Firms in the Spotlight Public law

VISCHER

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VISCHER is a leading Swiss law firm with over 120 fee earners. The firm provides solution-oriented support in all aspects of commercial, tax, and regulatory law. Their experts are organized in more than 20 practice teams, each led by experienced partners.

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Public law in Switzerland

Bär & Karrer Ltd.

Bär & Karrer Ltd.‘s public law team is headed up by Markus Schott, who specialises in administrative litigation and has additional experience in regulatory and non-contentious administrative matters. Alongside handling public procurement mandates, the team advises on all regulatory issues in addition to mandates relating to public and governmental services, with clients spanning the life sciences, retail, energy, transport, and public sectors. Other notable names in the ‘professional, pleasant and available‘ team include the 'very responsive' Jannick Koller and Frédéric Bétrisey, who is singled out as an 'experienced professional with deep knowledge'.

Practice head(s):

Markus Schott


Other key lawyers:

Jannik Koller; Frédéric Bétrisey


Testimonials

‘Extremely professional, pleasant and available team which is able to work to tight deadlines and has the diversity of skills that meet our needs.’

‘Frédéric Bétrisey: experienced professional with deep knowledge and skills in several areas (capital markets, financing, banking, public sector, etc.), excellent communication skills, high quality work.’

‘We were extremely satisfied with the collaboration with the team.’

‘Markus Schott and Jannik Koller present very entertainingly argued legal briefs.’

‘The team is very responsive, up to date on market regulatory issues, and presents their advice in a clear and user friendly way.’

‘Markus Schott is readily available and client focused. Jannick Koller is very responsive and clear in her advice.’

Key clients

Republic and Canton of Geneva


Syngenta AG


Genossenschaft Migros Zürich


Canon Medical Systems AG


Datacube Biel AG


Work highlights


  • Represented Migros, Switzerland’s largest consumer goods retail chain, in administrative proceedings before the Department of Economic Affairs of the Canton of Zurich regarding an appeal by Unia (one of Switzerland’s biggest trade unions) against a pilot concept for unmanned stores to be opened on Sundays.
  • Represented Canon Medical Systems before the Administrative Court of the Canton of St. Gallen in a public tender matter regarding an appeal by Canon against the award of the Cantonal Hospital of St. Gallen concerning ultrasound diagnostic equipment.
  • Represented Datacube Biel AG before the financial department of the canton of Bern in a public tender matter regarding an appeal against the exclusion of the Datacube Biel AG from the public procurement proceedings initiated by Bedag Informatik AG as well as in an appeal against the award rendered by Bedag Informatik AG in the same tender proceedings.

Kellerhals Carrard

Clients praise the public law team at Kellerhals Carrard for its ‘pragmatism’,high level of professional competence‘, and ‘very efficient‘ work. Leveraging multiple offices throughout Switzerland, the practice is headed up by Christoph Jäger in Bern, Isabelle Romy in Zurich, Ivan Paparelli in Lugano, and Bernd Hauck in Basel. The team advises public authorities and bodies, private companies, and private individuals on all economy-related public law matters nationally and internationally. The firm’s extensive experience in energy and environmental law is particularly highlighted.


Practice head(s):

Christoph Jäger; Isabelle Romy; Ivan Paparelli; Bernd Hauck


Other key lawyers:

Thomas Geiger


Testimonials

‘Christoph Jäger was recommended by industry specialists. Thanks to his competence, our ambitious goals can be achieved in the required time. Working with him remains a key success factor in managing our complex business. He differs from his competitors through his distinctive professional competence, his ingenuity and his ability to engage in dialogue.’

‘A high level of professional competence paired with pragmatism and communication/advice tailored to the addressee. KC is able to prepare complex issues in a graphically appealing and understandable way.’

‘Christoph Jäger possesses exceptional specialist legal knowledge (especially in spatial planning and construction law) and uses this to assess very complex situations in a customer-oriented manner. He is also very competent in dealing with other lawyers. In addition, he has an exceptional commitment to the client and the case and is available to the client almost any time and at very short notice.’

‘Kellerhals Carrard has a large number of excellent lawyers in various fields of expertise. We have a partner in the law firm as our contact person who, depending on the legal question, advises us himself or puts us in touch with the appropriate specialist in the law firm very quickly and without complications. Everything is very efficient and competent.’

‘Thomas Geiger is a unique associate. He works efficiently and comprehensively and he has gone above and beyond at every step.’

