Practice areas
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Criminal Law

White-collar criminal law calls for a sensitive touch. We defend in proceedings concerning fraud, breach of trust, corruption or financial offences. Our strength lies in making complex facts understandable and representing our clients resolutely throughout every phase of criminal proceedings – we tell you frankly how we assess your matter and give you an estimate of the costs.

In criminal proceedings the first step counts. We are there early – and stay to the end.

Austrian criminal law demands experience and presence. We represent at every stage of proceedings: from advice during the investigation, through defence at trial, to appeals and questions arising after conviction. Our particular focus lies in business and asset-related crime, but we also take on general criminal defence work.

Our services in criminal law

  • Investigation: early advice on your rights as the accused, access to the case file, attendance at questioning, applications for evidence.
  • Coercive measures: search of premises, seizure, disclosure of bank accounts, arrest and pre-trial detention – attendance on site, objection and appeal.
  • Trial: defence strategy based on the case file, presentation of evidence, closing argument before a single judge, a lay assessor court or a jury court.
  • Diversion and discontinuance: assessing and negotiating diversion outcomes without a conviction.
  • Appeals: appeal on grounds of guilt and sentence, plea of nullity, representation before the Higher Regional Court and the Supreme Court.
  • After conviction: conditional release, electronically monitored house arrest, questions of the execution of sentences, erasure of the record, reopening and renewal of proceedings.
  • Business crime: breach of trust, fraud, accounting offences, tax evasion, corruption offences, corporate criminal liability.
  • Representation of injured parties: representing injured parties in criminal proceedings and enforcing their claims.

The investigation decides more than many think

At this stage the public prosecutor's office and the criminal police gather the evidence on which everything later rests. Anyone who makes a statement here without knowing the file commits to a version they can hardly depart from later. As your defence lawyer we obtain access to the file, examine the evidence, accompany you to questioning and make our own applications for evidence. Against coercive measures – search of premises, seizure, pre-trial detention – we proceed by objection and appeal. Since 2025, the seizure of phones and data carriers has required judicial authorisation with limits on the analysis; we check whether the authorities keep to it.

Defence in Salzburg

Depending on the severity of the offence, jurisdiction lies with the district court or the Regional Court of Salzburg sitting as a single judge, a lay assessor court or a jury court; the investigating authority is the Salzburg public prosecutor's office, and in corruption cases and larger business crime matters the Central Public Prosecutor's Office for Combating Economic Crime and Corruption (WKStA). Appeals go to the Higher Regional Court of Linz or to the Supreme Court. We know the bodies involved and local practice – which usually saves detours.

After the judgment as well

A final judgment is not always the end. We advise on conditional release, electronically monitored house arrest, periods for erasure of the record and – in the narrowly defined statutory exceptions – on reopening proceedings or renewing them following a decision of the European Court of Human Rights.

When it matters, being reachable counts

A search of premises, an arrest or a surprise summons cannot wait. We stand up for your rights firmly, regardless of the seriousness of the allegations, and treat every piece of information in strict confidence. Get in touch – if in doubt, better an hour too early than a day too late.

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Frequently asked questions

I have been summoned as the accused – must I make a statement?

I have been summoned as the accused – must I make a statement?

No. As the accused you have the right to remain silent, and no adverse inference may be drawn from your silence. You also have the right to speak to a defence lawyer before questioning and to have them present. The first statement shapes the entire proceedings – it should never be made without knowledge of the file. Until then: attend the appointment, but say nothing on the substance.

What happens during a search of premises?

What happens during a search of premises?

A search of premises generally requires a court warrant, which must be handed to you. You may read the warrant, call in a defence lawyer and be present during the search; resistance is a criminal offence, whereas objecting to the seizure of particular documents is permissible and important. An objection for infringement of rights is available against both the order and its execution. Call immediately – we will attend.

What is diversion?

What is diversion?

Diversion means that criminal proceedings are ended without a conviction and without an entry in the criminal record – for example against payment of a sum, community service, a probationary period or victim-offender mediation. It is available where culpability is not serious, the facts are sufficiently clear and no serious consequences have occurred. For the accused this is frequently by far the best outcome; we assess early whether this route is open.

When is pre-trial detention imposed?

When is pre-trial detention imposed?

Only where there is a strong suspicion of having committed the offence and a ground for detention exists – risk of flight, of interference with evidence or of reoffending – and less intrusive measures are insufficient. The court decides on imposition after a detention hearing; review hearings follow at statutory intervals. An appeal is available against imposition and continuation. Here too, every hour counts.

Can a previous conviction be erased?

Can a previous conviction be erased?

Entries in the criminal record are erased automatically once the statutory periods for erasure have elapsed; their length depends on the type and severity of the sentence. Erased convictions no longer appear in the criminal record certificate and are treated as not having occurred. We assess which period applies in your case and whether it can be shortened.

May the police seize and analyse my phone?

May the police seize and analyse my phone?

Strict new rules have applied since 1 January 2025: under the 2024 Act amending the Code of Criminal Procedure, seizing mobile phones and other data carriers generally requires judicial authorisation, the analysis must be limited to specific categories of data and periods of time, and those affected have expanded rights to information and objection. This followed a ruling of the Constitutional Court that struck down the previous legal position. Do not hand over the device voluntarily and do not disclose a passcode – that is your right; call us before you sign anything.

When does the public prosecutor discontinue proceedings?

When does the public prosecutor discontinue proceedings?

Proceedings must be discontinued if the act is not punishable, there is no actual reason for further prosecution, or a procedural bar exists. Diversion is available in addition: for offences without serious culpability, proceedings can be ended against payment of a sum, community service, a probationary period or victim-offender mediation – without a conviction and without an entry in the criminal record. A discontinuance can be reopened under narrow conditions, as long as limitation has not set in.

Last reviewed August 2026

This overview is general in nature and does not replace advice on an individual case. We research carefully; even so, errors cannot be ruled out and the law keeps changing. Binding information is given in a personal consultation.

Questions about criminal law?

Tell us about your case – we will give you a candid assessment and a clear picture of the cost.

Arrange an initial consultation
+43 662 26033