SWITZERLAND - PATENTS
Patents are an extremely important part of legal practice in Switzerland – the country has the highest number of patents per inhabitant among industrialised countries. The introduction of the new Federal Court of Patents has had a noticeable effect on the way patent litigation is conducted: judges who are patent experts are able to produce judgments of higher quality, and streamlining all patent matters into a single court has enabled the litigation process to become quicker and more cost-effective. In this dynamic area of law, we identify 25 renowned specialists.
SWITZERLAND - MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
The M&A market has remained relatively robust in comparison to other jurisdictions, although lawyers reported that the size and volume of deals is still down. The legal market has remained stable, according to lawyers, “with the same faces being seen on most of the deals”. In this chapter we feature 25 lawyers who come highly recommended for their work in this area.
SWITZERLAND - MANAGEMENT LABOUR & EMPLOYMENT
In response to weak financial markets, Switzerland’s largest banks, UBS and Credit Suisse, have announced plans to undertake mass dismissals in the coming months. Further cost-cutting measures have also been introduced, including caps on executive compensation. In light of these changes, lawyers have been engaged by clients to advise on bonus schemes and resulting litigation. Data protection also remains a hot issue. In this chapter, we identify 26 of the finest management-side labour and employment lawyers from across the country.
SWITZERLAND - LIFE SCIENCES
The shape of the life sciences industry could change significantly over the next few years due to patent cliffs and the additional demands for medical care from ageing populations and emerging markets. With Switzerland currently one of the world’s top producers of pharmaceutical products, it is imperative that lawyers remain up to date in order to help their clients deal with the changes that the next few years hold. In this edition we list 21 leading lawyers in the life sciences area.
SWITZERLAND - INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT
The investment management industry worldwide has entered a new, tougher and more competitive age. Switzerland is currently the third most popular location for managers after the US and UK and up until now the industry has been largely unregulated. However, amendments to the Collective Investment Schemes Act will see asset managers of this type of scheme subject to supervision and prudential licensing – bringing Swiss law into line with the EU’s alternative investment fund managers directive. Recent developments and further anticipated amendments ensure that expert legal advice is in “high demand”. We recognise 17 lawyers equipped to guide the industry through this period of transformation
SWITZERLAND - INTERNET E-COMMERCE & DATA PROTECTION
In line with most of Europe following EU regulatory developments at the start of this year, the major trend in the Swiss internet and IT legal marketplace has been the improvement of data protection and information security measures for international clients operating within the EU area. The staple transactional work in IT and internet continues to be active but sources explained that increasingly clients are seeking advice and comprehensive strategies to cover personal information, e-privacy and marketing concerns within their businesses, with a number seeking to do this through cloud computing and outsourcing of data. In this chapter we list 31 of the top internet, data protection, licensing and marketing experts.
SWITZERLAND - INSURANCE & REINSURANCE
Switzerland is an attractive place for insurance and reinsurance undertakings with new carriers attempting to enter the market. Furthermore, over the past year the trend of relocations of reinsurance businesses into the country, especially the establishment of Swiss reinsurance branches, has continued. This activity has kept lawyers very busy and our research identifies 22 of the most “highly regarded” lawyers in this field.
SWITZERLAND - INSOLVENCY & RESTRUCTURING
Swiss practitioners are currently experiencing something of a “storm” of insolvency-related litigation. As the high value of the Swiss franc means that many businesses are finding it difficult to remain profitable, parties are more likely to bring matters to court than settle amicably. Restructuring has remained steady and the lawyers we spoke to predicted that bankruptcy work might be set to rise in the near future. In this chapter, 13 brilliant practitioners are selected.
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Nominees have been selected based upon comprehensive, independent survey work with both general counsel and private practice lawyers worldwide. Only specialists who have met independent international research criteria are listed.