Corporate News

Promotions at Walder Wyss

3. Januar 2023 – We are pleased to announce that our employee André Kuhn has been appointed as partner in our firm, effective as of 1 January 2023. Additionally, we are welcoming Liburn Mehmetaj and Luc Pittet (as of 1 February 2023) as new partners at Walder Wyss.

André Kuhn is a partner in the Transaction Team of Walder Wyss. His practice focuses on real estate, corporate and contract law. In the real estate sector, he regularly advises on real estate transactions, real estate investment structures, real estate development projects, tenancy law, public law restrictions (e.g., Lex Koller) and regulatory aspects relating to Swiss investment foundations (Anlagestiftungen). In addition, André Kuhn supports clients with respect to all corporate law aspects, financing rounds, shareholders’ agreements, corporate reorganisations and commercial contracts. He also acts as a notary in his areas of expertise.

Liburn Mehmetaj is a partner with the Banking & Finance practice in Geneva. He regularly advises investment funds, asset managers, banks, pension funds, financial service providers, crypto companies, commercial companies, and investors. Liburn developed niche expertise in specific regulated fields, namely in sustainable finance, derivatives, custody, NFTs, precious metals, payment systems, anti-money laundering, and anti-bribery. Liburn covers a broad range of specialized services in his clients’ business journey, including inception, licensing, product launches, transactions, compliance, litigation, investigations, and crisis management. His expertise expands to the gaming and gambling industry since its clients comprise operators, suppliers, and investors in casinos, sports betting, game creation, and platform operations.

Luc Pittet is a partner in the Lausanne office. He advises and represents private and institutional clients in the field of real estate and construction law, both in civil matters (purchases, sales, construction contracts and disputes) and administrative law matters (planning, construction permits, procurement). In addition, Luc Pittet has a strong experience in sports-law disputes and regularly represents clients in front of State Courts in Switzerland or in front of Arbitration Courts in this field. He also acts as an arbitrator both in domestic and international arbitration. Luc Pittet is co-chair of the Vaud Chapter of the Swiss Arbitration Association (ASA). He is a former member of the board of the Vaud Bar Association.

In addition, Dominik Aerni, Peter Bürkli, Fabian Looser, Stéphanie Oneyser and Béatrice Viertl Bujard have been promoted to Counsel. Dimitrios Berger, Michelle Bruni, Nicole Cleis, Ivan Dunjic, Lukas Fellmann, Annemarie Lagger, Yacine Rezki, Marie Stenger, Celine Weber and Claudia Weber have been promoted to Managing Associates. All promotions are effective as of 1 January 2023.

Dominik Aerni is counsel in the Corporate/M&A-Team of Walder Wyss. His practice focuses on domestic and international mergers & acquisitions and general commercial and corporate law matters.

Peter Bürkli is counsel in the Basel office of Walder Wyss. He advises and represents clients both before state courts as well as national and international arbitral tribunals in particular in the area of corporate and commercial law including contract law and employment law. Peter Bürkli furthermore advises and represents clients regarding questions in the fields of life sciences, criminal law and administrative law.

Fabian Looser is counsel at Walder Wyss in Basel. He specializes in the areas of employment law, residence law, contract law (e.g. drafting of contracts) and sports law. A special focus of Fabian Looser’s work concerns questions in connection with the topic of hiring of services (Personalverleih), for which he wrote his doctoral thesis (Professor Walther Hug-Preis 2017). He advises in contentious as well as non-contentious matters and represents parties before courts.

Stéphanie Oneyser is counsel in the Litigation and Arbitration Team. She specializes in dispute resolution and represents parties in state courts proceedings, in enforcement and legal assistance matters and in international arbitration proceedings in all aspects of commercial law. Her practice focuses on insolvency law, insolvency-related disputes as well as debt collection and enforcement proceedings and she regularly publishes in this field of expertise.

Béatrice Viertl Bujard is counsel in the Banking and Finance, and Corporate/M&A team based in the Geneva office of Walder Wyss. She specialises in mergers and acquisitions, private equity and venture capital, as well corporate and structured finance transactions at a national and international level. Her practice covers general corporate and contractual law, corporate restructuring and joint ventures, and further includes advice to financial institutions and individuals on wealth and asset management issues.

Dimitrios Berger is a managing associate in the Corporate/M&A team of Walder Wyss. His practice focuses on national and international M&A transactions, public tender offers, private equity and venture capital transactions and general corporate law. He also advises FinTech companies on complex regulatory matters and represents market participants before the Swiss regulatory authorities.

Michelle Bruni is a managing associate working as a Certified Tax Expert and Attorney at Law in the Basel office of Walder Wyss. She specializes in all aspects of domestic and international tax matters, regarding both corporate entities and individuals. Furthermore she advises clients on matters of commercial and corporate law.

Nicole Cleis is a managing associate with a practice focus on international commercial and investment arbitration proceedings under a variety of arbitration rules (including ICSID, ICC, Swiss Rules), as well as on proceedings before state courts. She specializes in resolving disputes in complex construction and infrastructure projects, and in the life sciences and consumer goods sectors (esp. food). In addition to her work as counsel, she also acts as an arbitrator.

Ivan Dunjic is a managing associate who advises and represents parties in white-collar crime cases, namely in connection with allegations of fraud, corruption and money laundering. He further assists clients in internal investigations, in international legal assistance and in sanctions-related matters. In addition, he counsels in national and international sports law. In this context, Ivan Dunjic advises and represents athletes, clubs, companies and other clients in various matters, namely in contractual issues and in disciplinary proceedings (doping, ethics violations). He also acts as party representative before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), among others.

Lukas Fellmann a dual British-Swiss citizen, is a managing associate in the Litigation and Arbitration Team in Zurich. He is specialised in cross-border disputes having acted as counsel and secretary in numerous institutional and ad hoc arbitration proceedings. Lukas Fellmann also offers strategic pre-litigation advice and assists clients before state courts both in the German and French speaking regions of Switzerland. He has experience in the construction, pharmaceutical, telecommunication, financial and energy sectors.

Annemarie Lagger is a managing associate in the team of Regulated Markets, Competition, Technology & IP. She advises in the legal fields of information technology (including e-commerce) and life sciences (including food and drug law). In these areas of legal practice, she sets focus on contract negotiation and drafting (such as outsourcing, development, collaboration, licence and distribution agreements) and on regulatory clearance prior to product and service launches. She represents clients before courts and administrative bodies.

Yacine Rezki is a managing associate at Walder Wyss in Genèva. His main areas of practice include most aspects of domestic and international taxation as well as white collar crime proceedings. He advises his clients, in particular, in their relocation, estate planning, transactions and crowdfunding. He handles criminal and administrative proceedings at both cantonal and federal levels. In addition to his areas of specialization, Yacine Rezki is interested in the legal issues raised by disruptive technologies.

Marie Stenger is a managing associate in the Real Estate team. Her areas of expertise include public and private real estate law, construction law, tenancy law and contract law. She advises and represents Swiss and foreign clients, individuals and companies in court.

Celine Weber is managing associate in the Healthcare and Life Sciences Team. Her areas of specialization include medical law and regulatory issues in life sciences (pharmaceuticals and medical devices, specialist nutrition, cosmetics, genetic testing, stem cell and blood products).

Claudia Weber is a managing associate in the Corporate/M&A team. She is specialized in domestic and cross-border M&A transactions, reorganizations, public takeovers as well as private equity and venture capital transactions. She also advises clients in the fields of corporate and commercial law as well as general contract law.