‘Very strong practice in broad areas of environmental and energy law. Strong teams in various locations in Switzerland. There are able to build up a team of experts quickly and adapted to the needs of the client and the requirements of the case.’

‘Isabelle Romy. We have been working with her over the last 20 years on various complex issues of environmental law and complex issues of zoning, planning and public construction law. She is providing outstanding legal advice combined with pragmatic and solution oriented opinion.’

‘Isabelle Romy is the expert in Switzerland when it comes to soil, air and or water pollution. She has an excellent network at federal, cantonal and municipal level and is extremely well informed.’

Key clients

Vigier Group


Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation


Post CH AG


AVAG AG


BKW Energie AG


eOperations Schweiz AG


Federal Office for Buildings and Logistics (BBL)


Conference of Cantonal Directors of Building, Planning and Environment (BPUK)


Strabag AG


Office for Land and Buildings of the Canton of Bern


Grande Cariçaie / ARSUD


Ville de Lausanne


Migros-Genossenschafts-Bund


Immobilienpartner AG


Konferenz Kantonaler Energiedirektoren (EnDK)


Work highlights


  • Advised Federal Office for Buildings and Logistics (BBL), the Conference of Cantonal Directors of Building, Planning and Environment (BPUK), the Swiss Association of Cities (SSV) and the Swiss Municipal Association (SGV) on the drafting of Switzerland-wide uniform guidelines on procurement procedures under the new/revised federal and cantonal public procurement law (project TRIAS).
  • Advised Migros on the drafting of its model agreements for the procurement of food waste management services for its industrial companies.
  • Represented Swiss Post in the building permit procedure for the construction of a new regional parcel distribution centre (RPZ) as part of the “New Operations Centre” (NOC) on the site of the former Utzenstorf paper mill.

Lenz & Staehelin

Lenz & Staehelin‘s public law team in Geneva and Zurich is jointly headed up by Benoît Merkt, Marcel Meinhardt and Astrid Waser. The firm’s public sector experience includes advising on public procurement law, price surveillance regulations, environmental law, zoning issues, building mandates, energy law, and telecoms and media work. Clients range from state-owned entities and local authorities to private companies. Rayan Houdrouge departed the firm in the first half of 2022 for Walder Wyss Ltd.

Practice head(s):

Benoît Merkt; Marcel Meinhardt; Astrid Waser


Testimonials

‘L&S is always 100% focused on the client’s needs. Their know how about postal industry is broad and deep. As they have a lot of big clients and help them in their procedures, they have a huge knowledge about the authorities.’

‘Marcel Meinhardt (and his team) is still ‘The Man’ to chose, whenever you need external legal know how.’

Key clients

City of Zurich (EWZ)


Expedia


Mastercard


Pro7Sat.1 AG


SAP


Swiss Post


Telecommunications SA


UBER


Kaufmann AG


Work highlights


  • Advised the Swiss Post on many multi-million cases.
  • Advised EWZ, the electricity power plant of the city of Zurich and owned by the city of Zurich, on a high-value transaction.

VISCHER

VISCHER‘s public law team has a notable focus on energy and healthcare sector matters, with Stefan Rechsteiner leading the energy practice and Michael Waldner heading up the healthcare division. The firm’s energy practice covers high-end energy regulatory advice, transactional mandates and the related litigation, while the healthcare group assists hospitals with tariff issues, provides advice in relation to regulators, and acts in disputes. The group also has substantial experience acting for clients in the postal service and lottery providers.

Practice head(s):

Stefan Rechsteiner


Other key lawyers:

Michael Waldner


Key clients

Schweizerische Post AG


Axpo Service AG


Rheinkraftwerk Säckingen AG, Kraftwerk Ryburg-Schwörstadt AG, Kraftwerk Reckingen AG


Repower AG


Energie 360 Grad AG


EBL (Genossenschaft Elektra Baselland)


Energiedienst Holding AG


University Hospital of Zurich


University Hospital of Bern (Inselspital)


University Hospital of Basel


Cantonal Hospital of St. Gallen


Cantonal Hospital of Aarau


Cantonal Hospital of Lucerne


Claraspital, Basel


University Children’s Hospital Zurich


Walder Wyss Ltd.

