Dr. Laurin Havlik is an associate in Willkie's German practice in the Munich office. He is a member of the firm’s Global Trade & Investment, Investigations & Enforcement, White-Collar Defense, Environmental, Social & Governance, as well as Mergers & Acquisitions and Antitrust & Competition practice groups.
Laurin focuses his practice on global trade (including investment screenings) and investigations, particularly in the science and automotive sectors, on complex cross-border trade, sanctions, and export control matters. He regularly supports clients in sensitive internal investigations, including those involving alleged antitrust violations, and counsels on risk assessments, remediation strategies, and engagement with enforcement authorities. Laurin also has significant experience with multijurisdictional foreign direct investment (FDI) reviews, including ITAR notifications, guiding clients through notification requirements, national security considerations, and strategic mitigation solutions in cross-border transactions.
His broader regulatory and compliance background includes extensive work on foreign trade and sanctions law compliance management systems (CMS), anti-bribery, anti-corruption, and anti-money laundering compliance, crisis response, and governance frameworks. In parallel, he advises on European and German ESG and supply chain issues and the integration of sustainability.
Laurin also maintains a complementary practice in unfair competition law, with a particular focus on misleading advertising. His Ph.D. dissertation examined, inter alia, greenwashing claims in advertising, which supports his counsel at the intersection of sustainability, consumer protection, and corporate communications
He is a trained business mediator (Wirtschaftsmediator) and continuously expands his experience as a Certified Anti-Financial Crime Professional (CFCP), Certified Anti-Money Laundering Professional (CAMP) as well as Certified Audit and Investigations Professional (CAIP).
He regularly authors articles in the Corporate Compliance Law Journal (CCZ) and has contributed to Willkie’s essay series regarding compliance-related transactional due diligence. Laurin also regularly supports various Willkie Client Alerts concerning his core practice areas. He also contributed to the Financial Crime Academy, where he helped to create the Certificate Course on Sanctions & Export Control Compliance.
Prior to joining Willkie, he worked at other international law firms and in the automotive industry, including as an automobile salesperson.
Laurin speaks German and English.
Experience
- “Compliance (Due Diligence) im Kontext von Transaktionen – Geldwäscheprävention/AML”, Corporate Compliance Law Journal (CCZ) 2026, Issue 1-2/2024, p. 28-33
- “Russlandsanktionen im Wandel – Aktuelle Entwicklungen in Theorie und Praxis (Teil 2)”, Corporate Compliance Law Journal (CCZ) 2025, Issue 4/2025, p. 179-185
- “The EU’s Omnibus Package introduces substantial changes to EU sustainability legislation including the CSRD and CSDDD”, Willkie Client Alert, May 6, 2025
- “Russlandsanktionen im Wandel – Aktuelle Entwicklungen in Theorie und Praxis (Teil 1)”, Corporate Compliance Law Journal (CCZ) 2025, Issue 7-8/2025, p. 65-72
- “Deceit and Misleading Commercial Practices. The Relationship between Individual and Collective Enforcement for Misleading Advertising towards Consumers”, Dissertation, Duncker & Humblot, 2024
- “Zur Haftungsbeschränkung eines Gesellschaftsorgans durch interne Zuständigkeitsregelungen”, New Journal for Commercial, Tax and Corporate Criminal Law (NZWiST) 2024, Issue 7/2024, p. 268-271
- “EU-Unternehmen kann seiner Rückzahlungsverpflichtung an Unternehmen mit Iranbezug keinen eigenen Verstoß gegen Iran-Sanktionen entgegenhalten”, Corporate Compliance Law Journal (CCZ) 2024, Issue 4/2024, p. 118-120
- “One Step Closer to the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive”, February 5, 2024.
- “German Federal Court of Justice Confirms: Liability of a Managing Director for Compliance Violations Can Be Limited by Internal Allocation of Responsibilities”, February 2, 2024.
