Practice Areas
Contracts
We draft and negotiate the entire range of commercial agreements for domestic and foreign clients. While in one case it may be a simple mandate or agency agreement, in the other case it may be an elaborated joint venture agreement in a cross-border context or a complex licence agreement.
Corporate Law
We structure and incorporate new business enterprises for domestic and foreign clients. Our clients also retain us for the restructuring of their existing business enterprises. Our core experiences include complex domestic and international transactions, such as cross-border migrations and mergers.
We act as external directors and provide continuous support in corporate housekeeping matters to our clients.
Immigration Law
When our foreign clients set up new businesses in Switzerland, we help them to obtain the work and residence permits for their employees and their families. Our services include the drafting and filing of work permit applications and the negotiations with the authorities.
Immigration law is of particular relevance to our clients from China and South-East Asia, who cannot take advantage of the Bilateral Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons within the European Union.
Intellectual Property
We draft and negotiate licence agreements, which range from straight forward trademark licences to complex cross-border licences of intellectual property rights that originate in various jurisdictions.
We provide preventive measures, such as availability searches and the registration of trade and service marks. On the defensive side, we assist our clients in the enforcement of their intellectual property rights.
Labour Law
We draft individual employment contracts, company-wide employment regulations, bonus system and share participation plans. Due to the growing competition of the global economy non-compete and confidentiality agreements have also become of importance to our clients.
In the international context, our work includes the structuring of secondments to and from Switzerland and the drafting of the relevant agreements.
Litigation and Arbitration
In commercial law litigations we represent Swiss and foreign clients before Swiss courts.
In national and international arbitrations we act as counsel under various rules, including ICC, Swiss Rules and CIETAC (China International Economic Trade Arbitration Commission).
Mergers & Acquisitions
We support our clients in the entire range of merger and acquisition activities, including share and asset deals, management buyouts and buyins, mergers, private equity transactions and joint ventures. Our services include the entire range of legal services required throughout a transaction: letter of intent, data room preparations, legal due diligence, drafting of the acquisition documents, negotiations, filing of merger notifications to the Swiss Competition Commission and coordination of filings with authorities outside of Switzerland, preparation and execution of the closing and post-closing implementation steps.
Our wide experience includes small local as well as large international transactions and ranges from the sale and purchase of domestic SMEs to listed international companies. Our clients retain us for the acquisition of domestic companies in Switzerland as well as for their expansions across the Swiss border.
Restructurings, Bankruptcies and Liquidations
We assist companies in their financial restructurings and their private and public debt moratorium procedures. We draft the relevant documents and file them with the competent authorities.
We assist creditors to protect their interests in restructurings, bankruptcies and liquidations and represent them in creditors’ committees.
China Compass
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