Catrina is a specialist in financial market law and corporate law. She has a wealth of experience advising financial market clients, including banks, asset managers and investment vehicles, as well as substantial operational knowledge. She also serves on the management boards of various com-panies, some of which are in the financial services sector. Catrina joined our firm as an associate in the year 2000. She became a partner in 2007. Catrina advises financial services clients and investment companies on regulatory issues as well as on contractual aspects relating to the financial market industry. She furthermore has considerable experience in acquisition and financing transactions, in general corporate work, both for listed and privately held companies, in mergers and acquisitions – predominantly in the financial services sector – and regularly advises in equity capital market transactions both for SIX Swiss Exchange, where she is admitted as a listing agent, and for BX Berne eXchange. Chambers Europe and Chambers Global have identified her as a Recognised Practitioner in the field of banking and finance, where clients have commended her client orientation. She is also ranked as a leading lawyer in the IFLR1000 guide for financial services regulatory and M&A. Catrina obtained her law degree from the University of Zurich in 1991 and was admitted to the Zur-ich Bar in 1995. She gained her PhD in 2004. Her working languages are German, English and French. She is a member of the Zurich Bar Association, the Swiss Bar Association, the International Bar Association (IBA) and the International Pacific Bar Association.
Ronald Kogens’s practice is focused on disruptive technologies. He advises Swiss and international clients as well as public entities in corporate and technology-related transactions. Ronald Kogens has in-depth knowledge of IP/IT law, in particular licensing of IP-rights, IP-transaction, financial market and contract law. He is an expert in the field of blockchain technology, crypto-currencies and crypto-tokens. He joined Froriep in 2017 as an associate and became partner in July 2019. Before that he worked for a major global consulting firm. He was also part of the legal counsel team of a public listed pharmaceutical company at the headquarters in Switzerland and worked for its subsidiary in the United States. Ronald Kogens graduated in law from the University of Lucerne in 2011 and was admitted to the St. Gallen Bar in 2012. In 2016 he was awarded a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in business law from the Chapman University, California, United States. His working languages are German and English.
The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA (FINMA) published a supplementary guideline to the ICO guidelines February 16, 2019, where FINMA outlines on how it treats so-called ‘stable coins’ under Swiss financial market law. In addition, FINMA provides an indication on how it will apply the financial market laws to Libra, the crypto project initiated by Facebook.
Topics: Banking & Finance , Capital Markets , Disruptive Technologies
Read more
Dunja Koch has expertise in all aspects of corporate and finance law, advising mainly UK and US clients with regard to Switzerland. She is the managing partner of the London office. She joined the firm in 1998 and became a partner in 2003. She regularly works on corporate and M&A deals, as well as leveraged and acquisition finance transactions, but also project, commodity and asset finance matters, including aircraft finance. Here, she acts on behalf of aircraft manufacturers, banks and leasing companies in relation to the Swiss aspects of acquisition of aircraft and engines. Her practice further covers regulatory matters, where she advises asset managers, funds, securities dealers and other financial institutions in relation to their cross-border activities in Switzerland. The Legal 500 United Kingdom 2018 recommended her as a top foreign lawyer in London. Chambers Global (2019) ranked her as leader in the fields of Banking & Finance (Switzerland) and Banking & Finance (UK). She was also specifically recommended in the 2018 edition of the Legal 500 EMEA for Transport Law matters and named one of IFLR1000’s Women Leaders- an elite cohort of the 300 leading female transactional experts in local markets globally. She is the only practitioner from Switzerland to be featured in the guide. Dunja Koch holds a law degree from the University of Zurich and a LL.M. from Queen Mary, University of London. She qualified in Geneva in 1997 and in England and Wales in 1999. She speaks German, French, English and Italian. She is registered on the roll of attorneys in Zurich and a member of the International Bar Association (IBA), Association Suisse de Droit Aérien et Spatial and the Aviation Club of the UK.
Jérôme's practice focuses on banking, finance and regulatory matters, as well as corporate and commercial transactions. He joined our London office as an associate in 2014. Prior to joining Froriep, he worked for several years in the corporate group of a business law firm in Geneva. He graduated from the University of Fribourg in 2004 and earned an LL.M. from New York University, as well as a Certificate in Law and Business from Stern School of Business, in 2010. He was admitted to the Geneva bar in 2009 and to the New York bar in 2013. His working languages are French and English, and he has a good command of German.
The Federal Department of Finance issued a statement yesterday clarifying certain issues regarding the new draft ordinances to the Financial Services Act (FinSA) and the Financial Institutions Act (FinIA).
Topics: Banking & Finance , Capital Markets
Read more
Demian Stauber is working as attorney at law in the fields of intellectual property and ICT law. Contract drafting, litigation and transactions in all areas of intellectual property and ICT law are the core of Demian Stauber’s practice. Additionally, Demian is particularly experienced in unfair competition and in general contract law.
