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

Switzerland's legal and financial markets are aptly defined as stubborn and stable. The year hasn't witnessed anything which vastly stands apart from the ordinary and it has been "business as usual" for the large part across the cantons. "The economy has been very robust. There have been no fancy transactions, there never were actually," one partner says. However, this isn't to say that there hasn't been any subject matter capable of rousing comment from practitioners.

The Swiss wealth management industry is being squeezed by external pressure against tax evasion as costs rise and the stream of new assets subsides. "There has been pressure from the US on the tax issue. This has not ended in legislative activity but ends in double taxation treaties," one partner says.

With smaller private banks set to struggle, Switzerland still awaits the much anticipated consolidation of the private banking sector. "Consolidation of private banking has not really taken off," one partner says, adding: "We expect that will come, some banks in the past played the greyish card and need to find new business". Linked to this trend, there are a number of players exiting the market or disposing of non-core business assets and European banks look to dispose their private banking arms. "They're out of the market and sell Swiss subsidiaries," one partner says, adding: "There's consolidation in Swiss private banking, investors are risk averse, It's not like the 80's."

With a spattering of IPOs over the last twelve months and some debt market activity, the Swiss capital markets have been quite slow. "In equity, IPOs are still pretty low. We can't claim Glencore," one partner says, with another adding: "The equity trend continues. There's no huge uplift. Some companies with good cash flow have tried to go to the market." Debt capital markets have not been a source of much excitement either. "Some small caps access the debt market but it's not a trend. Investors are not really interested," says one partner.

In project finance, law firm's work takes place on the international platform as there is limited scope for it domestically. "Domestic project finance is quite small. We see structures for project finance as too heavy and costly for here. If there was infrastructure to finance this might change," one partner says.

The M&A market displayed healthiness in the last year with a vigorous deal flow and a promising pipeline. "Compared to last year we might even say that the heat has turned up a little bit," one partner says. Of course, looking ahead, there are expectations for something to happen with regard to consolidation in the banking sector. Nevertheless, while domestic activity in the form of Swiss midcaps has been stout, there has in fact been an uptake in international activity. Foreign buyers have made their presence felt on the market and interestingly, commentators observed new buyers from Asia and the Middle East. "Valuations are low. It's a buyer's market rather than sellers," one partner says, adding: "There is much more protection for the buyer than a few years ago."

In terms of mega deals, the market saw the high profile $51.5 billion acquisition of Alcon by Novartis extend into April 2011. "We see a couple of these, we always have mega ticket deals. They're in a low number but still they are there," one partner says. Furthermore, public M&As have continued steadily, but in terms of volume and value there hasn't been any far-reaching changes. "The Swiss market is not large for tender offers," one partner says, adding: "[One] can't expect more than 10 in a year." On the other hand, private M&A transactions were subject to an upturn after the crisis. "In volume, private is much busier. This is how it is but few top tier firms cover both," one partner says.

Another interesting observation from commentators saw movement with regard to private equity. "Private equity funds are back to some extent. Auctions have taken place," one partner says. "Transactions are not yet back as they were three years ago. These players are not hugely active but do it on an opportunistic basis," another partner says.

On account of Switzerland's relative ease in conjunction to the financial crisis, law firms were not met with the surge in restructuring and insolvency work that gripped their European counterparts. However, the affliction that hit the country's international players translated onto the domestic front. For example, Lehman Brothers insolvency continues to provide a source of work in Switzerland. Additionally, the start of the year saw an important procedural development, which significantly modified the judicial landscape in Switzerland. As of January 1 2011, the first unified federal codes of civil and criminal procedure came into force. The enactment of the Swiss Civil Procedure Code, from a purely procedural perspective, enables lawyers to move more easily in other cantonal jurisdictions. However, with regard to insolvency, this development will have limited effects on the applied law. The most important of these effects will be the extension of the ability for a creditor located in Switzerland or abroad to get the assets of a debtor attached. Previously, such attachment was only granted in Switzerland against debtors located abroad.

