Pestalozzi

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Alexandra C. Johnson

Alexandra Johnson is a partner and member of Pestalozzi's Litigation & Arbitration team in Geneva. She focuses on representing clients in international arbitrations and complex commercial disputes. She also frequently advises clients on Swiss contract law and represents parties in challenge proceedings against arbitral awards and in enforcement proceedings before Swiss courts. Besides her work as party counsel, Alexandra Johnson regularly sits as arbitrator under various arbitration rules. Alexandra Johnson has more than 20 years of experience in international arbitration. She has acted as counsel and arbitrator (either as sole, party-appointed or presiding arbitrator) in numerous arbitration proceedings, both ad hoc and institutional (e.g., ICC, LCIA, Swiss Rules, CAS) and in various sectors such as energy, life sciences, construction and infrastructure projects, distribution and licensing, post-M&A and shareholders agreements, as well as sport-related disputes. Alexandra Johnson also regularly appears before the Swiss Federal Supreme Court in challenge proceedings against arbitral awards, and is often retained to enforce arbitral awards in Switzerland.

Andrea Huber is a Partner and member of Pestalozzi’s Financial Services Group. Her practice spans banking regulatory, asset management and investment funds, fintech, insurance, internal and regulatory investigations, enforcement proceedings, and white-collar crime. She frequently represents clients in proceedings before the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), the SIX Swiss Exchange, and the CDB Supervisory Board (VSB Aufsichtskommission). Admitted to the Swiss bar (Zurich) in 2003, Andrea brings over 20 years of extensive experience advising banks, asset managers, securities firms, investment companies, and other financial services providers. She offers comprehensive counsel on the regulatory and legal aspects of their operations, organizational frameworks, and products, as well as assistance in obtaining regulatory licenses and approvals. Andrea specializes in advising and establishing investment and private equity structures, along with banking and asset management services and products tailored to both institutional and retail clients. Her expertise extends to advising fund management companies, promoters, investment banks, and distributors on the structuring, listing, and offering of funds and structured products. In addition, Andrea provides advice on institutional governance, stock exchange disclosure rules, market conduct law, regulatory compliance, KYC and AML requirements. Andrea is an Authorized Representative of Issuers at the SIX Swiss Exchange and has been appointed Co-Chair of the International Bar Association's Banking Regulation Sub-Committee for the 2025-2026 term.

Andreas Lienhard

Andreas Lienhard is a partner and member of Pestalozzi's Litigation & Arbitration Group as well as of the Employment & Pensions Group in Zurich. He specializes in national and international commercial law litigations, debt enforcement proceedings and arbitration. Andreas represents clients in disputes involving private international law, contract law, administrative law and, in particular, employment law, before state courts and in arbitrations, where he acts as both Counsel as well as arbitrator. He regularly litigates before commercial courts and, especially, labor courts. He has particular expertise in representing clients in disputes about, e.g., summary dismissals, unfair and/or invalid ordinary dismissals, bonuses, equity grants, overtime and extra-time, non-compete obligations and gender equality. Andreas is an expert on Swiss civil procedure law, Swiss private international law, arbitration law as well as Swiss contract and employment law. Apart from his professional work, Andreas gained his expertise through his studies in Zurich, especially his work as an assistant at the chair of Prof. Dr. Ulrich Haas in the field of domestic and international litigation and arbitration. Andreas completed his studies with a doctoral thesis on litigation law (2012; magna cum laude), an LL.M. in International Business Law at the London School of Economics and Political Science (2015; distinction) and the CAS in Arbitration offered by the Swiss Arbitration Academy AG (2017, excellent). He is the author of three bestseller textbooks in his field of expertise, where he also regularly publishes articles, contributes to well renowned commentaries and acts as speaker.

Member of the Corporate / M&A group. Focuses on corporate and commercial law as well as on corporate and finance transactions, in particular M&A, private equity, joint ventures, restructurings and debt capital markets. His experience includes numerous transactions involving listed and non-listed companies in different industries. Regularly involved in insurance and other financial services regulatory work as well as in merger control proceedings.

Member of the Employment & Pensions group and Co-head of Pestalozzi's Life Sciences group. Fields of expertise include international trade law, contracts and life sciences, with a focus on pharmaceuticals and medical devices. Supports clients in M&A transactions and in corporate restructurings and has in-depth experience in employment matters, namely mass dismissals, social plan negotiations, contract negotiations, restrictive covenants etc.

