The Legal 500

Within Zurich, Homburger is a first tier firm,

‘Terrific’ firm Homburger inspires ‘genuine confidence’ in its clients, with its ‘outstanding’ and speedy advice. It advised JPMorgan on updating and maintaining a pan-European offering and listing platform for retail structured products, and assisted Credit Suisse and Credit Suisse Hypotheken with a €15bn covered bonds programme. Other clients include State Street, Société Générale, UBS and Deutsche Bank. Practice head René Bösch is ‘excellent on regulatory matters’, Daniel Daeniker is ‘very strong in capital markets issues’, and Hansjürg Appenzeller and Daniel Haeberli are also recommended.

Within Capital markets, Homburger is a first tier firm,

The ‘successful and extremely competent’ team at Homburger acts for banks including Deutsche Bank and Société Générale, as well as for large corporates such as F. Hoffmann-La Roche. It advised Credit Suisse on a $2bn placement of tier 2 buffer capital notes and on $3.5bn and CHF2.5bn of tier 1 buffer capital notes as a form of contingent capital. René Bösch is ‘a very strong debt capital markets lawyer’, and Benedikt Maurenbrecher ‘always does an excellent job’.

Within Dispute resolution, Homburger is a first tier firm,

Homburger’s seven-partner team advised ENEL in large-scale attachment proceedings involving Switzerland and Singapore, and assisted UNICEF Deutschland in a dispute concerning the Rau art collection. Other clients include Alpiq Holding and LV Finance Group. In arbitration, it represented Nestlé in a dispute relating to a large IT contract, and Novartis Pharma Services regarding a terminated distribution agreement. Team head Felix Dasser is recommended, as are Georg Naegeli, Thomas Müller and Balz Gross.

Within EU, competition and WTO, Homburger is a first tier firm,

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.

Within Insolvency and corporate recovery, Homburger is a first tier firm,

Homburger advised a bank as lead manager and bondholders’ representative on a CHF40m Swiss high-yield bond default, and assisted Citibank International, as agent for the syndicate of financial institutions, on the CHF2.5bn comprehensive financial restructuring of OC Oerlikon Corporation. Ueli Huber leads the four-partner team.

Within Intellectual property, Homburger is a first tier firm,

Homburger’s ‘outstanding and greatly talented’ Zurich team advises clients including Acino Pharma, F. Hoffmann-La Roche and Weight Watchers (Switzerland) on patent and copyright matters. The team acted for Nestlé and Nespresso concerning generic coffee capsules launching on the Swiss market and represented a well-known US photographer in a copyright dispute regarding unauthorised use of pictures by several Swiss newspapers. Team head Georg Rauber, Gregor Bühler and Andri Hess are recommended.

Within Zurich, Homburger is a first tier firm,

Homburger has a ‘substantial and hugely respected’ team in Zurich, and is active across all practice areas. Its key strengths are banking and finance, capital markets and M&A. Daniel Daeniker, René Bösch and Georg Rauber are recommended.

Within Legal market overview,

The key players in the market remain the same, generally fielding larger and more well-rounded practices: these include Bär & Karrer AG, Baker & McKenzie Geneva, Homburger, Schellenberg Wittmer, Lenz & Staehelin and Niederer Kraft & Frey AG. Walder Wyss Ltd has had a successful year with many commenting on its growing strength.

Within Mergers and acquisitions, Homburger is a first tier firm,

Homburger’s ‘very precise’ lawyers ‘really take care of the client’s need and they are not just deal administrators’. Clients include Credit Suisse, Dufry and Nestlé, and the team also acted for Gilde Buy Out Partners on its acquisition of the Spandex Group from Gerber Scientific. It also advised Clariant on acquiring a controlling stake in Süd-Chemie. Team head Daniel Daeniker is recommended along with Frank Gerhard, who ‘always fulfils his clients’ highest expectations’.

Within Private banking, Homburger is a second tier firm,

Harold Grüninger leads Homburger’s private banking group, which has notable strength in estate planning, succession and tax. It acted for a high-net-worth Swiss individual on matrimonial property issues, tax and trust structuring matters, and advised an individual with Swiss residency on an asset protection structure.

Within Real estate and construction, Homburger is a third tier firm,

Frank Gerhard’s team at Homburger acted for an institutional real estate investor on the CHF50m purchase of several commercial centres.

Within TMT, Homburger is a first tier firm,

Georg Rauber and David Rosenthal head Homburger’s ‘smart, successful and helpful’ team, which boasts key clients including Google, Huawei and Philip Morris Group. It acted for Suva on a large-scale IT project involving new integrated solutions. The team has also represented an internet service provider in numerous defamation and copyright infringement matters.

Within Tax, Homburger is a first tier firm,

Homburger is ‘the strongest firm in Zurich’ for tax matters, providing standalone tax counsel as well as advising on the tax implications of corporate transactions and reorganisations, management buyouts, and private equity and venture capital investments, particularly in a cross-border context. Peter Riedweg, Eveline Saupper and Dieter Grünblatt are recommended.