IFLR 1000
The Guide to the World's Leading Financial Law Firms

2011 is a special year for Pestalozzi as the firm celebrates its century year of existence. "It's Pestalozzi's 100th birthday this year. It's a longstanding brand; that's quite some value," one partner says. There is no doubt as to Pestalozzi's pedigree and the firm is indeed a household name. Nevertheless, it has suffered from departures of late. "In Pestalozzi, the Geneva office split. Twenty years ago, they were the largest Swiss law firm before Homburger. It has a family name and that still helps them. They benefit from old times," one partner says.

The firm's Geneva (and Brussels) arm split from the Zurich office and partners Bernard Lachenal and Alain Le Fort set up Lachenal & Le Fort. In response, Pestalozzi launched a new Geneva office led by partners Sébastien Roy and Christophe Emonet. "Pestalozzi have had some troubles [but] they're working together and there's not a lot of repercussions. It hasn't slowed down on the Zurich side," one partner says, adding: "The picture is nuanced. Pestalozzi in Geneva is very small. The name in Geneva has weakened but it is a Zurich brand. Geneva has impacted its ability to serve clients in Geneva". Another partner says: "There is still an office in Geneva but many left. This does not change much in terms of visibility on the market. There is very little interaction between Geneva and Zurich so it's no big impact".

In banking and finance, commentators have made mention of decreased visibility from the firm. "Pestalozzi lost momentum in banking and finance. They have a strong litigation practice and represent US industries with a presence in Switzerland but in banking and finance I do not see them very often," one partner says. "Pestalozzi I do not see at all. In Zurich they're OK," another partner says. Nevertheless, a look at the firm's deal list from the last twelve months lays any doubts to rest. The firm acted as Swiss legal counsel for Glencore, the Swiss commodity group, in IPO preparation and issues, including pre-IPO restructuring. The IPO was dual listed on the London and Hong Kong stock exchanges and at $10 billion was the largest IPO in London's history and one of the largest in the world.

In M&A matters, the firm is currently advising Johnson & Johnson in its $21.3 billion acquisition by way of a merger with Synthes to create an all-encompassing orthopaedics business. On completion, the Synthes and DePuy companies of Johnson & Johnson will cover the largest business within the Medical Devices and Diagnostic segment of Johnson & Johnson. The firm also advised the Independent Directors Committee of Alcon on its $12 billion merger into Novartis. "Pestalozzi we see on corporate matters in Zurich. [Jakob] Höhn is active and good in M&A. He's very nice and very to the point," one partner says.

Jakob Höhn (Leading lawyer bio)
Urs Klöti (Leading lawyer bio)
Sébastien Roy (Leading lawyer bio)