Lucien is a highly experienced litigator in both international and domestic criminal, commercial and arbitration cases in the Swiss courts, up to the Swiss Federal Supreme Court level. Lucien is well known for his expertise in the field of appealing arbitration awards to the Swiss Federal Supreme Court. Lucien assists damaged civil parties in criminal proceedings and he is active in relation to the enforcement of foreign judgements as well as in big complex cross boarder litigation including protection and recovery of funds, including enforcement of state debts. Lucien is also one of the best-known sports lawyers in Switzerland, with extensive experience in sports litigation on various bodies of sports organisations as well as in sports arbitration at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne. Lucien has been a partner at our Zurich office since 2005. He has represented domestic and international clients in numerous high-profile cases in various fields and courts up to the Swiss Federal Supreme Court. He advises clients on commercial, employment, entertainment and media, insurance, real estate, aviation and international enforcement matters. Lucien has published textbooks on litigation and sports law in Switzerland and lectures widely.He obtained his law degree from the University of Zurich in 1990 and gained a PhD from the Faculty of Law of the University of Zurich in 1998 with a thesis on the jurisdiction of courts at the place of performance of an obligation under the Lugano and Brussels Conventions. (He graduated with the distinction summa cum laude and the Professor Walther Hug-Preis Schweiz, awarded for outstanding theses graded with the highest possible mark by a Swiss law school.) He has worked as a law clerk at the District Court of Zurich, the Court of Appeal of the Canton of Zurich and at the Court of Cassation of the Canton of Zurich. His working languages are German, English, Italian and French.Lucien is a member of the Zurich Bar Association, the Swiss Bar Association and the Swiss Arbitration Association (ASA). He is, president of the Swiss Association of Football Players (SAFP) and president of the World Association of Icehockey Players’ Unions (WAIPU) as well as a Member of the Association Internationale des Avocats de Football (AIAF). He is a board member of FIFPro (Fédération Internationale des Associations de Footballeurs Professionnels) and FIFPro Division Europe, and member of the Employment Law Alliance, the Associazione Internazionale Giuristi di Lingua Italiana (AIGLI) and the Swiss-Italian Chamber of Commerce (Camera di Commercio Italiana per la Svizzera). Lucien is a lecturer at the Paris-Sorbonne University in Abu Dhabi.
For companies domiciled in Switzerland or other parties wishing to avert an impending lawsuit abroad in Switzerland or before Swiss courts, the option of action for a negative declaratory judgement is now available as a valid option, at least in international cases.
Topics: Litigation
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Sabina Schellenberg joined our firm as an associate in 2009 and became a partner in 2016. She is an experienced litigator and represents domestic and foreign companies and individuals in commercial disputes before state courts of all instances and in enforcement and legal assistance matters. She is also a specialist in the fields of directors' and officers' liability law and national and international restructuring and insolvency law. After her studies at the University of Zurich, Sabina worked as a law clerk at the District Court of Zurich and was admitted to the bar in 2006. Prior to joining Froriep she was with the restructuring and insolvency department of a leading audit firm in Zurich and Basel. Sabina is a member of INSOL Europe, the International Bar Association, the Swiss SchKG Association and the Zurich Bar Association. Her working languages are German and English.
Patrick Dietrich’s practice focuses on international and domestic commercial litigation as well as national and cross-border insolvency and restructuring law. Before joining Froriep, he worked as law clerk at the district court of Dietikon and was chairman of the rental conciliation authority of the district of Dietikon. Patrick Dietrich studied at the University of Zurich and graduated with a Master of Laws in 2013. He was admitted to the Bar in 2017. His working languages are German and English.
The opening of insolvency or debt-restructuring proceedings can lead to considerable uncertainties for the parties involved. Employees want to know whether they receive their wages, social security funds are interested in getting paid all outstanding contributions; all creditors of the company would like to receive clarity about the dividend they are entitled to and other interested persons may want to know who the creditors of the company are. In any case, the parties involved have one thing in common: they are all interested in information about the company and the status of the insolvency or debt-restructuring proceedings. The question is how to get the relevant information.
