Nicola Benz > MLL Legal > Zurich, Switzerland > Lawyer Profile

After its merger, MLL Legal‘s life sciences & healthcare practice is now headed up by Simon Holzer and Nicola Benz. It ‘stands out for its comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach in finding tailor-made solutions‘ and offers clients from the pharmaceutical and medical devices field legal support. The team is well versed in IP-related matters, dispute resolution and contracts. Kilian Schärli is noted for his know-how in blockchain pharmaceutical cases. Ulrike Ciesla is a key contact in patent matters. Associate Louisa Galbraith is a ‘rising star.’

Following the merger of Meyerlustenberger Lachenal and Froriep, the data privacy and data protection practice of MLL Legal is headed by Nicola Benz and Lukas Bühlmann. Benz has a specialism in the technology and life sciences industries and Bühlmann in the area of e-commerce and at the intersection of competition law which makes the practice a strong choice for matters involving on- and offline marketing and healthcare and life sciences players. The group, which includes Marco Meier, further has a specialism in advising cross-border employee lending agencies and pension institutions.

Post-merger, MLL Legal can draw upon the expertise of the two former law firms MLL and Froriep resulting in a comprehensive legal services offering. The combined team has profound knowledge in the areas of intellectual property, IT and data privacy matters where Michael Ritscher, Simon Holzer, Nicola Benz and Lukas Bühlmann are key practitioners. In corporate, banking and finance matters, Alexander Vogel, Catrina Luchsinger Gähwiler, Andrea Sieber  and Dunja Koch in London are the key individuals. Patricia Guerra acts for private clients and Wolfgang Müller advises real estate clients. Tax expert Marcel Jung and litigation expert Sabina Schellenberg are further key contacts.

According to clients, MLL Legal has the ‘best IP team in Switzerland‘, including ‘an excellent IP litigation team‘. The practice, which is jointly headed by the ‘hugely experienced‘ Michael Ritscher, Simon Holzer and Peter Schramm covers all intellectual property matters and is known for its strength in the protection of geographical indications, European patent matters, copyright matters and intellectual property matters in information and communication technology – an area of specialisation of the ‘excellent‘ Nicola Benz and Lukas Bühlmann. Further key contacts are Reinhard Oertli, ‘super knowledgable‘ Guillaume Fournier, the ‘very intelligent‘ Kilian Schärli, Nadine Von Büren-Maier and the ‘fantastic‘ Ulrike Ciesla.

Following the merger that formed MLL Legal in July 2021, the practice is jointly headed by ‘thought leader‘ Nicola Benz and ‘top TMT lawyer‘ Lukas Bühlmann. The team covers a comprehensive range of TMT matters, including regulatory and contractual issues, litigation and transactions, with Bühlmann specialising in cross-border e-commerce projects and digital economy generally as well as in data protection. Benz focuses on outsourcing, licensing, joint ventures and collaborations and associated intellectual property matters. Reinhard Oertli, Ronald Kogens and Michael Reinle round off the team’s expertise with internet, fintech and cloud computing specialisms.