Christian Leuenberger

Member of the Corporate / M&A group in Zurich. Specializes in domestic and international M&A transactions, with a focus on public takeovers, and advises clients in post M&A-disputes. Advises Swiss and foreign companies, investors and executives on stock exchange and capital market regulation, as well as on general corporate law and issues of corporate governance. A leading expert on insider trading regulation.

Practice in corporate law with focus on corporate governance, M&A, Swiss and European antitrust law and insurance law, representing major Swiss and multinational clients in domestic and cross-border M&A transactions and joint ventures. Frequently advises clients on policy and governance issues.

Christophe Berclaz

Christophe Berclaz is counsel and a member of Pestalozzi’s Litigation & Arbitration group in Geneva. He has developed a strong practice in complex litigation that involves an international component and multi-jurisdictional aspects. He specialises in white-collar matters, including asset-tracing, recovery and international mutual assistance in criminal matters. In addition, Christophe Berclaz has broad experience in private banking, internal investigation, civil liabilities and enforcement of foreign decisions. After graduating from the University of Geneva School of Law, Christophe Berclaz was admitted to the Geneva bar in 2005. He obtained a Master of Science in Shipping Trade & Finance from the Bayes Business School (formerly Sir John Cass Business School) of London in 2007. He then worked four years as an associate in both the litigation and corporate departments of one of the leading business law firms in Switzerland before joining the legal department of the Swiss subsidiary of an English private bank. He became associate at Pestalozzi in June 2013. Christophe Berclaz is a member of different law associations such as the International Association of Young Lawyers (AIJA) and the Financial & Tax Committee of the Geneva Bar Association. He is also a member of the Committee of the Geneva Bar Personality Protection Scheme for members who are victims of conflicts at work, inappropriate behaviour or sexual harassment in the course of their profession.

Christophe Emonet

Christophe Emonet heads the Geneva Litigation & Arbitration Group and the White-collar crime practice. He specializes in (inter)national banking/commercial disputes & investigations, regulatory & white collar crime matters (corporate/financial fraud & corruption). He has broad experience in asset recovery and cross-border bankruptcies. Christophe Emonet represents financial institutions, corporations, foreign states and HNWIs that request his assistance for strategic matters and complex negotiations.

Fabian Martens is partner and a member of the Competition & Trade group at Pestalozzi. He has profound experience in Swiss and European competition law/antitrust with a strong background in the economic underpinnings. In addition, he has extensive expertise in public procurement law and represents bidders and contracting authorities at both the federal and the cantonal level. In 2021, Fabian was awarded the Lexology Client Choice Award in Competition Law for Switzerland. Fabian advises clients on all aspects of competition law, including horizontal and vertical agreements, abuse of dominance and merger control. His work covers the assessment and defense of horizontal cooperations and cartels (JVs, cooperation in business associations, information and data exchange, specialisation and R&D cooperations, joint purchasing, sustainability cooperations etc.) and vertical business relationships (distribution agreements, e-commerce, resale price maintenance, etc.). Fabian supports clients in the analysis of dominance or relative market power and the potential abuse of such market position. His experience also extends to merger control (pre-assessment of notification duties in national and multi-jurisdictional mergers, merger control notifications). Special fields of interest include civil antitrust litigation, efficiency analysis and sustainability in competition law. Fabian represents clients before competition authorities and all Swiss public and civil courts. Fabian regularly publishes in the field of competition law and lectures at Swiss universities and abroad. Prior to joining Pestalozzi, Fabian gained practical experience in the competition teams of major international and Swiss law firms as well as in-house. Fabian has been a scholar of the Swiss Study Foundation and obtained LL.M. degrees, from both the New York University and the National University of Singapore where he was a Dean’s Award Scholar. He also obtained a master’s degree in Economics for Competition Law from King’s College, London (with merit) and diplomas in economics and business.

Member of the Litigation & Arbitration group in Zurich. Acts as counsel in international commercial arbitrations and in court proceedings in Switzerland. Handles a wide range of commercial and corporate disputes, having broad experience in advising trading companies in commodities disputes, industrial companies in engineering and construction disputes, and pharmaceutical companies in licensing matters.

Franz Schubiger

Member of Pestalozzi’s Corporate / M&A and Life Sciences groups in Zurich. Practice focuses on corporate law, M&A, corporate finance, private equity and venture capital, complex restructurings as well as general contract and commercial law. Regularly advises in the fields of life sciences, including pharma, consumer healthcare and medtech, as well as consumer goods and retailing industries, e-commerce and online business.