All in all, the state of affairs in the Swiss legal market breeds sanguinity. "We're still confident because it's all positive for the future," says one partner, adding: "It's difficult to foresee the strength of the Swiss Franc and its impact in the future. At the moment it's okay. [We're] doing well and there's money available. People are interested in investing in Switzerland and although it's expensive it will not depreciate".

Baker & McKenzie occupies a unique space in Switzerland's legal landscape. In a market characterised by a dearth of international law firms, it stands apart as truly the only integrated international brand regularly competing with the market's elite. "They [international firms] look at the relative size of the market and look at who's here. There's no good case for globals on the Swiss market. They can rely on these [Swiss] services," one partner says.

With over fifty years to its name, Baker & McKenzie in fact runs like its Swiss counterparts. "Baker & McKenzie is only a brand name. It operates like a Swiss firm," one partner says, with another saying: "They operate like any other Swiss law firm even though they have an international brand."

The firm maintains a presence in Zurich and Geneva and, of late, has received some healthy instructions in banking and finance. "Baker & McKenzie has a presence in Geneva but its smaller today than twelve to fifteen years ago," says one partner, adding: "Banking and finance has one partner [in Geneva] so they're not really focused on Geneva and their visibility is limited. In Zurich, Baker & McKenzie is better; its office has grown a lot."

The firm last year advised Zürcher Kantonalbank and a syndicate of domestic and international banks in a SFr600 million (€523 million) syndicated secured revolving working capital facility for an internationally active food producer with, interestingly, a complex security sharing agreement with US noteholders. "In Geneva, they're in the sector for smaller banks. I've not seen them in larger banking transactions," one partner says.

It is in M&A where the firm's capabilities truly come to fore and consequentially it breaks into the top tier this year. "Baker & McKenzie are stronger in M&A than financing," one competitor says. The firm has built itself a reputation for proficiency in private M&A transactions. "Baker & McKenzie are quite active here," one peer says. The firm is also active in public M&As. "Baker & McKenzie do both. They're active in public tender offers and also do private transactions. [Additionally] They have a certain exposure in private equity," another partner says. Recently, the firm advised the sellers in all legal and tax aspects of their sale of a majority stake in Firstgate Holding to Deutsche Telekom. The Zurich office also advised a private investor in all legal and tax aspects of its acquisition of Kägi Söhne, a Swiss based food company. Zurich and Geneva partners, Urs Schenker and Martin Anderson respectively, have been the recipients of much praise on the market. "Baker should be in tier one because of Urs Schenker. He is a top professional in M&A, he drives Baker's success," one partner says. "Anderson is the head of M&A in Geneva and is very active," another partner says.

The impressive Urs Schenker also led a team that advised OC Oerlikon Corporation, a Swiss high tech conglomerate, in its financial restructuring. The financial restructuring included negotiations with banks, the majority shareholder and a SFr1 billion (€872 million) rights issue.

Among the large Swiss law firms, Bär & Karrer is the only one with offices in the German, French and Italian speaking parts of the country. The firm's dominance in most spheres of law is testament to commentator's reluctance to challenge its status. "They should always be in the first tier," one peer said with regard to its banking and finance practice. Across the board, the firm continues to attract the market's leading mandates. Indeed, it may have even increased the portion relative to its own pre-eminence. "Bär & Karrer have had more transactions this year than last year," one partner says.

In banking and finance, the firm advised Orior, a Swiss fresh food company, in Switzerland's first initial public offering (IPO) after the onset of the financial crisis. The SFr284 million (€249 million) first initial offering since May 2008 was listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange.

Several of the firm's partners are members of the boards of directors of banks and securities dealers in Switzerland. Eric Stupp, the head of the firm's banking & finance arm, is vice-chairman of the board of directors of Goldman Sachs.

The firm's strength in M&A has been reinforced by the notable hires of partners Raoul Stocker from Ernst & Young and Daniel Bader from Homburger. Head of the M&A department, Rolf Watter, has been the subject of much praise. "Rolf Watter of Bär & Karrer has a good reputation. He is involved in every major M&A transaction," one peer says. "Rolf Watter of Bär & Karrer is always involved in transactions," another competitor adds.

