Baker McKenzie

Alexander Wyss is a seasoned business lawyer with a special focus on real estate transactions, private equity & venture capital, mergers & acquisitions and fund structuring. He is a member of the Management Committee of Baker McKenzie Zurich, co-heads the Swiss Real Estate Transaction Practice Group and is a former member of the Firm’s European Real Estate Steering Committee. He is ranked among the leading lawyers in his areas of practice by various publications, including Chambers Europe and Legal500. Alexander Wyss acts as trusted advisor for his clients and serves as a member of the board of directors in selected companies. He is a lecturer at the University of Zurich in the CUREM master and executive classes. Alexander advises domestic and international clients in cross-border and national real estate and corporate transactions, private equity & venture capital, mergers & acquisitions as well as fund structuring.

Alexander Fischer

Alexander Fischer co-chairs Baker McKenzie’s Mergers & Acquisitions and Private Equity practice groups in Zurich. Currently based in Zurich, Alexander also has experience working in the Firm’s Chicago office. He routinely represents clients on a wide range of areas of law ancillary to the Firm’s Banking & Finance, Private Equity and Mergers & Acquisitions practices. Alexander is a recommended lawyer in his areas of practice by the Legal 500, Chambers and other publications. He serves as a member of the board of directors of different Swiss companies. Alexander advises listed and non-listed clients in the areas of cross-border and domestic mergers and acquisitions, private equity and debt financing. He also provides sound and insightful counsel on general corporate and commercial matters.

Charles Gschwind

Charles Gschwind is a partner in Baker McKenzie's Real Estate practice in Geneva and Zurich. Charles graduated from the University of Fribourg Law School with a bilingual degree and earned his MBA at London Business School. He is a recommended lawyer in real estate by both Chambers and Legal 500. Charles regularly publishes in his areas of expertise and has taught namely at the MBA Program of ZHAW and at SVIT School. He is also a member of the Committee of SVIT Romandie. Before joining the Firm in 2020, Charles spent most of his professional career at another major law firm in Zurich. Charles has broad experience in M&A with a particular focus on real estate transactions. He regularly advises domestic and international clients on asset deals, large-scale portfolio transactions, development projects, hotel transactions, acquisitions of real estate companies as well as on the financing of real estate portfolios. Related administrative law matters (e.g., Lex Koller and environmental law), general corporate, commercial and contract law as well as tenancy matters also belong to his areas of expertise. Together with the dispute resolution team, he further regularly advises on (pre-)litigation matters in the real estate sector.

Christoph Kurth

Christoph Kurth heads the Investigations, Compliance & Ethics practice of the Swiss offices and co-leads the EMEA Financial Institutions Industry Group. He has been recognized by Legal 500 as a leading individual for compliance, regulatory and investigation matters. Before joining the Firm, Christoph was global head of Litigation & Investigations and general counsel in Asia for a large Swiss bank. For over 15 years, he has led complex regulatory and criminal investigations as well as high stakes litigation across the US, Europe and Asia, and has advised on transformational regulatory developments and wealth management products and services across Switzerland and Asia. In his roles, Christoph has worked closely with business leaders, government authorities and the media, navigating businesses through regulatory and other challenges. Prior to this, Christoph was a litigator in leading practices in Switzerland and the US. Christoph also teaches post-graduate courses in 'Crisis Management' and 'Risk Governance' at the Europa Institute at the University of Zurich. Christoph helps clients in the financial services and other industries establish effective legal and compliance risk management programs, investigate instances of non-compliance and their root causes, defend clients’ interests vis-à-vis authorities and in court, and develop responses to transgressions that limit financial and reputational consequences. In this context, he regularly advises Boards and senior executives in relation to their responsibilities and risk governance requirements. Drawing from his experience as general counsel and his substantial exposure to businesses, legal systems and cultures in the US, Europe and Asia, Christoph often offers more than legal advice.He also supports in overall crisis management, including responses to dawn raids, cyber-attacks and data leaks, serious compliance and other incidents, adjustment of business conduct and strategies, cultural transformation and sustainable legal and compliance risk management solutions. Furthermore, he advises financial institutions and clients in other industry in relation to financial crime matters, including bribery and money laundering related risks and over the last few years his practice has expanded to include compliance advisory work in relation to environmental, societal and governance risks (ESG).

