“Julia Sophia Habbe is super committed” (Chambers 2026), say clients, who are “very happy and satisfied” (JUVE, 2021) with her work. They praise her advice as “very carefully and concise. She discusses the issues at both a strategic and tactical level and thinks with the goal in mind. She and her team offer comprehensive technical solutions.” (Legal500 Germany, 2024).
Biography
Dr. Julia Sophia Habbe chairs the investigations practice in Germany. She is a trusted adviser to global companies and their boards on accountability and corporate governance in complex, often cross-border matters, and she represents clients in high-stakes disputes before regulators and courts. A core part of Julia Sophia’s practice is strategic corporate governance advice with a strong emphasis on liability prevention for board and committee members, including crisis governance, decision-making processes, documentation, and conflict management. Her experience spans complex corporate and civil litigation, regulatory enforcement matters, class actions and mass claims. She also advises on strategically sensitive situations involving activist shareholders, including board-level positioning, stakeholder communications and robust dispute strategy. An experienced ADR practitioner, Julia Sophia has acted in mediation settings. She has nearly 20 years of experience, including almost a decade as a partner, across a broad range of industries.
Before joining White & Case, she served as Co-Head of Compliance & Investigations at Noerr and previously worked at Freshfields in dispute resolution and core corporate. She is a member of the Commercial Law Committee of the German Bar Association (DAV) and has authored 45+ publications on corporate, capital markets and civil procedure law. Julia Sophia lectures on Compliance and Negotiations at the University of Siegen. She regularly speaks on governance and compliance topics, including at the Deutsches Aktieninstitut and the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, and presents jointly with Falk Bernau, Judge on the Second Civil Senate of the German Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof, BGH), on board liability (Organhaftung).
Experience
Investigations & board room advice
Global financial services provider
Complex cross-border investigation into compliance culture and allegations of individual misconduct by a senior executive; detailed fact-finding across multiple jurisdictions (Germany, the United States and Japan)
International PE fund
Advising the management board in relation to a transaction, with a particular focus on identifying and assessing potential cross-border compliance risks and violations at the target companies in China, Mexico, Brazil and Germany
Financial institution
Advising the management board in relation to possible cross-border manipulation and misconduct in the foreign exchange market*
Global insurance company
Advising the management board in relation to possible fraudulent financial reporting practices in different European countries*
Commerzbank AG
Advising the supervisory board and investigating the responsibility of the management board members for penalty payments in the US*
Deutsche Börse AG
Advising the supervisory board on suspicion of insider trading by the former chairman of the management board*
DAX 40-Company
Advising the management board on possible claims for breaches of duty by employees in connection with years of global corruption practices in the group, which had already been the subject of settlements with US authorities*
Deutsche Bahn AG
Advising the management board in regard of investigations of consultancy agreements with former members of governing bodies of group companies*
Corporate Governance and Compliance
Companies from various sectors, including financial institutions
Business Judgement Opinions that include comprehensive forensic analysis before or after key management decisions*
Several U.S.- and Europe-based investors
Advice on corporate governance and shareholder engagement strategy
International PE fund
Strategic advice with a particular focus on compliance and corporate governance in connection with post-closing disputes
Leading international financial institution
Advising the management board on cross-border corporate governance and compliance matters
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*
Various PE Funds
Compliance Due Diligence in preparation of the acquisition of a target or sale of a portfolio company
Dispute Resolution
International PE fund
Group-wide analysis to support litigation strategy and coordinated multiple complex court proceedings arising from shareholder disputes
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 funds
Representation in more than 120 proceedings (all instances, including the Federal Court of Justice) as well as in contentious shareholder meetings*
Several financial institutions
Representation in proceedings related to structured products*
Companies from the financial sector, including financial institutions
Regulatory disputes related to alleged violations of capital market law and / or financial reporting standards
Financial Market Stabilization Fund
Representation in proceedings, i.e. appraisal proceeding, related to the stabilization of Hypo Real Estate Bank*
*Experience prior to joining White & Case
Leading Lawyer Compliance, Chambers Germany, 2026
Best Lawyer's Arbitration and Mediation (2024/2025)
"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.