Franz J. Kessler

Franz J. Kessler is a partner and member of Pestalozzi’s Corporate / M&A Group as well as head of Pestalozzi’s Energy Law practice. He advises clients in corporate governance issues, private and public M&A transactions, energy law (including hydropower concessions and regulatory issues), public procedural law and real estate law. He is an authorized issuer’s representative at the SIX Swiss Exchange. Franz J. Kessler has broad experience in the legal advice for entrepreneurs, boards of directors, companies and joint ventures, both in the private and in the public sector. He has profound knowledge of the electricity production and transmission industry including hydropower concessions and regulatory issues. His special business expertise further includes healthcare and other supply institutions. He advises clients in corporate and commercial law matters also in other industry and service sectors, closely working together with all other practice groups of Pestalozzi.

Practice in private and public M&A (including unsolicited takeovers). Also active in equity rights offerings and IPOs. Recognised representative for the listing of securities at the SIX. Provides also general corporate advise for listed and privately held companies.

Head of the Tax group in Zurich. Practice involves a wide range of international and domestic tax matters. Particular focus on tax planning and structuring of international M&A transactions and corporate restructurings. Broad experience in acquisitions, mergers, spin-offs, reorganizations, relocations, and tax reliefs. Practice also covers international employment and employee stock and option plans. His client portfolio varies from multinationals to small and medium-sized companies in life sciences, commodities, financial services, and other sectors.

Lara Dorigo is partner and heads the Intellectual Property group at Pestalozzi. She has profound experience in every field of intellectual property law with a particular affinity for technology-related issues. Her practice focuses on IP enforcement and defence, technology transfer agreements and branding strategies. Lara is a passionate IP litigator and licensing specialist. She has extensive experience with pharmaceutical and biologics patent litigation before courts and arbitral tribunals, including disputes regarding small molecules, monoclonal antibodies, biosimilars, immunotherapies, diagnostics and SPCs. Lara also handles cases in the fields of medtech, chemistry and mechanics and she equally enjoys acting in trademark, copyright and unfair competition litigation. In addition, Lara advises clients on branding strategies, parallel import and grey market issues, selective distribution agreements and entertainment law. She provides transactional and legal support to her clients on licensing, R&D agreements, and other sorts of technology transfer agreements and issues, and she advises on life sciences regulatory matters. Lara is also a non-permanent judge of the Federal Patent Court. She is the author of many publications and a frequent speaker on IP and licensing topics.

Ludivine Boisard

Member of the Financial Services, the Real Estate & Environment and the Corporate/M&A groups in Geneva. Practice covers all types of domestic and cross-border banking transactions, with an emphasis on financing transactions. Advises clients on financial services regulations, including regulatory and contractual issues relating to the establishment and the business of banks, securities dealers, asset managers and exchanges.

Lukas Rusch is partner and member of Pestalozzi’s litigation and arbitration group in Zurich. He acts as counsel in commercial arbitrations, both institutional and ad hoc, as well as in court proceedings. His practice further covers setting aside proceedings against arbitral awards, enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitral awards, including attachment of assets, and contentious aspects of insolvency proceedings. Lukas handles a wide range of complex commercial and corporate disputes across different industries. He has particular experience in construction and infrastructure, energy, commodity and trade, post-M&A, banking and insurance, pharmaceutical, as well as investor-state disputes.

Martin L Müller

Head of the Employment & Pensions group in Zurich. He advises clients on transactional employment, executive employment, pensions, corporate transactions and restructuring, and commercial contracts.

Michael Lips is partner and head of Pestalozzi's Real Estate and Environment practice. He has long-standing experience in real estate, environmental and public procurement law. For years, he has been working exclusively in this field, handling numerous transactions, contracts, public procurement and regulatory matters. He frequently represents clients before Swiss courts.

Practice is focused on national and international commercial litigation, arbitration and judicial assistance. Also serves as arbitrator in international arbitrations (ICC and Swiss rules and ad hoc).

