The Legal 500

Baker & McKenzie Zurich’s team is led by Peter Reinert and Philippe Reich in Zurich, and senior associate Hubert Orso Gillieron in Geneva. The team represented Estée Lauder in the Swiss Competition Commission’s cosmetics and perfumery cartel investigation and advised various international and Swiss clients on export control and sanction matters with the Swiss trade supervisory authority.

Bär & Karrer AG acts for clients including UBS, SIX Group and FIAT, and has experience in assisting clients with investigations by the Swiss Competition Commission on cartels, vertical and horizontal co-operation, mergers and the abuse of dominant position. Key contact Mani Reinert is greatly recommended.

Homburger’s three-partner team has a ‘very strong competition practice’ and acts for clients including Credit Suisse Group, Nestlé and Visa Europe. It acted for Swisscom in an appeal by the client over a ruling by the Swiss Competition Commission. The group also represented Eli Lilly in an investigation and subsequent appeal concerning alleged vertical price fixing for pharmaceutical products. Practice head Franz Hoffet is recommended, as are Marcel Dietrich and Gerald Brei.

Lenz & Staehelin provides a ‘very good service, good response times, great knowledge of subject and good commercial advice’, and acts for clients including Honda, British Telecom, MasterCard and Swiss Post. It advised Chanel in a Swiss Competition Commission investigation regarding an information exchange between members of a professional association. The team also represents Richemont in all competition matters in Switzerland. The ‘very smart’ Marcel Meinhardt in Zurich, who has ‘in-depth knowledge of regulated markets’ and ‘brilliant tactical skills’, and Benoît Merkt in Geneva are recommended. Astrid Waser was made up to partner in January 2012.

Schellenberg Wittmer acted for a client in an investigation by the Swiss Competition Commission into the alleged abuse of a dominant position, and also assisted a leading international medical devices manufacturer in an investigation. Zurich-based Jürg Borer and David Mamane and Geneva-based Jean-Yves De Both are recommended.

Sidley Austin LLP’s ‘very strong’ WTO practice advises companies, trade associations and governments on all aspects of international trade and investment rules. The team has advised Airbus on subsidy disputes and represented the government of Japan in several WTO anti-dumping disputes with the US. The team also advises on multilateral trade negotiations, where clients include Anfaco-Cecopesca. Todd Friedbacher is ‘the brains of the operation’ and ‘super with clients’. He is recommended along with Scott Andersen, and ‘up-and-coming’, ‘very good lawyer’ Nicolas Lockhart.

Walder Wyss Ltd’s ‘top-drawer’ team advises blue-chip clients in sectors such as automotives, cosmetics, telecoms and IT on a range of antitrust, competition and merger proceedings before the Swiss authorities. Practice head Reto Jacobs and Hans Rudolf Trüeb are recommended.

CMS von Erlach Henrici Ltd is ‘very responsive and proactive’, and has expertise which is ‘based on a good understanding of the underlying business’. It acted for Bayer in a Swiss Competition Commission investigation into the pharmaceuticals market and for Flamco in investigations commenced with a dawn raid. Patrick Sommer, Alain Raemy and Stefan Brunnschweiler are ‘experienced practitioners, who do a good job’.

Froriep Renggli ‘provides service of the highest quality’, and acts for clients before Swiss competition authorities including assessing merger controls, joint ventures and contracts. Practice head Alessandro Celli has ‘very good in-depth knowledge, gives practical advice and has a good understanding of implications for daily business’. Boris Wenger has ‘excellent intellectual know-how of all competition matters in combination with a great sense for commercial issues’.

King & Spalding LLP has a ‘superb and outstanding’ WTO practice in Geneva, with expertise in disputes and trade negotiations. It acts for high-profile clients including the European Commission’s Legal Services Division, Bridgestone, and the Dow Chemical Company. It advised the Saudi Ministry of Commerce and Industry on the EC’s anti-subsidy investigation regarding imports of polyethylene terephthalate from Saudi Arabia. Team head Stephen Orava, Daniel Crosby and ‘really great lawyer’ Jasper Wauters are all recommended.

Niederer Kraft & Frey AG’s ‘very good team’ provides ‘fast responses whatever the time of day’. It acted for Birchmeier Hoch- und Tiefbau on the implications of a dawn raid and subsequent investigations, and represented Steinhoff International Holdings during a €1.2bn acquisition. András Gurovits, Thomas Frick and Nicolas Birkhäuser are recommended.

Pestalozzi provides ‘fast, professional advice, industry knowledge and precise drafting of agreements’. It advised Johnson & Johnson on its takeover of Swiss orthopaedics company Synthes, and represented Ringier on the Swiss merger control proceedings regarding its joint venture with Infront Sport and Media. Practice head Christoph Lang is ‘easy to contact, and provides quick and accurate responses’.

Tavernier Tschanz advises on competition and regulatory aspects of M&A, and represents domestic and foreign clients before the Swiss competition authorities. Practice head Silvio Venturi is ‘an authority in the field’, and Pascal Favre is also recommended.

Vischer’s ‘outstanding’ team is ‘always to the point’ with ‘quick responses’ to clients including Douglas Holdings and Swiss International Airlines. It has comprehensive competition and antitrust expertise and represents clients in merger control, administration and civil proceedings, as well as investigations before the Swiss Competition Commission. Team head Klaus Neff is recommended, as is Rolf Auf der Mauer.

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP advises governments and private sector clients on all WTO matters, especially in disputes.

BCCC Attorneys-at-law LLC’s Manuel Bianchi della Porta acts on antitrust and competition matters, merger control filings and consumer protection law.

Bratschi Wiederkehr & Buob represents domestic and international clients in merger check and sanctioning proceedings before the Swiss Competition Commission and in other antitrust and civil cartel proceedings. Rolf Dähler is recommended.

Kellerhals Attorneys at Law advises foreign and domestic clients before the Swiss Competition Commission and civil courts, and handles merger control filings. Daniel Emch is recommended.

Competition law is a cornerstone of Lachenal & Le Fort’s practice and the team advises on the full range of antitrust law matters under Swiss and EU competition law, as well as trade regulation issues and WTO work. Christophe Rapin is recommended.

meyerlustenberger’s Martin Ammann leads a team that advises foreign and Swiss clients on competition law.

Prager Dreifuss AG provides ‘high-level’ advice and ‘very good response times’. The team acted successfully for Mayer & Co. Beschläge on a horizontal agreement before the Swiss Competition Commission. Highly respected team head Philipp Zurkinden is recommended.

Python & Peter ‘s Philippe Kenel acts on the drafting and negotiating of agreements and a wide variety of other competition matters.

Staiger, Schwald & Partner Ltd’s team advises clients in the fuel, electricity, paper and construction sectors on merger control matters and other proceedings before the Swiss Competition Commission and the administrative courts, as well as in civil litigation resulting from alleged abuses of position. Christoph Gasser and energy sector specialist Marc Bernheim are recommended.

Wenger Plattner has a niche in the luxury goods sector and regularly advises foreign and domestic clients on competition and antitrust matters. Roland Mathys and Dieter Gränicher are the key contacts.

White & Case LLP’s very well respected team is led by ‘good, solid lawyer’ Brendan McGivern and has great strength in WTO matters. It represented the Distilled Spirits Association of the Philippines in a WTO dispute launched by the US and the EU over the consistency of the Philippines’ excise tax system with Article III of the GATT. The team also assisted the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Saudi Aramco in WTO disputes in which the Kingdom is a third party. WTO expert David Hartridge is also recommended.