Christoph Stutz

Christoph Stutz is a partner in Baker McKenzie's Zurich office and serves as head of the Firm's Employment Law Practice Group in Switzerland. For more than 10 years, Christoph has been advising numerous companies in complex labor issues and has successfully represented clients in court. He also advises and represents pension funds and companies in pension-related matters. Christoph regularly publishes work in relation to all aspects of Swiss employment law and is a speaker at internal and external seminars. Christoph is admitted as attorney specialized in labor law (Certified Specialist SBA Labour Law) and holds a certificate as Social Security Specialist. Christoph provides strategic and comprehensive employment law advice to domestic and multinational clients in various sectors, particularly healthcare, MEM, financial, insurance, transport & logistics and IT & technology industry. He focuses his practice on Swiss labor law, social security as well as pension matters, with an emphasis on corporate and other forms of restructurings such as business transfers, outsourcing projects and collective redundancies, executive compensation, pension and benefit schemes, data privacy, compliance investigations, contingent work force solution and management transfers.

Claude Chase

An Associate in Baker McKenzie's Geneva office, Claude Chase is an international trade lawyer with over a decade of experience in WTO law and dispute settlement. Claude has extensive experience advising sovereign and private sector clients on how to leverage WTO rules and dispute settlement procedures to achieve their international trade objectives. Claude previously served as a Dispute Settlement Lawyer at the WTO Appellate Body Secretariat, where he provided legal advice and assistance to adjudicators of the Appellate Body in the context of appeals before the WTO dispute settlement system. Claude's practice focuses on WTO law and litigation. He advises clients on the full spectrum of matters regulated under WTO treaties, and appears before WTO adjudicators in disputes between WTO member States.

Eva-Maria Strobel

Eva-Maria Strobel is a partner in Baker McKenzie's Zurich office. She co-Chairs the Firm's global IP, Technology and Data Practice Group and heads the Swiss IP, Technology and Data team. Eva-Maria is admitted to the bars in Switzerland and Germany and worked in the Firm's Frankfurt office prior to relocating to Zurich. Legal 500, Chambers, WIPR, Managing IP and WTR 1000 praise Eva-Maria as one of the leading trademark lawyers in Switzerland. Eva-Maria focuses on the development of intellectual property strategies to procure, protect and commercialize her domestic and multinational client's intangible assets and to grow the return on investment. She conducts IP portfolio audits, tailors trademark and design clearances, manages large global trademark and design portfolios and represents clients in IP related enforcement, litigation and in relation to governmental administrations. Eva-Maria also supports her clients on the implementation of business decisions, licensing, and contracting to maximize economic returns. She advises clients in luxury goods, cosmetics and foods and beverages industries as well as in the healthcare sector on a whole host of regulatory issues relevant to the industry, with a particular focus on marketing and advertising. She has been complimented by clients who have said that she "walks the extra mile and thinks outside the box to achieve the best results for her clients." Eva-Maria is an active member of INTA's Unreal Campaign Committee, Marques' Regulatory Team and ECTA's Law Committee.

Jingjin Guo

Jingjin Guo is a partner in Baker McKenzie's Merger & Acquisitions and Banking & Finance practice groups in Switzerland. Jingjin is also actively involved in the Firm's EMEA-China initiative. He is also the general secretary of the Swiss-Chinese Chambers of Commerce in Geneva. Jingjin focuses on mergers and acquisitions, corporate matters and investments. He regularly advises multinational companies on cross-border reorganizations and restructurings. He is also experienced in multijurisdictional complex financing structuring, investments and financings, including creating and implementing complex securities interests, assets-backed financings and aircraft financings. In addition, Jingjin advises a great number of technology companies and groups, especially in connection with data centers and crypto-related companies in the fields of cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), the metaverse and play-to-earn games.

