Hans-Hermann
Aldenhoff

Hans-Hermann Aldenhoff specialises in complex compliance issues as well as labour and criminal law. He represents international and national companies, in particular in the financial and automotive sectors.

Hans-Hermann is Dispute Resolution partner and co-heads the firm´s global investigations group.

After working in the financial industry and for a leading law firm in Europe, Asia and Africa, he joined our firm in 2002. In addition to his legal practice, he has worked as an expert for the German Bundestag and for the United Nations in the autonomous Palestinian territories. He is also a frequent lecturer at universities (i.a. Panthéon-Assas University Paris II and SRH University Heidelberg). His recent work includes:

• acting as World Bank Group appointed Integrity Compliance Expert in a Debarment Procedure against a global engineering company a.o. in the context of Europe-wide mergers
• acting as European Counsel to Larry Thompson, the DoJ appointed Monitor, and John Hanson, the EPA appointed Auditor, in the Volkswagen diesel emission proceedings, under labour & employment and criminal law, including coordination of global legal advice outside the US
• advising various strategic and financial investors (Wayzata Investment Partners, Dubai International Capital, Patriarch Partners and CVC Capital) on cross-border restructurings, including negotiations with works councils and trade unions as well as their representation in court
• advising a leading global rating agency as well as various international investment banks on all questions of German labour & employment and related regulatory law, including their representation vis-à-vis BaFin and in court
• advising various German DAX 30 as well as NYSE companies on matters of compliance and labour & employment law, with a special focus on internal investigations (bribery, fraud and Me Too)
• legally enforcing claims asserted by way of model proceedings on behalf of financial investors, namely under capital markets law (Republic of Argentina, Volkswagen AG Online gambling).
• has meanwhile been included in the Expert Council of the Association of Foreign Banks in Germany (The Association of Foreign Banks in Germany)

Hans-Hermann Aldenhoff studied law and economics in Münster (Dr. jur.), Düsseldorf and Sydney (LL.M.) after completing his vocational training as a banker. In addition, he completed an Executive Training in Law Firm Leadership at Harvard Law School. He trained in the United States and worked for multinational corporations in Bangkok, Johannesburg and Singapore before joining a leading international law firm in 1999.

Hans-Hermann Aldenhoff joined Simmons & Simmons in Düsseldorf as a Partner in 2002 and has since contributed to the firm’s development in numerous national and international roles, including head of the International Dispute Resolution group, member of the International Executive Committee, Head of European Client Relations, and Germany’s Country Head for almost 20 years until 2025.

For more than 20 years, Hans-Hermann has been consistently ranked as a leading expert in relevant directories (Chambers, JUVE, Legal 500, Best Lawyers and Who is Who Legal) for both Employment and Corporate Compliance. They quote both clients and peers describing him as “internationally very experienced”, “committed and straightforward”, “extremely enjoyable to work with” and "a great professional who explains difficult legal matters in plain English, which is remarkable given that English is not his native language”. Others note "a very good overview, clearly structured, short response time" as well as “exceptional leadership of a team of outstanding competence and experience” that “proactively finds solutions and communicates well with all stakeholders”.