Michèle Burnier

Michèle Burnier is a partner and member of Pestalozzi’s IP&TMT group as well as Litigation and Arbitration group in Geneva. Her fields of expertise include intellectual property, including geographical indications, unfair competition, data protection, advertising and e-commerce law, IT and telecommunication law and contract law. She regularly represents clients before Swiss civil, administrative and/or criminal courts. In addition, Michèle Burnier frequently lectures in seminars in the fields of intellectual property law and unfair competition, also in cooperation with the Swiss Intellectual Property Institute. She also regularly acts as arbitral secretary under the ICC Rules or Swiss Rules.

Nicolas C Herren

Member of the Litigation & Arbitration group in Geneva. Specializes in national and cross-border banking/commercial disputes, in particular stemming out of contractual and regulatory issues. His activity covers also enforcement proceedings such as complex cross-border bankruptcies or recognition of foreign judgments. Broad experience in white collar crime and international mutual assistance in criminal and administrative matters.

Practice in banking, finance and capital markets in regulatory (including FinTech and crypto/blockchain matters) and transactional matters. Further areas of work include private equity, trust, foundation and estate planning matters. Advises domestic and international banks, financial institutions, wealth management service providers and high net worth individuals as well as borrowers and capital markets' issues. Additionally, Oliver Widmer is an authorised issuer’s representative at the SIX Swiss Exchange.

Pascal Richard is a partner and member of the Corporate / M&A group in Zurich. He has broad experience in corporate transactions including acquisitions, mergers, divestitures, joint ventures and reorganisations in various industries with a particular focus on the financial services, fintech and technology sectors. Before joining Pestalozzi, Pascal Richard was a partner at a major international law firm in Zurich. He regularly conducts presentations in the fields of M&A and corporate law, inter alia, at the University of St. Gallen and Unternehmerforum Schweiz AG.

Petra Hanselmann

Petra Hanselmann is a partner and member of the Corporate / M&A group in Zurich. She advises clients in mergers and acquisitions, private equity transactions and corporate reorganisations, including pre-transaction restructurings and post-acquisition integrations. Petra Hanselmann has broad experience in cross-border M&A, carve-outs and joint venture transactions in particular. She also routinely advises on general corporate and corporate governance matters. Petra Hanselmann has broad experience in a range of product and service sectors, including consumer goods, industrial, healthcare and technology. Petra Hanselmann is recommended in her fields of expertise by various leading legal directories, including Chambers & Partners and The Legal 500.

Sarah Drukarch is a partner and member of Pestalozzi’s IP & TMT, Life Sciences, as well as Corporate/M&A practice groups in Zurich. She specializes in intellectual property, with a particular focus on life sciences, and also frequently advises clients on matters of unfair competition, data protection, food and healthcare as well as IT and media law. Sarah's expertise has been recognized by her continued inclusion as Rising Star for Switzerland by IP Stars since 2020. Sarah Drukarch advises and represents domestic and foreign corporations in the life sciences sector as well as in a broad range of other industries, including foodstuffs, consumer goods, media, ICT, and automotive, with establishing and maintaining intellectual property rights and related licensing and transfer matters. Her broad IP experience covers both national and cross-border M&A transactions as well as contentious matters. In the field of life sciences, Sarah Drukarch is regularly involved in the negotiations for international research and development projects, covering all ranges and aspects of pre-clinical, clinical, and post-marketing set-ups. She advises manufacturers and service providers of regulated products comprehensively, for example in connection with supply chain and distribution arrangements for pharmaceutical products and medical devices, marketing authorizations, industry-specific permits, know-how protection, marketing, compliance and vigilance, sponsoring, compensation, rights in data, as well as other complex contract negotiations. In addition, Sarah handles disputes in the life sciences industry and represents clients in international arbitration proceedings, before domestic state courts, and administrative authorities.

Advises financial institutions, corporations and individuals on their transactions, contracts and regulatory matters. His practice focuses in particular on financing transactions, mergers and acquisitions and private equity. He also advises corporations on setting up operations in Switzerland and on their corporate and commercial matters.

Member of the Corporate/M&A group in Zurich. Advises both foreign and domestic clients on private and public M&A transactions, corporate governance issues, acquisition finance, capital market, securities and stock exchange law, corporate reorganizations, joint venture and general corporate law. Authorized issuer’s representative at the SIX Swiss Exchange.

Represents clients in litigation before Swiss courts and in international arbitration proceedings. Focusing on all aspects of commercial and M&A disputes, judicial assistance, and asset tracing, often in a cross-border context and involving various industries. Also acts as an arbitrator. Specialized in estate and insolvency disputes.