Europe - Switzerland

Wenger Plattner

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Wenger Plattner is experienced with handling insolvency and restructuring cases from both sides, namely acting as administrator or bankruptcy trustee in complex cross-border cases and advising debtors or creditors in other cases, within various industry sectors such as pharma, real estate and construction, energy, banking and finance, and technology. Practice head Brigitte Umbach-Spahn advises clients in domestic and cross-border restructuring and insolvency cases and represents them in related proceedings. Fritz Rothenbühler  handles insolvency and restructuring matters within the corporate, competition law, construction and real estate sectors. Karl Wüthrich advises creditors on national and international enforcement law and assisted debtors in formulating and implementing reorganisation and restructuring plans. Litigation specialist Stephan Kesselbach represents national and international clients before the administrative authorities, focusing mainly on corporate and insolvency law matters. Pablo Duc handles major bankruptcies and composition proceedings whilst Stefan Bossart primarily advises foreign clients on insolvency matters. Roland Burkhalter, who rejoined the team in 2022 from St Galler Kantonalbank, handles complex restructuring and insolvency assignments as well as extensive investigations and audits for the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). Denise Jagmetti-Huser and Mathias Burghardt support the team.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘Wenger Plattner is the No. 1 restructuring and insolvency team in Switzerland. Very high expertise, especially in cross-border restructuring cases.’

  • 'The most experienced team in relation to mandates as administrators in a composition agreement.'

  • ‘Wenger Plattner are market leading Swiss insolvency and restructuring lawyers. They are subject matter experts on Swiss insolvency and also cross-border insolvency issues.'

  • ‘Brigitte Umbach-Spahn is a first-class partner. Stefan Bossart is an excellent senior associate.’

  • ‘They are a great team.’

  • ‘Brigitte Umbach-Spahn is a very experienced insolvency specialist. She is our go-to person for complex matters requiring a high level of expertise and sophistication.’

  • ‘Very responsive with a focus on solutions and a very high reputation in the Swiss legal market.’

  • ‘Brigitte Umbach-Spahn, Denise Jagmetti-Huser and Stefan Bossart are very proficient, highly esteemed in the market and great to work with.’

Key clients

  • Bank Hottinger & Cie AG
  • SMTV Group (SMTV Holding AG, AF Cars AG, AF Racing Switzerland)
  • Nyco Flexible Packaging GmbH
  • Publicitas AG in bankruptcy liquidation
  • Envion
  • Petroplus
  • Swissair Group
  • SkyWork Airlines AG
  • Swiss Dairy Food AG
  • Unifina Holding AG
  • mopac modern packaging AG / 2MP AG
  • The Enzian Shipping / Swiss Chem Tankers Group
  • Swissmetal Industries AG / Weidenareal Metall AG
  • SCL / SCT // Enzian Shipping AG / Swiss Chem Tankers AG
  • saltech AG
  • Gysi AG Chocolatier Suisse
  • SCL Helvetia AG

Work highlights

  • Serving as FINMA appointed liquidators of Bank Hottinger & Cie AG.
  • Appointed as administrators for Nyco Flexible Packaging GmbH.
  • Confirmed liquidators of Petroplus Marketing AG and appointed administrator, later on liquidator of Petroplus Refining Cressier SA in a liquidation with claims in the amount of approx. CHF 6 billion.

Lawyers

Hall of Fame

The lawyers at the very top of the profession, widely known and respected by peers and clients for their longstanding involvement in market-leading work.

Brigitte Umbach-Spahn

Hall of fameWenger Plattner

Brigitte Umbach-Spahn is a partner on the Insolvency and Restructuring team. She advises creditors and debtors in national and cross-border restructuring and insolvency cases and represents clients in court in insolvency matters. She also acts as administrator/liquidator in complex insolvency proceedings and serves as a member of creditor committees. Brigitte Umbach-Spahn has been appointed by FINMA as an investigating agent for banks and financial institutions. Brigitte Umbach-Spahn is past co-chair of the IBA Insolvency Section and since 2019 member of the advisory board of the IBA Insolvency Section. She regularly speaks at national and international conferences and publishes on topics relating to insolvency law.

Rising stars

Stefan Bossart

Wenger Plattner

Stefan Bossart is a Counsel on the Insolvency and Restructuring team. He advises on national and cross-border restructuring and insolvency law (including the securing of claims) and represents clients in court in connection with insolvency matters. Stefan Bossart also possesses many years of experience in handling complex liquidations, where he regularly looks after a variety of matters, many of them cross-border. He also has a long track record of dealing with a broad range of regulatory and internal investigations, in particular in the area of banking and financial markets law.

Leading individuals

Karl Wüthrich

Wenger Plattner

Karl Wüthrich is a counsel on the Insolvency and Restructuring team. For more than 30 years, he has advised creditors on national and international enforcement law and assisted debtors in formulating and implementing reorganisation and restructuring plans. He acts as administrator, liquidator, trustee in bankruptcy and member of creditor committees in complex insolvency proceedings. He has been appointed by FINMA as an investigating agent and liquidator for banks and financial institutions. Karl Wüthrich regularly speaks at national and international conferences and at universities in Switzerland. He publishes in the area of insolvency law.

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Brigitte Umbach-Spahn

Other key lawyers

Fritz Rothenbühler, Karl Wüthrich, Stephan Kesselbach, Pablo Duc, Stefan Bossart, Roland Burkhalter, Denise Jagmetti-Huser, Mathias Burghardt