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Dr. Anika Schürmann LL.M.

Partner
Baker McKenzie Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH von Rechtsanwälten und Steuerberatern

Biography

Dr. Anika Schürmann co-leads Baker McKenzie's German Investigations, Compliance & Ethics Practice and serves on the Legislative Committee for Compliance & CSR of the German Bar Association. A bar-certified professional in criminal law (Fachanwältin für Strafrecht), Anika has close to 20 years of experience in advising clients on all aspects of business crime, with a strong focus on complex investigations and proceedings. Anika is also co-head of Baker McKenzie's German Consumer Goods & Retail Industry Group.

Anika frequently publishes on business crime topics and lectures at the University of Cologne and the Westphalian University for Applied Science. Her expertise is recognized by The Legal 500 ("Next Generation Partner"), Juve ("frequently recommended"), Lexology (Leading Practitioner) and leading German business magazines Handelsblatt (Best-Lawyers-Ranking) and WirtschaftsWoche.

Before joining Baker McKenzie in 2013, Anika worked in Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s antitrust team in Brussels (2007-2011), and later at Wessing & Partner, a leading German law firm for high-profile white-collar crime cases (2012-2013).

Practice Focus

Anika advises on all areas of business crime, including cartels and bid rigging, corruption, fraud, tax and customs evasion, cybercrime, product compliance violations, and other business crime offenses. She has extensive experience managing complex internal investigations and representing clients in regulatory and judicial proceedings before German and European authorities and courts – both in self-disclosure/leniency cases and on the defense side. Anika also designs and implements global compliance programs and counsels clients on the legality of business models and contractual relationships with business partners.

Representative Legal Matters

  • Advised various companies in high-profile cartel investigations and abuse of dominance proceedings before European and German antitrust authorities and courts, including defending against follow-on cartel damage claims. Represented clients such as Carlsberg in the German beer cartel, Deutsche Bahn in the freight forwarding cartel, Segafredo in the coffee cartel and the Brenntag Group in the chemical distribution cartel. Her litigation experience includes proceedings before the German Federal Court of Justice.

  • Successfully defended multiple German-based companies, subsidiaries and individuals in investigations by public authorities involving allegations of tax evasion, bid rigging, corruption, fraud, subsidy fraud, export control breaches, product safety violations, and post-M&A disputes related to balance sheet fraud. Represented a former personally liable shareholder of the financial institution Sal Oppenheim in two-year-long court proceedings against breach of trust charges.

  • Advised numerous companies, including former Daimler AG, on risk analysis and the design and implementation of antitrust and white collar crime compliance programs. This included establishing internal compliance processes and documentation, drafting compliance guidelines and delivering tailored compliance training.

  • Counseled clients across the financial and insurance sectors, chemical and steel industry, and other sectors on business models and contractual relationships. Advice covered subcontractor, agent and distribution agreements as well as competitor cooperations and joint ventures.

 

Professional Honors

  • Frequently recommended Compliance & Investigation Lawyer, Juve (Germany) since 2025
  • Frequently recommended Antitrust Lawyer, Juve (Germany) since 2023
  • Next Generation of leading Antitrust Partners, Legal 500 Germany since 2023
  • Listed as Lead Counsel for Compliance and Investigations at Baker McKenzie, Legal 500 Germany since 2023
  • Leading Practioner in Competition, Lexology Index Germany (formerly WWL Who's Who Legal) since 2025
  • The Best Lawyers in Germany edition for Corporate Governance & Compliance since 2022
  • The Best Lawyers in Germany edition for Competition/Antitrust Law since 2020
  • Top lawyer for Compliance 2022, WirtschaftsWoche 2022

Professional Associations and Memberships

  • Legislative Committee for Compliance & CSR of the German Bar Association (DAV) - Committee Member
  • German Association of Antitrust Lawyers - (Studienvereinigung Kartellrecht) – Former Co-head of the North Rhine-Westphalia chapter
  • German White Collar Crime Association (WisteV) - Member
  • Association of Female Lawyers in White Collar Crime and Criminal Tax Law (JuWist) - Member
  • Criminal Law Section of the German Bar Association (DAV) – Member
  • W@CompetitionDE – Member of German chapter

Admissions

  • Germany (2007)

Education

  • Zertifizierte Beraterin für Steuerstrafrecht (DAA) (Certified Advisor for Criminal Tax Law) (2020)
  • Fachänwaltin für Strafrecht (Bar-Certified Specialist Lawyer in Criminal Law) (2016)
  • University of Bonn (Dr. iur.) (2009)
  • Higher Regional Court of Cologne (Second State Exam) (2006)
  • University of Edinburgh (LL.M. European Law) (2003)
  • University of Bonn (First State Exam) (2002)
  • University of Lausanne (1999)

Languages

  • English
  • French
  • German

Publications

  • Co-author (with Katharina Weiner und Pia König): „Germany: Illegal lobbying – New criminal offense to combat corruption,” Global Compliance News, June 2024
  • Author, „Anforderungen an kartellrechtliche Durchsuchungsbeschlüsse - Anmerkung zu LG Bonn – Kabel IV,“ Wirtschaft und Wettbewerb (WuW) 06/2024
  • Co-author (with Christian Horstkotte), EuGH: Urteil vom 16.7.2020 – C‑606/18 P - Nachprüfungsbefugnisse der Europäischen Kommission bei kartellrechtlichen Durchsuchungen von Geschäftsräumen (Nexans), Zeitschrift für Internationales Wirtschaftsrecht (IWRZ), 5/2020 
  • Co-author (with G: Schmittmann), "Kapitel 9 A - Korruptionsprävention," Grützner/Momsen, Wirtschafts- und Steuerstrafrecht - Handbuch für die Unternehmens- und Anwaltspraxis, 2. Auflage (2020)
  • Co-author (with E. Basar), "Mehr Einflussmöglichkeiten für die Verteidigung in Kartellbußgeldverfahren − eine Anmerkung zum „Flüssiggas III“-Beschluss des BGH," Wirtschaft und Wettbewerb (WuW) Online, November 2019
  • Co-author (with Christian Horstkotte), "Urteilsanmerkung EuGH: Verhängung von Geldbußen nach unionsrechtlichen und nationalen Wettbewerbsregeln in einer Entscheidung – kein Verstoß gegen den Grundsatz ne bis in idem," Betriebsberater (BB), Mai 2019
  • Author, "Corporate group companies tendering separately in public tenders may need to prove absence of collusion," Global Compliance News, November 2017

Geschäftsführer: Dr. Alexander Wolff, Dr. Oliver Socher, Dr. Christian Vocke
Baker McKenzie Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH von Rechtsanwälten und Steuerberatern is registered with the Local Court of Frankfurt/Main (registered seat) HRB 123975. It is associated with Baker & McKenzie International, a Verein organized under the laws of Switzerland.