Benjamin is an experienced transaction lawyer with a focus on M&A and corporate finance transactions, and corporate law. Benjamin advises clients in M&A and corporate finance transactions and is an experienced team leader in complex transactions. He advises listed and non-listed entities, including regulated financial institutions. He has in-depth expertise on the legal issues relating to real estate in and outside of transactions, including regulatory aspects, environmental issues (polluted sites), and complex commercial lease agreements. Benjamin is a regular speaker to various audiences on topics relating to his practice, including international lawyers' conferences, commercial chambers and industry organisations. He joined our firm as an associate in 2009 and became counsel in 2017. Before that, he worked at a Zurich district court and a French-speaking law firm for a number of years. Benjamin’s law degree is from the University of Zurich (2003) and he was admitted to the Zurich Bar in 2007. He is a member of the Swiss Bar Association, the Zurich Bar Association, the Franco-Swiss Chamber for Trade and Industry, and the Executive Committee of the International Association of Young Lawyers (AIJA). His working languages are German, French and English.
Felix is a Zurich-based partner with a particular focus on corporate and commercial law as well as commercial litigation. Felix 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 is a member of the Zurich Bar Association, the Swiss Bar Association and the Union Internationale des Avocats (UIA).
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.
Whether you are a company based in Switzerland, or a company based abroad hoping to send employees to Switzerland for work, understanding the applicable Swiss immigration requirements is crucial. We have taken some of the most common questions that arise in our area of work and put together a short Q&A blog to help companies understand some of the most key requirements under Swiss immigration law. Read on to learn more!
Topics: Private Clients , Corporate & Commercial , Employment
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Oliver’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 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.
Julie is specialised in all aspects of international estate planning. She is also a highly regarded charity lawyer with a particular expertise in social enterpreneurship and B Corps. Julie Wynne, TEP, has a broad experience in Swiss and international estate planning. She provides advice in the field of wills, probate and estate administration, application of international succession laws, including international inheritance and tax issues. Julie advises non-profit organisations, B Corps and social enterprises for their set-up and tax issues and assists them with mergers, reorganisations, joint ventures and other forms of collaborative working, as well as constitutional reviews. In addition, she regularly provides advices on grant-making, fundraising, corporate philanthropy and governance. Julie also has significant experience in employment law. She provides advice to a wide array of clients, whether organisations or individuals, especially in the charity and social enterprise sector. She worked two years as clerk with the Geneva Labour Courts. Passionate about art, Julie assists institutional art collectors and individuals on legal issues relating to their collecting activities in connection with tax and estate planning. She also advises cultural institutions on charity law, governance issues, legacies, fundraising and sponsorship. She is a Board member of the Fondation de l'Elysée and the president of its Patrons' Club, Club Elysée. Praised by clients for being ‘smart, prompt and thorough’, Julie Wynne has a ‘broad experience in the charity and social enterprise sector’ and ‘exceeds clients’ expectation beyond the legal support’ (Legal 500, 2017). Julie is admitted to practice in Switzerland since 2007. She holds a Master of Laws from the Universities of Geneva and Zurich (lic. iur., 2005), a Certificate in Transnational Law from the University of Geneva (2005), the STEP Diploma in International Trust Management (2010), the STEP Advanced Certificate in Trust Disputes (2011) and the STEP Advanced Certificate in Cross-Border Estates (2017). Her working languages are French, English and Spanish. Julie is a Board member of the European Social Enterprise Law Association, B Lab (Switzerland) and Giving Women. She is also the Chair of the Geneva branch of Philanthropy Impact, Co-chair of the STEP Philanthropy Advisors SIG Steering Committee and member of the Legal Advisory Board of Sustainable Finance Geneva. Julie is a member of the Geneva Bar Association, the Swiss Bar Association (SAV/FSA), the Socie-ty of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and the Art Law Foundation. She is also an active member of Giving Women and Global Women Leaders.
Jean-Marie is the managing partner of both Geneva and Madrid offices. With broad experience in international commercial arbitration, in particular with Spain and Latin America, he acts both as counsel and as arbitrator. He is very active in art and sports law, as well as in international estate law. Chambers Global has ranked Jean-Marie for many years as a leader in the field of dispute resolu-tion, in 2014 in Band 1 of the Most in Demand Arbitrators in Spain. Jean-Marie obtained a PhD (with Award) from the University of Lausanne in 1988 ("Jugement et sentence arbitrale") and a diploma from the Centre for Studies and Research in International Law and International Relations at the Hague Academy of International Law in 1987 (Transnational Arbi-tration and State Contracts). He is a regular speaker and publisher on arbitration and art law. His working languages are Spanish, French and English. He is member of ICC, LCIA, Milan Chamber of Arbitration Arbitrators Club; board member of Club Español de Arbitraje. He is former chairman of International Bar Association Art, Cultural Institutions and Heritage Law Committee.
