Europe - Switzerland

Bär & Karrer Ltd.

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The market-leading team at Bär & Karrer Ltd. advises its lucrative client base of on the full gamut of matters, including the marketing and advertising of drugs and pricing proceedings. Jointly heading the practice in Zurich, Markus Schott primarily focuses on administrative proceedings, including government supervision and public procurement mandates; Markus Wang  leads on the intellectual property (IP) side, acting for pharma and biotech clients in Swissmedic proceedings; and Philippe Seiler maintains a private equity and M&A focused practice, handling a variety of transactions and regulatory matters involving medical device and drug distribution. Basel based practice co-head Claudia Götz Staehelin is an expert in investigations, disputes, and regulatory issues, representing numerous global pharma giants, while co-head Oliver Brupbacher is noted for his ‘exceptional’ sector knowledge, and his expertise in crisis management issues and information governance. Jannick Koller left the practice in December 2022.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘The team has a deep knowledge of pharmaceutical business. They do understand the business aspects and not just the legal issues. Their responsiveness is really remarkable. ’

  • ‘Markus Schott has a great understanding of the legal issues of our company but also he understands in-depth our business needs. this is a combination that leads to excellent cooperation.’

  • ‘The team covers a full range of legal issues and expertise. Very strong life science understanding.’

  • ‘Oliver Brupbacher has exceptional knowledge of the life science sector and an extremely pragmatic and result-driven approach. He is fast, available, and partners on cases.’

  • ‘B&K is a full service law firm with depth in many areas of relevance.’

  • ‘The team at Bär & Karrer Ltd. are highly focused on client service and attention to detail, which when combined with their strong depth of knowledge in their respective subject matter areas, sets them apart from their competitors. In particular, the quality of service and work product provided by Oliver Brupbacher is exceptional. ’

Key clients

  • Novartis

Work highlights

  • Advised Firmenich on its merger with DSM, which was announced on the 31 May 2022. The new parent company will be located in Switzerland and listed on Euronext Amsterdam.
  • Advises Moderna on various legal matters in connection with its business in Switzerland and abroad, including legal and regulatory advice related to the establishment of its supply chain for its Covid-19 Vaccine, Swiss launch preparations, trade and commercial matters, as well as health care compliance and regulatory aspects and data privacy.
  • Advising Novartis in the planned spin-off of Sandoz.

Lawyers

Leading individuals

Claudia Götz Staehelin

Claudia Götz Staehelin

Bär & Karrer Ltd.

Claudia Götz Staehelin's practice focuses on complex investigation and litigation matters at the intersection of civil, criminal and regulatory proceedings. Claudia leads large-scale internal investigations, supports her clients in crisis management and advises them on all aspects of their compliance framework. She represents and advises her clients in domestic and cross-border litigations, in international judicial and administrative assistance matters and in internal and regulatory investigations led by Swiss and foreign authorities. One of her industry focuses is the Healthcare & Life Sciences industry, where she advises clients on pharma regulatory and all compliance matters. Based on her experience as former Head of Litigation at Novartis, Claudia regularly supports companies with multi-jurisdictional projects requiring innovative thinking. She has extensive international experience in litigation and investigation risk assessment, and in assisting clients with strategic decision-making. Her many years in-house and with corporate investigations have given her a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities of ESG issues for companies.

Markus Schott

Bär & Karrer Ltd.

Markus Schott has broad experience in all kinds of regulatory and administrative law matters including governmental supervision, public procurement, and administrative sanctions. He advises and represents clients in the life science and food, banking, finance and insurance, transportation and infrastructure sectors. He also drafts expert opinions in these fields. Markus Schott is also specialized in representing clients in administrative and civil litigation proceedings as well as international administrative and legal assistance proceedings. He teaches public economic law at the University of Zurich and he publishes regularly in his fields of interest.

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Markus Schott, Markus Wang, Philippe Seiler, Claudia Götz Staehelin, Oliver Brupbacher

Other key lawyers

Jannick Koller, Raphael Wyss