Johanna Moesch (Mösch)

Johanna Moesch is an associate in the Firm's IPTech and Compliance & Investigations Practice Groups in Zurich. Prior to joining Baker McKenzie, she worked as an associate and senior associate in a major Zurich law firm and, prior to that, as a law clerk in a Swiss district court. She was also a tutor and student research assistant at the University of Basel in the fields of public and private law. Johanna obtained a LLM degree from the Tsinghua University (Beijing). She is a member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) and has been a Certified Information Privacy Professional/Europe (CIPP/E) since January 2021. Johanna advises Swiss and international companies on all the legal aspects of IT, in particular, on data protection and telecommunications law, cybersecurity, and IT contracts. She has an additional focus on e-commerce and general contract law. Her practice covers for example advising companies on issues concerning domestic and cross-border data protection and technology law-related issues, as well as commercial law matters such as distribution, franchising, sponsoring and other agreements. She works for various industries, in particular, the technology, financial, healthcare, sports and consumer goods sectors.

Julia Schieber

Julia is a partner in Baker McKenzie's IP and Technology team. She is specialized in IP transactional matters with a particular focus on the healthcare industry. Prior to joining Baker McKenzie, Julia worked for major law firms in Munich and New York City, and as a lecturer and research associate at the University of Konstanz. In 2018, she was seconded to Novartis. Julia has been ranked as a "rising star" for Life Sciences in Switzerland by Legal 500, and for Intellectual Property by Managing IP. Client's describe Julia as "truly outstanding" with "excellence in contracting and negotiating complex licensing contracts with strong and complex IP topics" (Legal 500). Julia is heavily involved in the Firm's children's rights pro bono work. Julia has vast experience in all aspects of intellectual property law with a particular focus on technology related matters. As part of the global IP and Technology team, she assists clients in complex IP transactions involving the development, exploitation and transfer of intellectual property rights. Julia advises on a broad range of IP, commercial and corporate agreements such as collaboration agreements, licensing agreements, R&D agreements, asset deals, settlement agreements and a variety of technology transfer issues. She has vast experience in advising clients in the Life Sciences and IT sectors.

Lukas Glanzmann

Prof. Lukas Glanzmann is a member of the Management Committee of Baker McKenzie Switzerland. He is ranked among the leading lawyers in his areas of practice by various publications, including Chambers. Lukas Glanzmann graduated from the University of St. Gallen law school and obtained a doctoral degree in the field of corporate law from the University of St. Gallen and a LL.M. degree from Harvard Law School. In 2006, Lukas Glanzmann finished his habilitation and today, he holds the position of a titular professor of business law at the University of St. Gallen. Lukas Glanzmann has published various articles and books in the fields of corporate, finance, accounting, restructuring and insolvency law. Prof. Glanzmann concentrates his practice in the areas of finance transactions, restructuring, insolvency, mergers & acquisitions as well as corporate and accounting law.

Markus Wolf

Dr. Markus Wolf is a partner in the Zurich office of Baker McKenzie. He is co-head of the Swiss Banking & Finance Practice Group and member of the Swiss Restructuring & Insolvency team. He has previously worked in the Firm's Sydney office and he was seconded to the legal team of one of Switzerland's leading banks. Prior to joining Baker McKenzie in 2012, he worked as a visiting associate with The Boston Consulting Group. Clients say: "I appreciate working with Markus Wolf very much. His assessments are of very high quality and equally practical. He is also a very reliable contact, especially for time-critical enquiries." (Chambers Global, 2023). Markus is a lecturer on private law at the University of St. Gallen (HSG). Markus advises on all aspects of banking and finance and restructuring and insolvency. He has extensive experience advising lenders, borrowers and sponsors on complex, multijurisdictional leveraged acquisition, corporate, project, export and property financing transactions. He also has experience in public sector (sovereign) financing. He regularly acts for Swiss and foreign creditors and debtors in domestic and cross-border financial restructurings and formal insolvency procedures. Markus has published numerous articles on banking and finance and restructuring and insolvency topics in Swiss and international journals.

