Dr Kai Hart-Hönig

Dr Kai Hart-Hönig has many years and a wide range of experience in the fields of tax litigation, business and tax crime. His focus is on advising and defending German and inter­na­tional com­pa­nies as well as managers. He has special expertise in project man­age­ment, ie in organising and controlling complex proceedings with an eye on all relevant aspects.

Who’sWhoLegal Business Crime 2007 referred to Dr Kai Hart-Hönig as „the country’s ‘stand-out’.”

Dr Kai Hart-Hönig obtained a doctorate from the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main in 1983 with the distinction summa cum laude. He served as the assistant to Prof Dr Dr hc mult Winfried Hassemer, the former Vice President of the Federal Constitutional Court, who was also a reputed criminal defence lawyer.

He worked as a public prosecutor specialised on business crime in Frankfurt am Main, es­pe­cial­ly for complex cases in the area of corporate criminal law, accounting/tax crimes, corruption, and insolvency crimes. Dr Kai Hart-Hönig was a partner with Clifford Chance Pünder as well as Oppenhoff & Rädler Link­laters & Alliance.

Dr Kai Hart-Hönig established his own law firm in 2000.

Dr Kai Hart-Hönig is a frequent speaker, es­pe­cial­ly for the European Criminal Bar As­so­cia­tion as well as the International Bar As­so­cia­tion. He served as a lecturer for the spe­cial­ist courses on business crime offered by the German Lawyers’ Academy from 2002 to 2008.


Dr Kai Hart-Hönig is a member of the European Criminal Bar Association (Vice Chairman
2003–2008; Chairman of the Antitrust Working Group), of the Deutscher Anwaltsverein, the German-American Lawyers' Association, the American Bar Association, the National As­so­cia­tion of Criminal Defense Lawyers (USA), the Inter­na­tion­al Bar As­so­cia­tion (inter alia Anti-Corruption Committee), the Inter­na­tion­al Fiscal Association, der Stu­dien­ver­ei­ni­gung Kartellrecht e. V. as well as der Proceeds of Crime Lawyers’ Association (UK).

Dr Kai Hart-Hönig also participates as an expert in legislative projects, including those of the EU Com­mis­sion and the House of Lords.

Important publications are:

In the series of publications on criminal law (Schriften zum Strafrecht, Duncker & Humblot), the book "Gerechte und zweck­mäßige Straf­zu­messung. Zugleich ein Beitrag zur Theorie positiver General­prä­ven­tion", 1992.

The contribution: "Verteidigung von Unter­neh­men und Compliance im glo­ba­lisierten Straf­recht. Rechts­staat­lich problematische Ver­schär­fung von Haftungsrisiken – ex­em­pla­risch skizziert anhand der Ver­fol­gung von Korrup­tion und Kartell­rechts­ver­stößen unter euro­päischem und US-ame­ri­ka­ni­schem Ein­fluss" in Festschrift 25 Jahre Ar­beits­ge­mein­schaft Strafrecht des Deutschen An­walts­ver­eins, Strafverteidung im Rechtsstaat, 2009, p 530 et seq.

The contribution: "Ver­tei­di­gung von Unter­nehmen und Organmitgliedern unter dem Com­pli­ance-
Regime – Zur Mög­lich­keit autonomer Ver­tei­di­gung bei Internal In­ves­ti­ga­tions",
in Klaus Lüderssen/ Klaus Volk/ Eberhard Wahle (publishers), Festschrift für Wolf Schiller, 2014, p 281 et seq.