Nicolas is a Geneva-based partner with particular expertise in banking and finance, corporate and commercial, contract and private client work. Nicolas joined our firm in 1978 and is a partner at our Geneva office. He is experienced in banking, finance, secured transactions, oil- and gas-related transactions and contracts, as well as in private capital. Nicolas holds a law degree from the University of Geneva and took an MCJ from New York University. He speaks French, English and some Italian. Nicolas is a member of the Geneva Bar Association and the Swiss Bar Association.
Eric is an expert in all aspects of commercial law, both contentious and non-contentious. He also represents and advises private clients on the structuring of assets and estate planning. Eric has been a partner in our Zurich office since 1979. Alongside his private client work, he advises domestic and international clients in a broad range of industries, including real estate, pharmaceuticals, fashion, biotech and financial services. He advises on domestic and international M&A transactions and also acts as counsel in arbitration cases. Eric has strong connections to the Israeli market, as well as Latin America, in particular Brazil. Eric is further representing clients in international legal assistance matters. Eric obtained his law degree from the University of Zurich in 1969 and his PhD in 1973. He was admitted to the Zurich Bar in 1975. His working languages are German, French, English, Italian and Hebrew. Eric is a member of the Zurich Bar Association, the Swiss Bar Association, the International Bar Association (IBA) and the International Tax Specialist Group (ITSG).
Bruno Boesch spent his first fifteen years of practice on corporate transactions and finance. He then acted as counsel and arbitrator in a wide range of international commercial and investment disputes, alongside a growing wealth management and estate planning practice, with a strong component of fine art and other cultural property matters. He has been ranked steadily as a leader in the above fields. Bruno has resigned from the partnership, staying of counsel to the firm, focusing on a handful of private clients and their families, their art collections and philanthropic ventures, while also exploring, speaking and writing about selected art world issues. He holds a law degree from the University of Geneva, he took an MCJ at New York University and worked with a Wall Street law firm before joining Froriep. His working languages are English and French, he also speaks German and Swedish. Bruno is a member of the Geneva Bar Association and the Swiss Bar Association. He is registered as a European Lawyer with the UK Solicitors Regulation Authority. He is the editor of The Art Collecting Legal Handbook, (2nd edition, 2016, Thomson Reuters). He is also the author of a novel, Le Cardinal Epinglé, published in 1998, under the nom de plume, Paul Gorgon.
We are pleased to announce that FRORIEP has both an overall firm ranking as well as a recommended lawyer in the Chambers HNW Guide 2017. As a firm, FRORIEP has received a Band 2 ranking for the practice area of Private Wealth Law.
Topics: Private Clients , Froriep Firm News EN
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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.
With the growing universe of blockchain based systems and applications, legal questions associated with this technology emerge and require consideration (ideally) before substantial sums are invested. In this blog series related to blockchain, we have covered a number of legal aspects (such as Starting an Initial Token Offering (ITO, also called Initial Coin Offering or ICO) - Things to consider and Blockchain for Patents - Patents for Blockchain) already.
This blogpost is about copyright in the blockchain environment.
Topics: Intellectual Property , Disruptive Technologies
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Oliver’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 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.
By judgment of 28 June 2017, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court re-examined the rights and obligations of an heir who was completely excluded from succession in a disposition of property upon death. Persons who have been completely excluded from succession are referred to as so-called "virtual heirs".
What does a virtual heir have to do in order to get to his or her legacy, and what rights does a virtual heir have until the time that heir status is recognised? And who actually is a virtual heir in the first place?
Topics: Private Clients
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Dany Vogel works as a patent attorney focusing on electrical, computer and information technologies. He has particular expertise in computer software which covers a broad spectrum including telecommunications, digital signal, image and information processing, medical and control engineering, cryptography, Blockchain, Fintech, and computer-implemented business methods.
Much has been written and discussed about how blockchain technology would bring about fundamental changes to the financial industry which could actually threaten the very existence of banks as intermediary trust centers. At the latest after the major central banks met about a year ago in Washington at a three-day event, hosted by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the US Federal Reserve, to discuss blockchain and crypto currencies, it probably dawned on a wider public that the hype around blockchain must be more than just that.
Topics: Intellectual Property , Disruptive Technologies
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