Marnin J. Michaels

Marnin Michaels is a senior partner at the Baker McKenzie Office in Zurich. Marnin has been practicing for more than 25 years in the areas of tax and international private banking. He handles insurance matters relating to tax investigations and wealth management, as well as counsels clients on issues relating to US withholding tax, qualified intermediary rule and FATCA. He also advises on issues related to potential tax evasion and cross-border regulatory issues, as well as money laundering avoidance legislation. He is also a member of the Firm’s global Alternative Capital team that provides best-in-class investment solutions for family offices, founders, sovereign wealth, and other sources of private capital. Marnin was a member of the Firm's Steering Committee addressing the firm's US Department of Justice Initiative for Swiss Banks. In the end, the Firm acted for 45 banks and the project won Litigation Firm of the Year from American Lawyer Magazine Award in 2015. Widely regarded as one of the world's leading wealth management lawyers, Marnin is on the Firm's Tax steering committee, co-leads the EMEA Tax group, and co-chairs its European wealth management committee. Marnin focuses on all matters relevant to the wealth management industry and its clients. In addition to writing extensively for many publications, Marnin also authored two legal treatises: International Taxation and Withholding and International Estate Planning, which were both published by Thomson Reuters. He also lectures in several LLM and MBA programs on various tax issues.

Michael Treis

Michael Treis is Senior Counsel with the Firm's Intellectual Property Team in Switzerland. He advises on all aspects of IP protection and acts for companies before the Swiss courts. Michael has written on numerous related issues and has taught IP law at the University of St. Gallen. He began his career as an IP attorney of Baker McKenzie in 1989 and built up its Swiss IP practice from 1993 - 2022. He is ranked by Chambers Global and Legal 500 as a leading IP attorney in Switzerland. Michael has a wide range of experience in trademark, copyright, design and unfair competition issues and his practice covers IP advisory, prosecution and litigation. He advises a range of Swiss and global clients such as Apple, BAT, Dior and LVMH.

Pablo Bentes

Pablo M. Bentes is a partner in Baker McKenzie Geneva, where he heads the global WTO disputes practice of the Firm. Pablo focuses on representing WTO Members before the WTO Dispute Settlement Body and assists private clients and trade associations on how to leverage WTO disciplines to resolve trade disputes. Pablo is one of very few practitioners in the world to have successfully represented WTO Members in all stages in WTO dispute settlement proceedings, serving as lead counsel in oral pleadings before WTO panels and the Appellate Body. Prior to joining Baker McKenzie, Pablo was managing director at a leading law firm in Washington DC and a Legal Officer in the Appellate Body Secretariat of the WTO. While working at the Appellate Body Secretariat, Pablo advised on some of the largest and most complex appeals giving rise to the leading case law in areas such as import restrictions, subsidies, trade remedies, technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, among others. Pablo was featured as "Next Generation Lawyer – Dispute Resolution: International Trade" in Legal 500 US for three years in a row. Law360 has repeatedly named him a "Rising Star." He is a welcomed speaker at international podiums and publishes regularly in professional journals and international media. Pablo advises sovereign states and private clients in every stage of complex WTO disputes dealing with the inter-section between economic and non-economic objectives. He frequently appears on behalf of WTO members in oral pleadings before WTO panels and the Appellate Body.

Peter Reinert

Dr. Peter Reinert is a partner in Baker McKenzie's Zurich office. For more than 30 years, Peter has been advising numerous companies in complex labor issues and has successfully represented clients in court. He also advises healthcare companies on Swiss regulatory matters. Peter regularly publishes work in relation to all aspects of Swiss employment law and is a regular speaker at internal and external seminars. Peter focuses his practice on Swiss labor law matters, with an emphasis on executive compensation, business transfers and other forms of restructurings, as well as a myriad of issues related to pharmaceutical regulatory law. His corporate clients include many healthcare and TMT (technology, media and telecommunications) companies. Peters knowledge is highly valued by clients. According to Chambers Employment Switzerland 2021, "he handled a case in court fabulously and was really well prepared. He has wide knowledge and expertise." Peter was also described as "very helpful, responsive and knowledgeable" by Legal500 Europe Employment 2021.

