Image of David Schmid

Dr David Schmid

Partner

Email

david.schmid@aoshearman.com

Phone

+49 69 2648 5633

Offices

Frankfurt

V-CARD
David regularly advises on large-scale, cross-border internal investigations being conducted at corporates and financial institutions and the subsequent remediation measures regarding identified issues.

His expertise in particular covers investigations relating to breaches of compliance regulations, criminal law-related issues, tax-specific issues (e.g. cum-ex and similar constellations) or matters related to antitrust law. He advises both with respect to preventative internal investigations as well as investigations instigated by regulators or other authorities or investigations relating to civil claims or arbitration proceedings.

Besides, David has extensive experience advising clients as a single point of contact in cybercrime cases and related prevention measures.

David was able to broaden his experience in internal investigations through a secondment to the Regulatory Enforcement team of a major international financial institution.

Expertise

Experience

Representative matters

  • Conducting and coordinating an extensive internal investigation spanning several jurisdictions on behalf of a leading international bank. The investigation concerned business practices in certain financial instruments in the US which potentially could have had adverse tax consequences in several jurisdictions across Europe (so-called ADRs). Witnesses in four countries were interviewed and communication data of more than 50 individuals were analysed in the context of the investigation. Involved authorities included the SEC in the US and, in Europe, the ECB, the FCA, BaFin and a public prosecutor's office as well as the federal tax authority.
  • Large-scale internal investigation for a major auditing firm in connection with the audit of an international group of companies. In addition to German-law advice on issues such as corporate law, procedural law and data protection law, A&O also represented the firm in related civil-law disputes and assisted in coordinating actions in the USA. Among the public authorities involved in Germany are the public prosecutor's office, the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) and the Auditor Oversight Body (APAS).
  • Large and complex internal investigation for an international medical company regarding allegations of i.a. accounting fraud over a time period of six years in multiple group companies mainly in the Asia Pacific Region and potential involvement of further group companies including the German parent company. The team contained lawyers from multiple jurisdictions, including Germany, China and Hongkong. Apart from the fact finding through extensive document review and interviews, we advised on root cause analysis and potential remediation measures incl. profound changes in the group’s compliance framework.
  • Cross-border and extremely extensive internal investigation of a leading financial institution on tax-driven so-called cum/ex transactions and coordination of approach to public prosecution office, tax and regulatory authorities.
  • Advising and representing a large German service company in connection with a cyber attack that led to the encryption of all of the company's IT systems and advising on the associated ransom demands. Apart from the coordination of the different service providers involved and the fact gathering, including with a view to possible civil claims by customers or third parties in the event of publication of the data, we also handled all communication with German law enforcement authorities, data protection authorities, the Federal Office for Information Security and foreign authorities, including the FBI.
  • Advising and representing a German shipping company in connection with a cybercrime attack in which unknown persons used fake e-mails to pretend to be long-term business partners of the company. The company was thereby deceived and made payments in seven digit range. Thanks to fast and effective cooperation with the firm's team in Poland, large parts of the money could be recovered. In addition, the firm's team was in the lead of the cross-border coordination with the responsible law enforcement authorities and advised with regard to the civil and criminal proceedings.

Pro bono

  • Secondment to Greece Pro Bono Collaborative (European Lawyers in Lesvos).

Published Work

  • Schmid, D. / Prof. Brodowksi, D. / StAín Scholzen, A. / Zoller, C. (2023) „Extorted and then prosecuted? Ways to obtain legal certainty with ransom payments“, NStZ 2023, 385
  • Schmid, D. / Dr. Bussian, W. (2017): „Electronic file keeping in court“, BGH, Urteil v. 6.4.2017, III ZR 368/14, Entscheidungssammlung zum Wirtschafts- und Bankenrecht (WuB) 2017, 573 seq. (in German)
  • Schmid, D. / Windthorst, J. E. (2016): "Advisory liability of a bank in connection with a currency-related swap“, OLG München judgment 23 U 3491/14, Entscheidungssammlung zum Wirtschafts- und Bankenrecht (WuB) 2016, 531 seq. (in German)
  • Schmid, D. (2013) "Korruption durch Bonuszuwendungen: Strafbarkeit der (Media-)Agentur als Beauftragte im Sinne von § 299 Abs. 1 StGB", Centaurus Verlag
  • Schmid, D. (2012) "(Do) We need a European Civil Code (?)", Golden Gate University Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law, Volume XVIII, Spring 2012     

Recognition

“extremely capable lawyer”
Client
“very efficient and precise”
Client

Awards

  • Featured in Legal 500 (2022)
  • "Rising Star White Collar Crime" by the Legal Media Expert Group (2022)

Qualifications

Admissions

Rechtsanwalt, Germany, 2013

Academic

Second State Exam, Law, Germany, 2013

Doctor iur., Law, Ruprecht-Karls-University Heidelberg, Germany, 2013

LL.M., Golden Gate University, San Francisco, USA, 2011

First State Exam, Law, Heidelberg, Germany, 2009 

Languages

English, German
Disclaimer
A&O Shearman was formed on May 1, 2024 by the combination of Shearman & Sterling LLP and Allen & Overy LLP and their respective affiliates (the legacy firms). Any matters referred to above may include matters undertaken by one or more of the legacy firms rather than A&O Shearman.