Dr Thierry Calame > Lenz & Staehelin > Zurich, Switzerland > Lawyer Profile

Enjoying a strong reputation across the pharma, medical device and retail industries, Lenz & Staehelin advises notable clients across the full gamut of IP issues with demonstrable prowess in patent and licensing litigation as well as trade mark and design portfolio management. The department of ‘proactive, strategic thinkers and born litigators’, is reputed for its ability to handle landmark and complex issues for a consortium of established global clients. Joint practice head Thierry Calame utilises his longstanding experience in IP to assist with patents mandates and a broad range of arbitration, while fellow co-lead Jürg Simon is well-positioned to advise on significant patent litigation in the food and IT industry. Rounding out the team’s leadership is Sevan Antreasyan, who fields a considerable workload comprised of licensing and transactions related matters. ‘Outstanding’ Peter Ling further bolsters the team’s strength with his notable proficiency in litigation.

Lenz & Staehelin ‘incredible’ team offers a wide range of regulatory and transactional work in all areas of technology and digitalisation across various industries with a specific focus on TMT outsourcing transactions, licensing and sponsoring matters, telecom network outsourcing, and content regulation. Zurich team head Lukas Morscher advises domestic and international clients in the areas of technology, telecoms, and business sourcing. Geneva team head Guy Vermeil advises on international and domestic transactions in relation to IT and outsourcing matters. The team is supported by competition law expert Marcel Meinhardt and IP specialists Thierry Calame and Peter Ling, while Emilie Jacot-Guillarmod is a key name to note on associate level.

A team recommended for its ‘truly global outlook’ and ‘great communication and organisational skills’, Lenz & Staehelin has recently been engaged by an impressive roster of clients to assist with mandates including post-M&A and construction disputes, as well as substantive and procedural matters produced by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine crisis. It is pre-eminent with a diverse scope of sectors, from energy and telecoms to luxury goods and sports. ‘Exquisite top-performing colleague’ Harold Frey and ‘one of the leading arbitration practitioners’ Xavier Favre-Bulle spearhead the team from the firm’s Zurich and Geneva offices respectively. The former is especially noted for his vast experience in construction and M&A disputes on an international scale, and the latter utilises his wide-ranging experience to take on the role of President of the Arbitration Court of the Swiss Arbitration Centre. Commercial litigator Martin Burkhardt and IP expert Thierry Calame further bolster the practice. Daniel Tunik is notably active in the banking sector, and Martin Aebi consistently covers construction, M&A and banking arbitration.

The team at Lenz & Staehelin acts for a broad range of clients across the biotech, diagnostics, and medical device industries on a wide range of matters, including IP disputes concerning supplementary protection certificates (SPC), and generics and biosimilars. The team is jointly led by Thierry Calame, Harold Frey, Xavier Favre-Bulle, Andreas Rötheli, and Guy Vermeil. In Geneva, Rötheli handles private equity buyouts and real estate issues; Vermeil maintains a technology and outsourcing based practice; and Favre-Bulle is noted for his longstanding experience in arbitrations concerning licences, joint ventures, and post-M&A disputes. In Zurich, IP expert Calame assists clients with licensing issues and copy right litigation, while Frey often handles international arbitrations and cases before Swiss courts, with his main area of focus being general contractual disputes.