Topics: , Insolvency & Restructuring , Litigation
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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).
FRORIEP is Swiss Law Firm of the year winning the title at The Lawyer European Awards on 15 March 2018 in London.
Topics: , Froriep Firm News EN
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Tenzin advises Swiss and international private clients in the area of wealth and estate planning. Her areas of expertise include national and international inheritance law (including matrimonial property law and lasting powers of attorney), commercial and corporate law (including corporate housekeeping), contract law and immigration law (planning of residence) for national and international clients. Prior to joining Froriep in 2011, Tenzin worked as a law clerk at the District Court of Zurich and worked as a trainee lawyer with a law firm in Zurich. Tenzin graduated from the University of Zurich in 2007 and was admitted to the Zurich Bar in 2011. In 2014 she obtained a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from New York University. Her working languages are German, English and Tibetan. She is a member of the Zurich Bar Association and the Swiss Bar Association..
Oliver Arter’s practice focuses on private clients and their advisers (banks, family offices, foreign advisers) in all aspects of domestic and international wealth planning. He also specialises in banking, asset management and regulatory matters. Oliver became of counsel in June 2009. His work involves representing and advising private clients on the structuring of assets (trusts, foundations, international business corporations), domestic and international estate planning, division of estates, execution of wills, matrimonial property rights, advance care directives and living wills, taking up residence and taxation. In addition he advises Swiss and international banks, asset managers, investment advisers and family offices on regulatory and contractual matters and represents them in proceedings. He publishes extensively in all his fields of practice. Oliver is an academic consultant with the Institute for Legal Theory and Legal Practice at the University of St Gallen, and is frequently invited to give lectures and chair conferences. Oliver Arter graduated with a law degree from the University of St Gallen in 1996 and was admitted to the Zurich Bar in 2000. His working languages are German, English and French. He is a member of the Zurich Bar Association, the Swiss Bar Association, the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), the International Tax Planning Association (ITPA), the Banking Law Association (“Bankenrechtliche Vereinigung e.V,”), the Swiss-Japanese Chamber of Commerce (SJCC) and the International Bar Association. Chambers Global, Chambers Europe, Chambers High Net Worth and Legal500 have ranked him for many years in a row as a leader in the field of private client.
Daisy Vacher's work focuses on matters of Swiss immigration and the procurement of work permits for companies wanting to employ foreign nationals in Switzerland. Before joining Froriep as an attorney, Daisy Vacher spent three years working for Fragomen Global Immigration Services in Zurich. Before that she was an associate attorney with Izaguirre Law in Colorado Springs, USA. In 2006 she completed her Bachelor of Arts at the University of Arizona followed by her Juris Doctor degree from the Sturm College of Law at the University of Denver in 2011. Later that same year she was admitted to the Colorado Bar. She is a native English speaker and has a good command of German, Spanish, French and Italian.
On 1 September 2017, the revised law on reproductive medicine and the revised reproductive medicine ordinance came into force in Switzerland. The amended legislation now regulates, in particular, the requirements and the permissibility of preimplantation diagnostics (PID), which has been prohibited to date.
Topics: , Private Clients
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Catherine is specialised in all areas of domestic and international corporate taxation. She has developed significant expertise in tax planning on M&A and financing transactions, reorganisations, relocations, collective investment schemes and real estate investments. In addition, she advises a number of high net worth individuals. Before Catherine joined Froriep in July 2017, she worked as a tax expert with a large Swiss bank for several years. Before joining the bank, she had a long-standing role as tax expert with a Big Four advisory firm. Catherine obtained her law degree from the University of Zurich (lic. iur.) in 1995 and was admitted to the Zurich Bar in 1998. She qualified as a Swiss Certified Tax Expert in 2002. Her working languages are German and English.
Interest rates on intra group loans are a recurring topic. The Swiss Federal Tax Administration (FTA) publishes safe harbour interest rates on an annual basis in advance. Their application will usually prevent unwelcome surprises. But there is more to be considered.
Topics: Tax
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