Baker McKenzie

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Amar Hamouche is a Principal within the Tax practice group of Baker McKenzie's Luxembourg office. He has over 20 years of experience. Prior to joining the Firm's Tax team in 2011, Amar was Senior Tax Manager at Ernst & Young Luxembourg for over seven years and a member of the Financial Services Organization tax group, which focuses on Financial Institutions. Amar has significant knowledge in the field of financial services, within which he solves corporate tax matters on behalf of international clients, such as investment funds and asset managers, as well as holding companies and private equity structures. He has experience in all areas of Luxembourg income tax law, with an emphasis on corporate taxation. In addition, Amar has significant experience in real estate tax and wealth management. Amar's practice focuses mainly on corporate and international taxation (including both inbound and outbound tax planning), as well as on M&A and real estate transactions. He has experience in all areas of Luxembourg income tax law, with an emphasis on corporate taxation. Amar also regularly advises on structured capital market transactions as well as fund, carried interest and management incentive plans structuring. He is also very active within the private wealth sector, notably advising numerous family offices, HNWI and private bankers in the tax structuring of investments and estates, as well as in succession planning.

Annie Elfassi

Annie Elfassi is the Partner in charge of the Litigation and Employment departments of Baker McKenzie's Luxembourg office. She has over 19 years of experience. Prior to joining the Firm in 2019, Annie Elfassi was a member of the Litigation and Risk Management practice and headed the Employment department of a leading law firm in Luxembourg. Annie is a renowned expert in Dispute resolution and Employment matters. She advises and assists clients on dispute resolution, employment law, contract Law, corporate Law, and intellectual property rights. She manages all aspects of shareholder disputes, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and/or fraud. Annie has a strong experience in employment disputes, commercial litigation, insolvency procedure, debt collection. She has also been involved in transactional and arbitration work. She is experienced in employment law issues in an international context, particularly in the complex areas of cross-border employment, pension benefits, social security and corporate restructuring effects on employment.

Antonio Weffer

Antonio A. Weffer is a tax principal in Baker McKenzie's Tax Practice Group and the head of the Firm's transfer pricing practice in Luxembourg. He has over 20 years of experience handling complex financial and non-financial multinational enterprises, cross-border transactions, reorganizations, mergers and acquisitions across a range of industry sectors. Antonio is an active member of several international professional tax organizations, and regularly publishes articles on international tax issues and speaks at worldwide seminars and conferences. He is recognized as a highly regarded practitioner in the World Transfer Pricing 2023 guide and named once again as Leading Individual by Legal 500 EMEA in 2023. Other professional honours of this year include: Antonio's practice focuses on transfer pricing and valuation documentation, benchmarks, and other economic analysis services to the business community worldwide. He has over 22 years of experience handling complex financial and non-financial multinational enterprises, cross-border transactions, reorganizations, mergers and acquisitions across a range of industry sectors.

Catherine Martougin

Catherine Martougin is a partner in the Funds & Asset Management team of the Baker McKenzie Luxembourg office. She has more than 20 years' experience in business law. Prior to joining the Firm, she practiced in elite international law firms in Paris and Luxembourg. Catherine represents asset managers of private equity funds, real estate funds, debt and infrastructure funds and other financial institutions. She works on a range of corporate and commercial transactions, including organizational structuring and related regulatory matters (notably AIFs and AIFMs), as well as initial fund formation, complex restructurings, mergers and acquisitions, asset dispositions, secondary trades, capital raisings, real estate investments, venture capital investments, and joint venture arrangements.

Diogo Duarte de Oliveira

Diogo Duarte de Oliveira is a tax lawyer and partner in the tax department of Baker McKenzie's Luxembourg office. Before joining the Firm, Diogo was tax partner and head of tax at a BeNeLux leading law firm. He was also an international tax manager with a Big Four audit firm in Luxembourg (and in Mexico City as a secondee). Diogo focuses on advising asset managers and a wide range of private and institutional investors on fundraising, management incentive strategies and transactions structuring. Diogo contributes to renowned international tax journals and is a regular speaker at international conferences, In 2018, Diogo was invited to the IBA Congress in Rome to address EC’s approach to Illegal (Tax) State Aid. In 2019, he presented at the IBA Congress in London the mandatory disclosures under the so-called DAC 6. Recently, Diogo has co-authored technical articles on the European Court of Justice decision on the 2019 Danish Beneficial Ownership cases; on the mandatory disclosures in the context of private equity structures; and on the Significant People Functions concept in Luxembourg CFC rules. He is a member of Luxembourg Bar, Portuguese Bar, American Bar Association and International Bar Association and he participates in several Luxembourg tax work groups at the AmCham and the Luxembourg Banker’s Association.

Elodie Duchêne

Elodie Duchêne is a partner in the M&A and Corporate practice groups of Baker McKenzie's Luxembourg office and has more than 17 years of experience. Prior to joining the Firm in 2015, she worked for an independent law firm in Luxembourg for nine years. Elodie focuses on domestic and international M&A and practices mainly in the area of corporate law. She advises local and international clients on the structuring of international transactions, corporate finance, and on complex issues relating to mergers and acquisitions, group reorganizations and the setup of company structures in Luxembourg. She routinely works with private equity funds on the structuring of their investments, and has significant experience in advising international clients, including Luxembourg banks and insurance firms, on acquisitions, joint ventures and management incentive plans. In addition, Elodie has experience in structuring private wealth for high net worth individuals.

