully consolidated Chinese subsidiary, including the group’s exposure under German corporate governance law
Leading German financial institution
Advising the management board and conducting forensic measures in connection with a highly complex criminal tax matter
Global financial services provider
Complex cross-border investigation into compliance culture and allegations of individual misconduct by a senior executive; detailed fact-finding across Germany, the United States and Japan
International PE funds
Advising management on compliance risks in transactions including the identification and assessment of potential cross-border violations at target companies in China, Mexico, Brazil and Germany
Corporate Governance & Shareholder Advisory
Several US- and Europe-based investors
Advice on corporate governance and shareholder engagement strategy
Financial services company
Corporate governance advice in connection with a complex transaction, in particular assessing management board duties
Company from the transportation sector
Analysis of corporate and compliance aspects of the group’s restructuring*
Dispute Resolution
Financial Market Stabilization Fund
Representation in proceedings, including appraisal proceedings, related to the stabilization of Hypo Real Estate Bank*
European real estate group
Advice in connection with allegations of incorrect accounting; representation before the Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt (Oberlandesgericht Frankfurt)
Initiators of closed-end funds
Representation in more than 120 proceedings through all instances, including before the Federal Court of Justice, as well as in contentious shareholder meetings*
Companies from the financial sector, including financial institutions
Regulatory disputes relating to alleged violations of capital markets law and/or financial reporting standards
Several financial institutions
Representation in proceedings relating to structured products*
International PE fund
Strategic advice on post-closing disputes, with a particular focus on litigation, compliance and corporate governance
*Experience prior to joining White & Case
Professional Highlights
Best Lawyer's Arbitration and Mediation (2024-2026)
Best Lawyer's Litigation (2026)
Leading Lawyer Compliance, Chambers Germany, 2026
"Sophia Habbe provides very prudent and balanced advice. She discusses issues at both a strategic and tactical level and thinks "from the end". Together with her team, she offers comprehensive professional solutions." Legal 500 Germany (2024)
"I am very happy and satisfied" client voice JUVE (2021)
"Sophia Habbe's team advises very conscientiously and precisely. The exchange is also personally very pleasant.", Legal 500 Germany (2021)
"The local practice was significantly boosted in March 2024 when Sophia Habbe was recruited from Noerr and installed as head of investigations for Germany.", GIR (2024)
"often recommended" lawyer for Compliance investigations, JUVE (2023, 2022, 2021)
Click here for a full list of publications.
Habbe, Julia Sophia / Redenius-Hövermann, Julia: Versicherung ohne Police – Dokumentation als zentrales Element guter Corporate Governance, in Neue Zeitschrift für Gesellschaftsrecht 2026, i.E..
Die neue Anti-Money Laundering Authority AMLA – Befugnisse und Rechtsschutz im Fokus, Zeitschrift für Bank- und Kapitalmarktrecht 2025, pp. 865 et seq.
The Practitioner's Guide to Global Investigations - Volume II: Global Investigations around the World, in Global Investigations Review, 8th Edition, pp. 226 etseq.
Rechtsschutz im Enforcement-Verfahren der BaFin, Zeitschrift für Bank- und Kapitalmarktrecht 2025, pp. 625 et seq.
Die Rolle des Aufsichtsrats in der Matrixorganisation, Neue Zeitschrift für Gesellschaftsrecht 2022, pp. 445 etseq.
Habbe, Julia Sophia / de Schmidt, Sebastian: Der subjektive Tatbestand im Kapitalmarktordnungswidrigkeitenrecht, in Neue Juristische Wochenschrift 2022, S. 3186 ff.
Frauen und Verhandlungserfolg - Eine Einführung in Female Negotiation Strategies, Springer Gabler 2019
Habbe, Julia Sophia / Gieseler, Konrad: Beweiserleichterungen bei (angeblich) fehlerhaften Ad-hoc-Mitteilungen?, in Neue Zeitschrift für Gesellschaftsrecht 2016, S. 454 ff.
Interne Untersuchungen als Ausübung der Überwachungspflicht des Aufsichtsrats, Die Aktiengesellschaft 2018, pp. 257 etseq.