- “Compliance (Due Diligence) im Kontext von Transaktionen – Die ESG Due Diligence”, Corporate Compliance Law Journal (CCZ) 2023, Issue 1-2/2024, p. 13-19
- “Compliance (Due Diligence) im Kontext von Transaktionen – Außenwirtschaftsrecht”, Corporate Compliance Law Journal (CCZ) 2023, Issue 12/2023, p. 337-344
- “Compliance (Due Diligence) im Kontext von Transaktionen – Allgemeine Einführung in die Thematik”, Corporate Compliance Law Journal (CCZ) 2023, Issue 10/2023, p. 269-275
- “KYS & KYC - (Un-)Intended Interplay Between the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act and Anti-Money Laundering Laws?”, September 1, 2023.
- "German Court Observing EU Blocking Regulation May Be Disproportionate During Pending Authorization Procedure Before the EU Commission: Non-Compliance with US Sanctions Required Under the EU Blocking Regulation May Be Unreasonable During the Ongoing Exemption Process”, June 13, 2023.
- Advising on transactional compliance/regulatory risk assessments and foreign direct investment filing requirements (FDI) in the course of various M&A, private equity and capital markets transactions, including (alphabetical order):
- 3i Group on the sale of its investment in Weener Plastics to Silgan Holdings for an enterprise value of €838 million
- CapVest Partners on entering into a definitive agreement to acquire the majority stake in STADA, a leading healthcare and pharmaceuticals company headquartered in Bad Vilbel, Germany, specializing in Consumer Healthcare, Generics and Specialty pharmaceuticals, from Bain Capital and Cinven
- CVC Capital Partners on the acquisition of a minority stake in CompuGroup Medical SE & Co. KGaA by way of a voluntary public takeover and subsequent delisting of CompuGroup from the Frankfurt Stock Exchange
- CVC Capital Partners on the sale of 37% of its stake in Syntegon to an investor group managed by Apollo
- Goldman Sachs Alternatives in its $120 million Series B investment in osapiens, a leading ESG platform and provider of compliance and sustainability reporting solutions
- HOERBIGER on its acquisition of Physik Instrumente (PI) Group
- innoscripta SE and selling shareholders on the company’s initial public offering and listing on the Scale segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange
- Inteva Products in the acquisition of International Automotive Components Group’s European and South African operations
- Mutares on the acquisition of the Engineering Thermoplastics Business in the Americas and Europe from SABIC
- PAI Partners on the acquisition of a majority stake in Vamed's European rehabilitation business from Fresenius
- Platinum Equity on the acquisition of Sunrise Medical, a world leader in advanced assistive mobility solutions, from Nordic Capital
- Wendel on the sale of Constantia Flexibles to One Rock Capital Partners
- Advising a leading American petroleum company on importing petroleum products into the EU
- Advising a German medical technology company on a BIS on-site end-use verification in Germany
- Advising a global industrial manufacturer on EU and German sanctions/export-control and coordination on USD payment flows under an OFAC authorization
- Advising an international modern governance company on an AML classification and supporting communication with respective German government authorities
- Advising national and international companies on internal investigations into alleged misconduct of export control matters, management, employees and third parties
- Advising clients in business partner due diligence, including with enhanced background checks and sanctions screenings
- Assisting a leading global technology company in enhancing its Internal Compliance Program including the implementation of a tailored international trade procedure
- Advising a leading international manufacturer of medical science equipment on compliance with EU Economic and Financial Sanctions and Export Controls
- Advising a market-leading multinational company for filter products and solutions on EU sanctions compliance
- Advising a leading German supplier of process and packaging solutions on ensuring foreign trade law compliance
- Advising a European packaging manufacturer on the analysis of its internal compliance program, in particular with regard to the changing regulatory landscape resulting from the Ukraine crisis
- Advising a leading US power solutions manufacturer in the automotive industry on its compliance with the EU’s new Regulation on Deforestation-free Products (EUDR) requirements
- Advising a European car manufacturer in relation to ESG-related requirements with a specific focus on compliance with the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act
- Advising national and international companies in connection with compliance with the new requirements of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and EU Whistleblower Directive
- Setting up state-of-the-art (ESG) compliance management systems for national and international companies including in the field of healthcare, packaging and others
- Advising a German automotive services group on ITAR compliance regarding the notification for a change of ownership
Credentials
Education
Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Dr. iur., 2023 Higher Regional Court of Bamberg, Second State Exam, 2021 University of Bayreuth, First State Exam, 2019