Jean-François Findling

Jean-François Findling is a founder and the managing partner of the Firm’s Luxembourg office. Prior to joining Baker McKenzie, he established his own law firm in 2009 and was a partner in a leading Luxembourg firm. Mr. Findling is regularly recommended by Legal 500 for his extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions and private equity. Mr. Findling advises clients on issues relating to mergers and acquisitions and group reorganizations. He routinely works with private equity funds on structuring their investments, and has significant experience in advising Luxembourg banks and insurance firms on acquisitions and joint ventures.

Jean-François Trapp

Jean-François Trapp is a partner in the Real Estate team of the Baker McKenzie Luxembourg office. He has more than 20 years' experience in Luxembourg law. Prior to joining the Firm, he was a partner in a Luxembourg law firm where he headed the Real Estate department and co-led the Banking & Finance department. In 2007, he co-founded the Luxembourg law firm Roemers Trapp Pautot, a niche firm focusing on the real estate, real assets and infrastructure sectors. Jean-François Trapp is a renowned expert in real estate law. He regularly assists clients with real estate transactions both in Luxembourg and abroad. He also provides advice in the fields of tenancy law, construction law, administrative law and environmental law. Jean-François supports and counsels his clients on all aspects of their real estate investments, including the financial and contractual aspects, as well as those related to corporate law.

Laurent Fessmann

Laurent Fessmann is a Banking & Finance partner specializing in the formation and structuring of Luxembourg investment funds. He is a former managing partner of the Luxembourg office and the current co-chairman of the Baker McKenzie's Global Funds Steering Committee. He started his career in 1996 as in-house counsel in a French CAC40-listed company where he worked intensively on LBO transactions, capital markets and corporate law matters. Mr. Fessmann joined a Luxembourg business law firm where he became a partner prior to founding his own law firm in 2009. He contributes time and knowledge in several market participant industry associations in particular as co-chairman of the ABBL/ALFI depositary forum working groups, the European Public Real Estate Association, the Luxembourg Private Equity Association and the Association of Global Custodians. He is also a regulator at fund conferences such as ALFI, IBCI and regularly invited to speak on internal or bank seminars. Mr. Fessmann has 25 years’ experience in business law highlighted by significant experience in fund structuring and asset management including formation and ongoing assistance of investment funds in a variety of asset classes (real estate, private equity, loan funds and infrastructure funds ). He advises asset managers and global custodians on regulatory and custody law issues and acts for them in the creation of asset management companies and regulated entities active in the financial sector. He also provides fund raising solutions in the securitization business and the debt capital markets.

Olivier Dal Farra

Olivier dal Farra is a Partner in the Tax Group of Baker McKenzie's Luxembourg office. He has 15 years of experience in international and Luxembourg taxation. Before joining the Firm in 2019, Olivier worked as a senior tax manager for an audit firm in Luxembourg and in several international law firms in Paris and Luxembourg. In 2024, Legal 500 EMEA recognized him as a Tax “Next Generation” Partner in Luxembourg. Olivier's practice focuses on international tax planning and tax advice in connection with investment tax structuring and M&A transactions. Olivier routinely assists international clients, including asset managers and private equity firms, in tax structuring strategies concerning their debt or equity investments. He also advises financial institutions (asset managers/banks/insurance companies) on tax planning and international tax compliance aspects. He has significant experience in assisting high-net-worth individuals and families with international tax, wealth planning, regulatory and family governance issues and works closely with Baker McKenzie's Wealth Management Practice. He advises numerous family offices, HNWI and private bankers on the tax structuring of private investments, as well as on succession planning. He has also developed an in-depth expertise on matters relating to the EU Directive on Mandatory Disclosure Reporting (DAC6), assisting both intermediaries and taxpayers to detect and meet their DAC6 obligations. He is the author of a book on the taxation of Luxembourg holding companies titled "Luxembourg holding companies – Domestic and International tax aspects". He is a lecturer at Dauphine University (executive master in private estate and wealth management) and he is a member of the authors committee for the law review “Ingenierie Patrimoniale” (Editions JFA).

Sabrina Bodson

Sabrina Bodson is a counsel in the Employment Practice Group of Baker McKenzie's Luxembourg office. She has over 15 years of experience. Prior to joining the Firm in 2022, Sabrina was a counsel in the employment department of a Magic Circle firm in Luxembourg. She is a frequent speaker on employment law issues in seminars and conferences and contributor to various employment law related publications. Sabrina focuses on employment-related advisory work. She covers the full life-cycle of the employment relationship, from hiring to termination, including the drafting of complex contracts, the negotiation of senior employee exits and the assistance in the context of investigations around conduct issues, notably harassment. Sabrina routinely advises clients on employment matters relating to reorganizations and restructurings, including negotiations of collective dismissals with staff representatives and unions, in all sectors including industry and financial services. Sabrina is particularly recognised for her ability to deliver strategic advice combining both commercial and technical capabilities and manage the fine line between shareholder expectations, local culture and practices and local management's own expectations. Recently, she successfully handled a high profile and very visible matter concerning a job reduction programme affecting 160 employees, leading negotiations with government representatives (including Ministers) and unions as well as press management, with a positive negotiation outcome in a particularly tense context. Additionally, she has a broad experience in all contemporary employment law and HR topics, including diversity and inclusion, remote working, employee mobility and relocation, staff sharing arrangements as well as office build-ups. Sabrina also focuses in personnel questions in the regulated environment and is in particular a renowned professional in remuneration policies in the financial sector. She regularly assists banks, management companies, other financial players, insurance and listed companies in the design and drafting of remuneration policies, incentive plans, recruitment, retention and termination packages as well as in relation to regulatory audits.

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