The public law team at Walder Wyss Ltd., which is described by clients as ‘highly professional, pragmatic‘, and ‘skilled’, acts for a varied client roster including major Swiss governmental entities, state-owned enterprises, and high-profile pharmaceuticals companies. The firm has particular expertise in public procurement processes and mandates in the healthcare and life sciences sectors. The practice is headed up by Hans Rudolf Trüeb, who regularly represents clients in arbitration proceedings and handles technology, telecoms, energy, licensing and distribution matters, and is described by clients as possessing ‘superior knowledge‘. Martin Zobl excels in the healthcare, life sciences, energy, infrastructure and transport industries. Rayan Houdrouge joined the firm in the first half of 2022 from Lenz & Staehelin.

Practice head(s):

Hans Rudolf Trüeb


Other key lawyers:

Martin Zobl; Lena Götzinger; Florian Roth; Felix Tuchschmid; Isabelle Hanselmann; Matthieu Seydoux; Rayan Houdrouge


Testimonials

‘Highly professional, pragmatic, understands the need of the client (e.g. simple drafting, results are ready to be used for internal stakeholders, no need to translate to “layman” language).’

‘The team is just great at providing their services around the clock. Finding the right words to explain difficult legal positions in easy language. Very friendly and highly skilled.’

‘Walder Wyss was the first of the large Swiss law firms to specifically focus on public law and public clients. Over the past decade, Walder Wyss has managed to substantially grow and establish their public clients team in the market. Today, it is certainly one of the best and the team with the broadest and deepest knowledge of the procurement and public transportation market. I would definitely put them in the first tier. They are responsive and easy-going. It is always a pleasure working with this team.’

‘Hans Rudolf Trüeb, a senior practitioner with superior knowledge and experience, has successfully led the team for many years. He is quick, smart and always finds creative solutions for complex problems. Also, Martin Zobl is worth mentioning. He is a new partner of the firm in 2022, has worked with us on large cases for many years. We are very happy with his work, he delivers high quality work and wins the cases. The partners are supported by an array of younger talents, among them Florian Roth, Isabelle Hanselmann and Felix Tuchschmid, to mention just a few. For the cases in the French speaking part of Switzerland, we have worked with Matthieu Seydoux from their Lausanne office. Matthieu, while still young, is a great and ultra-fast paced lawyer.’

‘Profound experience in different areas in public law as well as highly professional lawyers involved. Due to deep sector knowledge they have great capabilities to handle legal problems in a very effective and efficient way.’

‘Walder Wyss has an outstanding public law team covering all aspects of public law relevant to us. In particular, we would like to emphasize their impressive expertise and diligence when it comes to public procurement questions and administrative litigation. Given their reputation and expertise, we would clearly consider them as number one in the field.’

‘We very much enjoy working with Martin Zobl (partner) who is highly professional, very responsive and utterly reliable. He provides very thoughtful and hands-on legal advice and is a great ‘sparring partner’, in particular, in the field of public and administrative law, procurement law, data privacy and open access law. In addition, he is a skilled litigator and tactician when it comes to administrative proceedings. Martin Zobl is supported by very talented younger lawyers including public law specialist Florian Roth (senior associate) and Lena Götzinger (senior associate), who specializes in public law and IT contracts. Martin Zobl and his team are always very pleasant to work with on both a professional and a personal level.’

‘Valued partnership, very strong providing support in a very time and cost effective manner. Excellent combination of generalist and specialized knowhow. Special mention should be given to Hans Rudolf Trüeb.’

Key clients

Swiss Confederation


Canton of Zurich – Office for Water, Energy and Air (AWEL)


Axpo Group (Axpo Holding, Axpo Power, Axpo Trading)


Energie 360 Grad AG


SBB – Swiss Federal Railways


SBB Cargo AG


ETH Zürich


ENGIE (France)


University of Zurich


Universitätsspital Zürich


Universität Kinderspital Zürich Eleonorenstiftung


Hirslanden AG


Zuger Kantonsspital AG


Spital Thurgau AG


Helsana Versicherung AG


Tertianum Gruppe


Swiss Federal Office for Buildings and Logistics (BBL)


Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH)


Armasuisse


SERV Swiss Export Risk Insurance


Work highlights


  • Defended the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) in appeal proceedings initiated by Alstom before the Federal Administrative Court regarding the procurement of 286 new single-deck multiple units.
  • Defended the Swiss Federal Office for Buildings and Logistics (BBL) in appeal proceedings initiated by Google Commerce Ltd. before the Federal Administrative Court regarding the procurement of public cloud services for the entire Swiss Government.
  • Represented the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in numerous proceedings in front of ETH’s Appeals Commission and the Federal Administrative Court regarding damage claims under state liability, data protection claims, public employment law and allegations of academic and other misconduct.

CMS von Erlach Partners Ltd.