Alena Bach works as a European Patent Attorney with a focus on mechanical and electrical engineering. Her principal activities are in the area of energy engineering, measurement and control, fluid mechanics and Computer-Aided Design (CAD). Alena Bach studied mechanical engineering with an emphasis on aerospace applications at the Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany. The further focus of her studies was thereby on aerodynamics and jet engines. This was followed by a PhD at the Technical University of Berlin on experimental fluid mechanics. Topic of the Dissertation was the active flow control for load regulations on modern wind turbines. Since December 2015, Alena Bach works for Rentsch Partner Ltd.
Looking through online advice on patents for startups, you may be confronted with a lot of contradictory articles and comments that make clear conclusions difficult, if not impossible. Amongst others, you will find comments to the effect that patents should not be a priority for startups because they are too expensive, and that they may instead be filed at a later stage - if at all - when it is clearer which product is likely to become a commercial success. Other comments may indicate that the grant of a patent is not guaranteed and that the associated financial risk is therefore too high.
Topics: Corporate & Commercial , Intellectual Property
Read more
Nicola Benz’s practice is focused on technology and life sciences transactions. She assists technology companies of all sizes, from start-ups to established players, as well as investors, suppliers and customers across a broad range of industries and sectors. Nicola Benz’s expertise covers outsourcing, licensing, joint ventures and collaborations and associated intellectual property issues. She also has considerable experience advising on all types of commercial contracts, competition and regulatory issues and data protection. Nicola Benz is recognised as a globally leading patent and technology licensing lawyer, as well as a leading practitioner in the field of intellectual property. Chambers Europe (2018) ranked her as leader in the fields of Intellectual Property and Life Science, and she was recommended in the 2018 edition of the Legal 500 EMEA for Intellectual Property as well as TMT matters. She has also been named as a thought leader for data law in the publication "Who's Who Legal 2018". Born in Scotland, Nicola obtained her law degree from the University of Edinburgh (LLB Hons) in 1997. She joined our firm as an associate in 2002 and became a partner in 2010. Since 2017 she has been the managing partner of our firm. Her working languages are English and German. Nicola is a member of the Zurich Bar Association, the International Trademark Association (INTA), the Licensing Executives Society (LES) and the International Technology Law Association (iTechLaw).
Daniel Haymann's practice focuses on international and domestic commercial litigation and arbitration as well as corporate and commercial law. He also advises firms in the cannabis industry along the entire value chain, including, among others, on regulatory matters. He obtained a Master of Law from the University of Zurich in 2004 and a Master of Business Administration with finance focus from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in 2013. He was admitted to the Zurich Bar in 2019. He gained extensive experience as a commodity trader and in managerial positions in the coal, petroleum coke and fertiliser industries for the two leading international commodity trading firms in their respective fields. He was based in Zurich, Baar, Singapore and Hong Kong. He then joined an International Finance and Business Development Boutique as partner and held management positions in corporate business development. Daniel Haymann works in English, German, Hebrew, French and Spanish and is conversant in Mandarin.
On 26 June 2019, the Federal Council assigned the Federal Department of Home Affairs (FDHA) to conduct a consultation procedure on the amendment of the Federal Narcotics Act (NarcA), which will last until 17 October 2019. The planned amendment to the NarcA aims to facilitate and expand the handling of medicinal cannabis that is exempt from a special approval of the Federal Office of Public Health. In particular, the traffic ban on cannabis narcotics for medicinal purposes is to be lifted, which should lead to limited tradability.
Topics: Private Clients , Corporate & Commercial
Read more
Felix Mathis is a Zurich-based partner with a particular focus on corporate and commercial law as well as commercial litigation. Felix Mathis has been a partner at our Zurich office since 1995. He advises domestic and international clients on a broad range of industries, including aviation, pharmaceuticals, internet, construction and start-ups. He obtained his law degrees from the University of Zurich in 1980 and New York University (MCJ) in 1988. His working languages are German and English. Felix Mathis is a member of the Zurich Bar Association, the Swiss Bar Association and the Union Internationale des Avocats (UIA).
Cornelia Mattig specialises in data protection and intellectual property law, as well as corporate and commercial law issues. Cornelia Mattig joined Froriep as an associate in 2018. Before joining Froriep, Cornelia Mattig trained with firms in Ireland, Germany and Switzerland as well as at the District Court of March in the Canton of Schwyz. After she passed the Bar exam in the Canton of Schwyz, she worked as a notary public and lawyer in an accounting and auditing firm. She graduated from the University of Zurich with a Master of Law (Business Law) in 2014 before obtaining her LL.M. in European Law at Queen Mary University of London in 2017. She was admitted to the Bar in 2018. She also holds a Data Protection Officer Certificate from the University of Maastricht. Her working languages are German and English.
Start-up founders often focus on the business and raising capital, whereby they often overlook the basic legal pitfalls when setting up their venture. This creates vulnerabilities for the founders, the investors, but also the business as such. These business threats may range from intellectual property-related issues, regulatory matters to contractual topics such as getting a founders agreement or the right terms and conditions. In this blog, we have a closer look at one of the core legal threats when becoming an entrepreneur, namely the relationship between the partners and how you can mitigate this risk.
Topics: Corporate & Commercial
Read more