Closing in April 2011, the firm continued to advise in the $51.5 billion acquisition of Alcon, a global leader in eye care, by Novartis, a listed pharmaceutical company. Further to purchasing approximately 77% of Alcon's shares from Nestlé in two steps, Novartis recently completed the process of acquiring the remaining minority held shares by way of a Swiss merger. The firm advised Novartis with regard to structuring the acquisition and in negotiations with Nestlé, Alcon, its independent committee of board members, and minority shareholders. It is one of the biggest deals in Swiss history.

In restructuring and insolvency matters, Bär & Karrer certainly has the capacity. The firm showed this in Switzerland's most prominent restructuring deal when it advised Renova, the largest shareholder in OC Oerlikon Corporation. Oerlikon reached agreement with its largest shareholder Renova (holding a 45% equity stake), the lenders of the SFr2.5 billion (€2.2 billion) syndicated loan facilities, and various hedge-funds and other creditors from all over the world on a comprehensive financial restructuring of Oerlikon.

Led by Nicolas Piérard, Borel & Barbey's banking division advised Credit Suisse in the Issuance of senior secured and unsecured notes for a total amount of $3 billion and $2 billion (incremental term loans). This was financing for the acquisition by Reynolds Group Holdings of Pactiv. "In Geneva, Nicolas Piérard of Borel & Barbey. I had major transactions to the point. He made arguments well and is a good transactor," one peer says.

Led by Michel Barbey, the firm's corporate arm advised Johnson Investment on its sale of the entire share capital of Banque Franck Galland & Cie to Banque Cantonale Vaudoise and Banque Piguet & Cie.

Kaspar Landolt from CMS von Erlach Henrici advised Lloyds TSB Bank on a $1.6 billion facility to a major Swiss trading company. The eight-partner M&A group has been particularly active in private equity over the last year. It advised Lavasoft, developer of the original anti-spyware software, in the sale of pretty much all of its assets to a Canadian private equity fund. "To a certain extent, CMS are active with midsized companies," one peer says.

Founded in 1957, Homburger's history props up its foremost position in Switzerland. This Zurich based firm is well established and is highly reputable in the Swiss market. The stable nature of the legal market in Switzerland has familiarised the top end firms with each other. "Homburger is in the same league. We always see them on transactions," says one partner, with another adding in regard to banking and finance: "we represent the banks and they represent the borrowers."

The firm has had yet another strong year and its tendency to attract some of the market's leading instructions is unlikely to dry up anytime soon. It advised key client Credit Suisse in its establishment of a €15 billion covered bond programme including its €1.25 billion initial issue. René Bösch and Daniel Daeniker are two key practitioners that have been drawn out for praise. "In banking and finance, two names come to mind and both are at Homburger, Bösch and Daeniker," one partner says, adding: "These people are top people in banking and finance and are based in Zurich."

The firm's staff turnover in the M&A division has been liquid of late, with a number of associates entering and leaving the firm. Nevertheless, the stature of René Bösch and Daniel Daeniker is such that it percolates into corporate matters. "Homburger's René Bösch and Daniel Daeniker are two that shape the M&A market," one peer says. Dieter Gericke has also been among the notables. "He was quite active but more on the publication side," one partner says.

In M&A, the firm continued to provide advice in the $51.5 billion acquisition of Alcon by Novartis. To this end, it advised Nestlé in the completion of the sale of its remaining stake of approximately 52% in Alcon, the world's largest eye-care company, to Novartis for $28 billion. It also advised Alcon on its $13 billion merger agreement with Novartis.

Homburger's restructuring and insolvency team meanwhile advised Citibank International, as agent for a syndicate of financial institutions, in the SFr 2.5 billion (€2.2 billion) all-inclusive financial restructuring of OC Oerlikon Corporation. This included the refinancing of facilities, capital increase and a debt-to-equity swap.

With offices in Geneva, Zurich and Lausanne, Lenz & Staehelin has built itself a solid presence in the cantons of Zurich, Geneva and Vaud with German and French representation. Furthermore, the firm controls a healthy portion of the market in Geneva and this is a salient point because many of the top end firms have a limited presence in Geneva, if any at all. "They are [among] the leading firms in Switzerland," one partner says.

