The Legal 500

Within Geneva, Bär & Karrer SA is a second tier firm,

Bär & Karrer SA produces ‘consistently high-quality work’, and recently advised Bank Leumi on the CHF177m acquisition of Swiss private bank Banque Safdié. Other clients include Bank Sarasin & Co, Société Générale and Deutsche Bank. The Geneva specialised team includes key finance contact Christophe Buchwalder, banking expert Cédric Chapuis and banking-related litigator Saverio Lembo – each is ‘bright, responsive and user-friendly’.

Within Zurich, Bär & Karrer AG is a first tier firm,

Bär & Karrer AG’s seven-partner practice is ‘a first choice for complex finance matters’, and provides ‘efficient and timely service’ as well as ‘clear and well-structured communication’. The ‘energetic and flexible’ Ralph Malacrida recently led advice to Xstrata on the provision of a multicurrency revolving loan facility. Banking specialist Eric Stupp is ‘very intelligent and experienced’, Roland Truffer is ‘a go-to person for Swiss regulatory matters’, and Urs Brügger has ‘broad-ranging abilities across all areas of banking and securities regulation’.

Within Capital markets, Bär & Karrer AG is a first tier firm,

Bär & Karrer AG’s ‘business-oriented, supportive and co-operative’ group has ‘a very deep bench of highly experienced practitioners’. In a major headline deal, the firm recently advised DKSH Holding on its CHF900m IPO on the SIX Swiss Exchange. Practice head Thomas Reutter is ‘attentive and highly commercial’, Rolf Watter is ‘very experienced and well known in Switzerland’, Ralph Malacrida is ‘a hands-on and no-nonsense capital market specialist’, and Eric Stupp is ‘very intelligent with a broad scope of corporate and banking skills’.

Within Dispute resolution, Bär & Karrer AG is a first tier firm,

Bär & Karrer AG’s excellent litigation and arbitration practice provides ‘top-shelf advice combined with excellent availability’. Head of arbitration Daniel Hochstrasser is ‘a safe pair of hands’, and he successfully represented Sandoz in a $125m ICC arbitration brought by Monsanto. The ‘sensible and extremely user-friendly’ Saverio Lembo successfully represented UEFA in CAS proceedings pertaining to the sanctions brought against FC Sion. Other clients include Fiat and Morgan Stanley. Head of internal investigations Andreas Länzlinger gives ‘professional, quick and prudent advice’.

Within EU, competition and WTO, Bär & Karrer AG is a first tier firm,

Bär & Karrer AG has an impressive track record for competition work and recently acted for Apax Partners in its filing to notify the SCC of its acquisition of telecoms operator Orange. The firm also assisted Fluxys with its filing following its purchase of a stake in Swissgas and Eni GTI. Mani Reinert is ‘a leading name in the market’.

Within Insolvency and corporate recovery, Bär & Karrer AG is a first tier firm,

Bär & Karrer AG is ‘a go-to firm for Swiss regulatory matters’, and is renowned for its ‘user-friendly lawyers that demonstrate a high standard of intellectual rigour’. Thomas Rohde heads the practice, which handles a broad mix of distressed debt issues, corporate restructuring and complex insolvency matters. It recently advised Petroplus in negotiations with lenders of a revolving credit facility regarding its financial struggles and subsequent insolvency.

Within Intellectual property, Bär & Karrer AG is a second tier firm,

Bär & Karrer AG’s ‘outstanding lawyers’ are recommended for their ‘hands-on approach and fast response times’, and practice head Markus Wang is ‘excellent’. The firm has a strong reputation for work in the pharmaceuticals sector, and recently acted in a major IP litigation in this field. Clients include Novartis, Cytos Biotechnology and UEFA.

Within Geneva, Bär & Karrer SA is a third tier firm,

Bär & Karrer SA ‘belongs to the best rank of law firms in Switzerland’. Its four-partner Geneva office is earning plaudits through lawyers such as banking specialist Christophe Buchwalder.

Within Zurich, Bär & Karrer AG is a first tier firm,

Bär & Karrer AG is ‘one of Switzerland’s top law firms’ and this is particularly evident in its Zurich headquarters. Clients praise the firm for its ‘long experience in the banking and finance legal industry’, its ‘unrivalled strength in compliance matters’, and its ‘excellent abilities in M&A’. Leading names include M&A specialist Corrado Rampini, capital markets expert Ralph Malacrida and banking specialist Eric Stupp.

Within Mergers and acquisitions, Bär & Karrer AG is a first tier firm,

Bär & Karrer AG has ‘a deep bench of highly experienced and competent practitioners’, and the firm’s ‘extremely lean deal teams build nicely upon internal synergies and expertise’ and have ‘the best mix of dedication and knowledge’. The firm advised Xstrata on its merger with Glencore, and other clients include Apax Partners and Toyota Industries. The ‘very experienced and extremely fast’ Rolf Watter jointly heads the practice with ‘hands-on and no-nonsense’ Ralph Malacrida. Dieter Dubs and ‘skilled negotiator’ Christoph Neeracher are still recommended.

Within Private banking, Bär & Karrer AG is a first tier firm,

Bär & Karrer AG’s practice head Tina Wüstemann is ‘committed, prompt, knowledgeable and thorough’, and advises Swiss and foreign private clients and banks on estate planning and contentious private client issues. The firm has recently handled matters related to asset tracing, inheritance law disputes and hedge fund relocations. Andreas Bär is also recommended.

Within Public sector, Bär & Karrer AG is a first tier firm,

Bär & Karrer AG is recommended for its ‘hands-on approach’ and ‘fast response times’. The energy sector is a major source of instructions for the firm, which continues to advise Swissgrid on its acquisition of Switzerland’s entire high-voltage electricity grid from the 25 current grid owners. Other clients include Fluxys and Apax Partners.

Within Real estate and construction, Bär & Karrer AG is a first tier firm,

Bär & Karrer AG’s ‘excellent team’ has a strong transactional bent and acts across a broad range of structured finance, capital markets and development work. It advised Mobimo Holding and the banks on Mobimo’s CHF200m rights offering. Practice head Corrado Rampini is ‘a leading choice for complex real estate investments’ and Ralph Malacrida is ‘a hands-on, no-nonsense capital markets specialist’.

Within TMT, Bär & Karrer AG is a first tier firm,

Bär & Karrer AG’s broad-based TMT practice advised Apax Partners on its CHF2bn acquisition of Orange Communications, and successfully represented UEFA in a case at the Court of Arbitration for Sport relating to sanctions against FC Sion. Michele Bernasconi heads the department.

Within Tax, Bär & Karrer AG is a second tier firm,

Bär & Karrer AG excels at corporate tax but also handles finance and private client issues. Zurich-based Raoul Stocker is recommended for his ‘experience in negotiating with tax authorities and deep knowledge of national and international tax’. Of counsel Robert Waldburger and Lugano-based Paolo Bottini are also recommended.