CMS von Erlach Partners Ltd.‘s main area of expertise in public law is handling public procurement processes; the team is also experienced in dealing with white-collar crime matters, administrative penal law, and economic sanctions. The department is led by Marquard Christen, who is particularly experienced in matters involving both competition and public procurement law. Clients include corporates from the energy, transportation, beverage, IT, consumer goods and hospitality sectors. The team has been lauded as ‘friendly‘, with ‘exceptional knowledge‘ and ‘excellent qualifications‘.

Practice head(s):

Marquard Christen


Other key lawyers:

Fabian Martens


Testimonials

‘Deep devotion to good service and exceptional knowledge.’

‘The group was extremely responsive, and the project led by Marquard Christen was handled in a very professional manner with a key focus on ensuring that we as plaintiffs in the proceedings had a clear sense of the applicable law, the related process and the arguments that presented the best options for success.’

‘The people I met were very competent and honest; telling me exactly what they could and also what they could not deliver. They gave me a lot of information that was very useful for me.’

‘Excellent qualifications combined with lots of personality.’

‘Marquard Christen always responded very quickly and with insight to my inquiries. As a lawyer with a lot of experience in human rights issues, I am sure that he brings legal knowledge and entrepreneurial know-how to the table. I felt he understood the issues of an SME company in Switzerland.’

‘Personal, customer-oriented approach, large network, cost-efficient.’

‘The team is very competent and friendly. The cooperation was extremely pleasant and was influenced by both sides. The great strength for us lay in the large internal CMS network, distributed all over Europe. In this way, the necessary specialist knowledge could easily be consulted within the law firm.’

‘We worked directly with Marquard Christen and Fabian Martens. Our two partners didn’t just work on the project, but expanded the project’s goals with their valuable input and delivered a result that we found very satisfactory. Through their expertise in the field of competition law, we were able to gain valuable insights. The work of CMS helped us to set up comprehensive compliance management.’

Key clients

Bayer (Schweiz) AG


Burger King Europe GmbH


Lilly Deutschland GmbH


Synlab International GmbH


LivaNova Switzerland SA


IT District GmbH


Swisscard


TeamWork Schweiz AG


Moderna


Koch Group AG


Kieser Training AG


AEW Energie AG


Work highlights


  • Advised AEW Energie AG on various public procurement proceedings in the energy and IT sector.
  • Conducted a comprehensive internal audit and gap analysis in the area of sustainability/ESG regulation.
  • Advised a leading Swiss chocolate manufacturer on the implementation of newly introduced due diligence and transparency obligations in the area of child labour.

Homburger

Homburger‘s public law group, led by Marcel Dietrich and Mariella Orelli, works in conjunction with various departments in the firm, and has a particular focus on regulatory and compliance work, investigations, financial market regulations, competition issues and arbitration proceedings. The team has specialist experience in acting for clients in regulated sectors, representing sovereign states in international arbitrations, and acting for clients in international matters involving foreign public authorities.

Practice head(s):

Marcel Dietrich; Mariella Orelli


Key clients

Swiss Federal Council


Swiss Post


Implenia


City of Zurich


University Hospital Zurich


RUAG


Booking.com


Alpiq


Pawlowski


AMAG (independent Swiss car importer of Volkswagen Group)


Work highlights


  • Advised Swiss Federal Counsel in connection with purchasing 36 new fighter aircraft F-35A for $5.5bn.
  • Representing Implenia in a public procurement procedure regarding a CHF100m tunnel construction project.
  • Advised Swiss Post on the CHF375m sale of Swiss Post Solutions.

Bratschi Ltd

Bratschi Ltd‘s public law team advises a broad range of  public sector clients including cantonal authorities, municipalities and hospitals, as well as companies and individuals in the private sector. Isabelle Häner, Ulrich Keusen and Jürg Bereuter, who all have notable expertise in procurement law and planning issues, lead the ‘very client-centric‘ group, which has knowledge of the health and media sectors, and advises on labour law, constitutional issues and state organisations.

Practice head(s):

Isabelle Häner; Ulrich Keusen; Jürg Bereuter


Testimonials

‘We work frequently with Bratschi because of their strong basis of partners in various areas. The involvement of partners is always at an appropriate level and they show a deep expertise in the relevant fields. Bratschi is very client centric.’

‘Isabelle Häner: When it comes to matters of administrative law, I have never worked with a lawyer with such deep expertise and knowledge. We work extensively with Häner on administrative law matters, and always have been very satisfied with her services.’