The firm advises on all aspects of banking and finance with a penchant for various securitisation transactions, structured and collateralised finance, lease finance and structured secured acquisition financings. "Stefan Breitenstein from Lenz, he is the head of banking and he is an outstanding person. He is out in the front and visible," one partner says. One highlight saw the firm advise export credit agencies and lenders on the €7.4 billion financing of the Nord Stream (a Swiss based company) gas pipeline project. The pipeline will link Russia to Germany by way of the Baltic Sea. The firm is also very active in capital markets work and advised Sateri Holdings in its $430 million IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

In M&A, the firm is proficient in domestic and cross-border private and public transactions. Lenz & Staehelin has also displayed its abilities for private equity work. The firm was involved in the leading private M&A transaction of the previous year when it advised TDC (Tele Danmark), who had entered into an agreement for investment funds with CVC Capital Partners (advised by CVC) to acquire Sunrise Communications for SFr3.3 billion (€2.9 billion). Rudolf Tschäni's peers have been full of praise for him. "Tschäni from Lenz belongs to the Zurich magic circle," one peer says.

The firm's restructuring and insolvency capacity continues to move from strength to strength as it regularly advises individual and corporate creditors in enforcing their rights in Swiss insolvency proceedings. The firm has amassed wide ranging skills in national and cross-border corporate and debt restructuring to advise companies seeking to avoid financial collapse. "The Lenz people are clearly leaders here," one partner says. This year, the firm has acted for many of the major creditors and financial institutions in the insolvency proceedings of Lehman Brothers in Switzerland. Importantly, the ongoing insolvency of Lehman Brothers Finance will eventually become the first landmark bank insolvency case under the new bank insolvency law.

One of Meyerlustenberger's strengths is in energy. In that field, one of their key M&A clients is Meyer Burger and the firm is advising it in the €360 million acquisition of Roth & Rau by way of public tender offer in Germany submitted by the client.

Established in 1936, Niederer Kraft & Frey is seemingly entrenched in the legal landscape of Switzerland. There is no doubt as to this firm's capability in producing quality output.

The firm is held in high regard by many in the market particularly in the financing space. "They are pretty active. They've been involved in refinancings this year. Their financing is robust and strong," one peer says, with another adding: "They've been more active."  However some felt that the firm's visibility had slightly decreased in recent times. "We don't see them as we used to five years ago. They're not in the same league. They're not in the first tier but they're still strong in financial [matters]," one partner says. However, such an observation can only be relative to the high standards the firm has set.

The team's banking and finance arm has been buoyed by the internal promotions of Marco Häusermann and Nicolas Birkhäuser to the partnership. Niederer Kraft & Frey is known for its competence in the capital markets and its highlights this year reinforce this perception. In the context of CVC Capital Partners' SFr3.3 billion (€2.9 billion) acquisition of Sunrise Communications from TDC, the firm acted as sole Swiss counsel to Deutsche Bank and BNP Paribas. To this end, the firm assisted in the acquisition financing which involved a SFr1.6 billion high-yield notes financing, by far the largest Swiss high-yield issue ever, and secured syndicated credit facilities worth SFr820 million.

The M&A team at the firm backed up its tier one placing last year as it was involved in the largest, cross-border takeover (to date) in Switzerland in 2011 by way of a tender offer. It advised Schulthess Group on all Swiss law matters relating to a transaction which saw NIBE group announce its friendly SFr638 million public tender offer for the SIX-listed Schulthess Group. However, despite this impressive mandate there are still some in the market who see the firm's true focus as capital markets as opposed to M&A. "They do capital markets related things. For pure M&A they're not in the first tier," one partner says.

As part of the second largest insolvency case in Swiss history, at SFr900 million the firm is acting as legal advisor to the liquidator in the ISMM AG/ISL Worldwide insolvency. This case is a unique and challenging affair as legal doctrine is silent on many matters and several legal issues are untested in the case law.

