Felix Rettenmaier

Felix Rettenmaier is a partner at RETTENMAIER Frankfurt, a German boutique focused on economic and tax criminal law. His selection as Criminal Law Expert of the Year in Germany at the Corporate INTL Global Awards 2026 recognises a practitioner consistently placed among the country's leading white-collar criminal defence lawyers.

A boutique built around white-collar defence

RETTENMAIER Frankfurt describes itself as a specialist practice in Wirtschaftsstrafrecht (economic criminal law) and Steuerstrafrecht (tax criminal law). The firm advises and defends clients at every stage of criminal and regulatory (administrative offence) proceedings, in both national and international matters. Based at Schumannstraße 62 in Frankfurt am Main and working in German and English, the firm acts for private individuals, executives and companies, in Germany and abroad. Its stated approach is to work meticulously, discreetly and in a solution-oriented way, qualities that matter greatly in sensitive investigations where reputation and liberty are at stake.

White-collar criminal defence in Germany sits at the intersection of criminal procedure, corporate governance and tax law. Investigations frequently involve public prosecutors' economic crime units, tax authorities and, increasingly, cross-border cooperation between regulators. A boutique concentrated on this field offers clients focused, senior-led attention rather than the more diffuse coverage of a large generalist firm, which is often decisive when a matter demands rapid, confidential and technically precise handling. Frankfurt am Main, as Germany's principal financial centre and the seat of significant prosecutorial and regulatory activity, is a natural base for a practice of this kind, placing the firm close to the institutions and cases at the heart of German economic crime enforcement.

A recognised individual practitioner

The firm reports that Felix Rettenmaier has been continuously recognised in economic criminal law since 2009 and is named among Germany's most renowned white-collar criminal defence attorneys. It lists a series of 2025 accolades, including recognition through Best Lawyers in partnership with Handelsblatt, a Focus ranking, and a Leaders League recommendation. The practice as a whole is recommended across a range of respected German and international legal and business publications, among them The Legal 500, Chambers, brandeins, the JUVE Handbuch and Wirtschaftswoche.

Sustained recognition across independent directories over many years is a meaningful signal in criminal defence, where much of the work is by its nature confidential and cannot be publicised. Rankings that draw on peer and client feedback provide one of the few external measures of a defence practitioner's standing, and the breadth of listings associated with Felix Rettenmaier points to a lawyer whose reputation is well established among both clients and fellow professionals.

Defending individuals and companies

The firm's client base, spanning private individuals, executives and companies, reflects the reality of modern economic crime enforcement, where a single investigation can touch a business, its management and third parties simultaneously. Defence work in this area typically ranges from allegations of fraud, breach of trust and corruption to tax evasion and regulatory offences, and it often requires close coordination with a company's internal investigations, compliance functions and civil advisers. The ability to act across criminal and administrative offence proceedings, and to manage matters with an international dimension, is a core part of what RETTENMAIER Frankfurt offers.

Recognition at the Corporate INTL Global Awards 2026

Germany is one of Europe's most active jurisdictions for economic crime enforcement, and the demand for specialist criminal defence continues to grow as prosecutors and tax authorities intensify their focus on corporate and financial wrongdoing. Winning Criminal Law Expert of the Year in Germany at the Corporate INTL Global Awards 2026 confirms Felix Rettenmaier's position within that landscape as a highly regarded white-collar defence practitioner. For individuals and businesses facing investigation or prosecution in economic and tax criminal matters, his long-standing recognition and the boutique's dedicated focus offer exactly the discreet, specialist representation such situations demand.