
Overview
Walder Wyss is one of the most successful and fastest growing Swiss commercial law firms. We specialize in corporate and commercial law, banking and finance, intellectual property and competition law, dispute resolution and tax law. Our clients include national and international companies, publicly held corporations and family businesses as well as public law institutions and private clients.
We are a dynamic law firm with flat management structures and a very friendly atmosphere. The team of more than 250 legal experts – all of whom with a high level of professional qualifications, international experience and excellent knowledge in many languages – is augmented by approximately 100 employees working in support functions.
Growth and a close relationship to our clients are the factors that determine our success. Walder Wyss was established in Zurich in 1972 and has since grown continuously. With offices in Zurich, Geneva, Basel, Berne, Lausanne and Lugano, we are able to offer our clients a personalized and high quality one stop shop for all legal and tax advisory needs across all language regions of Switzerland.
Our strong national and international network of correspondents and partners from a broad range of disciplines are selected according to the highest standards of professional competence.
Practice areas
Business
We guide our clients through any stage of M&A transactions of any type, covering the full range of negotiated and contested situations and often set new standards. We assist our clients in domestic and cross-border, private and public M&A transactions, develop ideal deal structures, perform due diligence tasks, draft and negotiate transaction agreements and secure the necessary approvals from the relevant regulatory authorities. While we advise listed multinationals, privately held companies, private equity firms and other financing institutions, we are also used to servicing visionaries and young entrepreneurs. We bring the right team and senior attention to our clients, and we can draw from a firm-wide network of around 250 practitioners specialized across a broad range of disciplines to get the most demanding deals done quickly and efficiently.
Providing advice on the foundation, organisation and administration of all corporate structures that are relevant in Switzerland is part of Walder Wyss’s day-to-day business. We also advise on all matters of corporate governance, excecutive compensation and liability of the board and management of private and listed companies.
We help our clients find legal solutions that are both commensurate with their needs and incorporate their market strategies. These solutions include the protection of technology transfer, the distribution of goods and the provision of services.
"The team's service is always of the highest quality and comes with the necessary pragmatism, responsiveness and results that always exceeded expectations."
Employment & Labor
A company's success is largely dependent on the people who work for it. To remain competitive in the fight for talent, employers not only need to be thoroughly familiar with employment law, they must also recognise both national and international developments in this area at an early stage. Our professionals in employment, social security and tax law issues have many years of experience in a variety of industries and provide clients with comprehensive, in-depth advice on all aspects of the employer-employee relationship.
Besides drafting contracts, our efforts focus primarily on providing support in transactions, negotiations and conflict resolution with individual employees, employee representatives and trade unions.
We advise clients on the design of modern compensation structures and use our experience for the benefit of the companies we serve, helping them remain attractive employers.
"Solution-driven way of working."
Intellectual Property
Transforming inventions into business assets and protecting them: Walder Wyss provides companies with first-class advice on all aspects of patent and trademark law, copyright, designs, equipment and business processes and other confidential business information. We assist our clients in setting up and implementing their IP strategy and represent them in any disputes that may arise. We also advise them on related areas such as technology transfer, licensing, franchising and merchandising. Walder Wyss has extensive experience in the legal analysis of products, technologies and intellectual property rights.
"I rate their ability to handle complex and sophisticated matters as very strong."
Lawsuits & Disputes
We advise and represent our clients in all fields of commercial and business litigation and in related areas. We represent our clients before all Swiss courts in civil and related proceedings, including interim relief, attachment and seizure of assets, enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitral awards and international legal assistance.
Our vast experience and our profound knowledge in all major business sectors, as well as our dedication ensure that we achieve the very best results for our clients.
We focus on complex and cross-border disputes, with an emphasis on M&A transactions, corporate and shareholders’ disputes, all types of delivery, engineering and construction, cooperation, distribution, licensing and joint venture agreements and trade. Our recent workload comprises cases in the financial services, pharmaceutical, food and drug, telecommunication, energy, construction, machinery and engineering business. Moreover, we advise and represent our clients with regard to directors’ liability and in insolvency related disputes.
"Always take care about the best interest of clients."
Real Estate
Walder Wyss has built up a considerable reputation as a specialist in the real estate and construction sectors over the course of many years. Our Real Estate & Construction team includes lawyers [many with a background in both real estate and economics], notaries and tax experts. The team boasts a broad professional network and is one of the largest in Switzerland, allowing us to provide support in highly complex real estate transactions and site development projects - prioritising efficiency and maintaining a holistic perspective at every stage. We work with our clients to develop solutions which create added value and implement them using interdisciplinary project teams as and when required.
We specialise in providing institutional and private investors with advice in matters concerning public and private law and tax issues related to the real estate sector.
We also advise clients from around the world in disputes arising from construction, infrastructure and engineering projects, and act as counsel before international arbitral tribunals, national courts, dispute boards and mediators.
"Professional, proactive and solution-orientated team."
Criminal Defense
Today’s regulatory frameworks often blur the line separating criminal, civil and administrative wrongdoings, resulting in heightened risks when doing business to be subject to investigations.
We represent corporations, directors, management and other individuals in connection with a broad range of government investigations, enforcement actions, and internal investigations.
We represent our clients when they have become victims of criminal behaviour by their own employees or by third parties, and help them assert their rights within and beside the criminal investigations and proceedings. We also represent our clients when they need to defend themselves against allegations of wrongdoing in various business contexts and at every stage of the criminal process, in investigations, before prosecutors or courts.
Walder Wyss is well-positioned to help clients navigate the legal landscape when business conduct results in concurrent criminal, civil and/or administrative proceedings that require a strategically coordinated response. We are aware that defending our clients’ interests not only requires a sound knowledge of the criminal law but also a thorough understanding of the commercial background. We can draw on the specialist expertise of our banking, tax, competition, commercial and employment lawyers to provide comprehensive advice and strategy in pursuing actions or defending against allegations.
"Smooth and very direct interaction."
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