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)

In M&A, Python & Peter consolidates its position in tier four. The firm was involved in a high profile acquisition of participation with regard to a major pipeline project in the Nordic region. "Python is only French speaking. They're not in Zurich or German speaking Switzerland," one partner says. "I don't see them in banking and finance. They're a general corporate firm, an arbitration boutique," another partner says.

With integrated offices in Zurich and Geneva and over 110 lawyers, Schellenberg Wittmer is one of the largest law firms in Switzerland. The firm has had a steady year and has climbed up a place into the second tier in M&A to now occupy that position across the board and consolidate its status.

With more than 20 Swiss qualified lawyers, Schellenberg Wittmer's banking and finance team is among the largest and most focused in Switzerland. However, it was landed a blow with the departure of Lionel Aeschlimann to Mirabaud. "Schellenberg lost their main partner in banking and finance, Lionel Aeschlimann. He left to join a private bank in Geneva. The main partner has not really been replaced," one partner says. "I do not see Schellenberg as often as you might think," another partner says.

On one key deal, the firm worked as Swiss counsel to the agent, in the $1 billion secured financing arranged by Deutsche Bank for Bain Capital with regard to the acquisition by Bain Capital of the Styron division from The Dow Chemical Company.

With more than 30 Swiss qualified lawyers, Schellenberg Wittmer's Corporate/M&A arm has the capacity to tackle the volume it receives as it continues to attract some high profile mandates. "Out of these [tiers three, four and five] Schellenberg stands out to a certain extent," one competitor says. The firm acted as Swiss counsel to PAI Partners in the $900 million acquisition of the entire share capital of Swissport International, the leading airport ground handling services provider based in Zurich. The Swissport group is active in more than 170 airports on five continents with 33,000 employees across the world.

It is in restructuring and insolvency matters, particularly in Geneva, that Schellenberg Wittmer really finds its element. "Schellenberg is strong in Geneva insolvencies. This is not true for Zurich," one partner says. "Most of the firms in the rankings have no presence in Geneva. The main firm active in Geneva is Schellenberg & Wittmer. This is the firm primarily seen in Geneva in this context [restructuring and insolvency]," another partner says. Recently, Vincent Jeanneret was appointed by the Swiss Federal Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA as liquidator of Kaupthing Bank Luxembourg, Geneva Branch, and ACH Securities. In fact Vincent is a practitioner with a very sound reputation in this field. "The managing partner Jeanneret is very active and is a good restructuring and insolvency lawyer, mainly for liquidations," one partner says. The firm also continues to represent various banks in the bankruptcy proceedings of the Switzerland based Lehman Brothers Finance and in other insolvency proceedings of Lehman Brothers bodies worldwide.

Led by Adrian Dörig, Vischer advised key client, SIX listed OC Oerlikon on Swiss legal issues raised by the SFr2.5 billion (€2.2 billion) facility agreement entered into by the client in the course of its financial restructuring. Furthermore, the firm advised Oerlikon Textile and W Reiners Verwaltungs, as lead counsel, on the sale of their combined majority stake in the Bombay Stock Exchange listed Schlafhorst Engineering (India) to Integra Holding, Wallisellen. "Vischer have fine lawyers," one peer says.

Wenger & Vieli's financial services group includes its strong banking litigation practice. The firm advised Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse with regard to a US driven $975 million Swiss security structure in an ABL Facility. "In banking, they're more focused on domestic small to midsized refinancings. They've represented some of the midsized banks in such refinancings. They're good quality," one peer says. In M&A, the firm advised private equity fund, Cross Jersey, in a SFr40 million (€34 million) leveraged buyout of Spirella.

The solid Wenger Plattner has a strong reputation when it comes to insolvency matters. In Zurich, the firm is exceedingly strong on the liquidation side. "They're heavily involved in any mandate as liquidators," one partner says. The firm continues to liquidate large Swiss firms like the Swissair group, Swiss Dairy Food, Unifina and Big Star. "They call him Mr Liquidator of Switzerland," one partner said of Karl Wüthrich. "Wenger Plattner is one of the top firms at the moment. Wüthrich has no comparison in the field of restructuring," another partner says.