‘Bratschi Ltd. has a top public law practice, able to work in all the various fields in that area. This requires a very broad understanding of the commercial and regulatory environment of the clients.’

‘Isabelle Häner: outstanding public law dispute lawyer with a strong tactical flair for correctly shaping the stage for obtaining the best outcome.’

Key clients

Ernst & Young AG


Schellenberg Wittmer Ltd

Schellenberg Wittmer Ltd‘s public law practice is headed up by David Mamane in Zurich and Yves Jeanrenaud in Geneva, and has particular expertise in public procurement processes and administrative law. The team is experienced in representing clients before both cantonal and federal courts, and has extensive experience in the transport, telecoms, energy, life sciences, media, healthcare, and food sectors.

Practice head(s):

David Mamane; Yves Jeanrenaud


Key clients

Axpo Energy Utility


BKW


Uber


Varo Energy


Sopra Steria


ELCA Informatique


CSC Computer Science Corporation


Fairtiq


Bouygues Construction


Husqvarna


Orphanhealthcare


Gasverbund MIttelland (GVM)


Industrielle Werke Basel (IWB)


Energie Wasser Luzern


Erdgas Zentralschweiz


SWITCH


Paul Scherrer Institute


Pandemic Taskforce of the Information Security Society Switzerland (ISSS)


Ringier AG


Work highlights


  • Provided regulatory and corporate advice to Uber, in particular in the context of the implementation of new regulations in various cantons and regulatory procedures with supervising authorities.

Staiger Attorneys at Law Ltd

Staiger Attorneys at Law Ltd‘s public law advice is distinctly focused on the energy sector, with department co-heads Marc Bernheim and Gaudenz Geiger possessing extensive experience in the energy industry, providing regulatory advice to national and international clients, and also acting in litigation. Other work includes advising on restructurings, tax mandates, disputes and corporate issues. The firm is also the Swiss representative of the Associated European Energy Consultants.

Practice head(s):

Marc Bernheim; Gaudenz Geiger


Key clients

CKW AG


Enerprice Partners AG, Enerprice Service AG


First Energy AG


Swiss Climate Cent Foundation


Avenergy Suisse


SN Energie AG


Work highlights


  • Represented CKW against a consumer refusing to pay a concession fee as part of grid usage tariffs.
  • Advised Enerprice on the Swiss and European regulatory framework of its business and on public law matters.
  • Advised First Energy on the public law aspects of its international business.

Wenger Vieli Ltd

Wenger Vieli Ltd‘s public law group works closely with the firm’s competition, compliance, banking, construction, energy, arbitration, public procurement, and tax practices, and is headed up by Michael Tschudin and Frank Scherrer, who are described by clients as ‘excellent’, ‘knowledgeable’, and ‘pragmatic’. The firm is able to assist a variety of clients, particularly names from regulated sectors including the construction and real estate, technology and media, financial services, pharmaceuticals, and healthcare industries.

Practice head(s):

Michael Tschudin; Frank Scherrer


Testimonials

‘Outstanding individual: Frank Scherrer. Most experienced and knowledgeable lawyer I know. Humble, to the point, fast in response, high availability. strong expertise, strategic mindset.’

‘Wenger Vieli is a solid and competent player in the market for public and in particular competition law advice, mainly due to the vast knowledge, quality and expertise of Michael Tschudin. Under the lead of Michael, the team has significantly developed its practice over the past 10 years.’

‘Michael Tschudin, head of the public law team at Wenger Vieli, is an excellent lawyer, a hands-on, pragmatic and down to earth adviser and a great strategist. Having worked for the competition authority, the appeal court and as an adviser in private practice, he knows the competition world from the inside on all sides of the market, but is also very knowledgeable in general in public law proceedings before administrative authorities and courts.’

‘Excellent know-how, fast responses.’

‘Michael Tschudin and his team are very responsive and knowledgeable. They are able to bring complex problems down to earth. And they present the best solutions.’

‘Michael Tschudin brings together extremely broad knowledge he has acquired over twenty years of being a lawyer and working at courts and authorities. So he knows both sides of the judicial system and is hence able to provide comprehensive advice.’

Key clients

Käppeli


inyova


Work highlights


  • Defended Käppeli on public law aspects in a landmark bid rigging case.
  • Advised a state-owned energy provider on the inquiry of ComCo on the public procurement process for electricity.
  • Advised a pharmaceuticals company on negotiations with the Swiss Confederation on the supply of Covid-19 treatments.