22 août 2024 – Walder Wyss is pleased to announce that the Swiss Federal Supreme Court has issued a landmark decision that significantly strengthens the protection of attorney-client privilege in the context of internal investigations conducted with a view to pending or imminent litigation (Federal Supreme Court, 6.8.2024, 7B_158/2023 [will be officially published]). This important decision strengthens the legal framework by confirming that both the fact-finding activities and the selection of relevant documents conducted during such litigation-related internal investigations are protected by attorney-client privilege. In addition, the Supreme Court clarified that the submission of privileged documents to FINMA does not necessarily constitute a waiver of this privilege.

As a result, the Supreme Court has created long-awaited legal certainty and ensured that companies can have lawyers conduct internal investigations in connection with legal disputes on a confidential basis.

The Walder Wyss team that obtained this landmark ruling included Oliver M. Kunz (Partner, White Collar), Martin Klingler (Senior Associate, White Collar), Pascale Köster (Partner, White Collar), Urs Schenker (Counsel), and Stefanie Mühlebach (Senior Associate, White Collar).