Roger Thomi

Roger Thomi is a partner at Baker McKenzie Switzerland and the co-head of the Swiss Antitrust & Competition Practice Group. Roger is specialized in antitrust & competition law, in commercial law – in particular distribution, franchising, and joint ventures – and regulatory matters. He has practical industry expertise in the food & beverages and the healthcare industries. The Legal 500 ranked Roger as a “Next Generation Partner" in competition law, praised for his "solution-oriented" approach and extensive "knowledge comprising a significant range of antitrust law issues." Roger Thomi has vast experience in all aspects of Swiss and European antitrust and competition law. He represents Swiss and international clients before competition authorities and courts, including in national and international cartel investigations and abuse of dominance proceedings, merger control or investment control filings, as well as in civil antitrust disputes. Roger's experience includes the introduction of selective or exclusive international distribution systems and the structuring of horizontal cooperation agreements (e.g., R&D cooperation, joint purchasing and joint production) and strategic alliances between competitors, setting up robust antitrust compliance programs, as well as advice on unfair competition law and advertising law. As an experienced commercial lawyer, Roger assists clients in drafting all kinds of commercial agreements, particularly distribution, franchise, agency, e-commerce, manufacturing, supply and joint venture agreements. In addition, he helps clients to strengthen and transform their supply chains and to pursue their sustainability goals and manage sustainability-related legal risk. Roger has extensive industry expertise in the food and beverages and healthcare industries. With his practical knowledge in food regulatory matters, he supports clients in launching food innovations, in food labelling and marketing, as well as in sustainability. He also regularly advises healthcare and pharmaceutical companies in connection with distribution of their products.

Samuel Marbacher

Samuel Marbacher is the co-head of the Firm’s Real Estate practice as well as Banking & Finance practice in Zurich. He joined the Firm in January 2007 and was made partner in 2015.He graduated from the University of St. Gallen Law School and earned his LL.M. degree at the University of Sydney. Mr. Marbacher holds a bachelor's degree in business and finance from the University of Applied Science in Lucerne. Samuel Marbacher teaches at University of Zurich in the CUREM master and executive classes and at the IFZ Institute for Financial Services, Zug. Mr. Marbacher focuses on advising domestic and international client in the area of real estate transactions (including environmental and Lex Koller), real estate financing and syndicated debt financing (including export financing). He also advises on general banking and corporate matters as well as financing related aspects of private insurance law.

Serge Pannatier

Serge Pannatier worked as a trade negotiator with the Swiss Federal Administration before joining Baker McKenzie. Mr. Pannatier currently serves as head of the Employment Law and the WTO and International Trade practice groups in Geneva, and is a member of the Steering Committee of the Firm's International Trade Compliance and Customs Practice Group. In addition to working for the Firm, he is also a faculty member of the World Trade Institute of the University of Berne (Switzerland). He is a key member of the Employment Law and the WTO and International Trade practice groups in Geneva, and is a member of the Steering Committee of the Firm's International Trade Compliance and Customs Practice Group. He regularly advises multinational companies and governmental clients on a broad range of employment and international trade-related issues.

Susanne Liebel-Kotz

Susanne Liebel-Kotz is a partner in the Baker McKenzie Zurich office. She has more than 10 years' experience in the fields of international tax planning and M&A. Susanne is a member of the Firm's Global Tax and Real Estate practice groups. She is a frequent speaker on seminars and other events regarding various taxation issues, particularly with respect to international taxation. Susanne is also a lecturer in the fields of international and real estate taxation. Susanne's work is focused on international tax planning and tax advice in connection with M&A transactions and corporate restructurings, including private equity, venture capital, real estate and capital markets transactions. She also has a strong focus on transaction-related VAT and new technologies. Susanne advises Swiss and international clients on inbound and outbound tax planning strategies. In addition, she gives advice on tax matters in all phases of a transaction process: from designing tax-optimized acquisition and joint venture structures, carrying out tax due diligence reviews to the drafting and negotiation of the transaction documentation's tax-related aspects, and implementing tax-efficient post-merger integrations.

Tanja Schmid

Tanja Schmid is an associate in Baker McKenzie's Banking & Finance and Capital Markets Groups in Zurich. She graduated from the University of Bern in 2016 and was admitted to the bar in 2019. Prior to joining the Firm in 2019, she worked as a law clerk at a Bern based law firm and a tax court of first instance. She gained additional experience by working at the legal service of a Swiss bank for five years. Tanja focuses her practice on Banking & Finance, Capital Markets, general corporate law matters as well as financial services matters.

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