Lalive

Number of partners: 26
Number of lawyers: 105
Languages: Arabic, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Ukrainian

Firm Overview:
LALIVE is an international law firm with offices in Geneva, Zurich and London integrated by lawyers from Switzerland and more than twenty-five other countries. The firm is renowned for its expertise and experience in international disputes and provides global dispute resolution and advisory services to clients in Switzerland and worldwide. The firm represents individuals, public and private entities, including multinational corporations, governments and international organisations. Practice areas include international commercial and investment arbitration, litigation, white collar crime, investigations, regulatory and compliance, public international law and private client. Areas of focus include asset recovery and insolvency; art and cultural property; banking and finance; corporate and commercial; energy and mining; intellectual property and data protection; construction and infrastructure; employment; sports; technology and telecom; business and human rights and pharma and biotechnology.

Main Areas of Practice:
International Commercial Arbitration
Investment Arbitration
Litigation
Investigations, Regulatory & Compliance
White Collar Crime
Banking & Finance
Insolvency
Public International Law
Private Client
Arts & Cultural Property
Intellectual Property

Representative Work: 

Dispute Resolution - International Commercial Arbitration: 

16 partners

■ Representing a Southern European State-owned company in three multi-billion (USD) gas pricing disputes with European and Middle Eastern companies
■ Representing a Ukrainian State-owned electricity company in a USD 1 billion UNCITRAL arbitration against Russia concerning the expropriation of its assets and gas sources following the annexation of Crimea
■ Representing a European company in a USD 500 million post M&A pharma dispute relating to multidistrict product liability litigation
■ Several partners of the firm act as arbitrators in high-profile international commercial arbitrations

Dispute Resolution – Investment Arbitration: 

11 partners

■ Representing Romania in two multi-billion ICSID arbitrations including one initiated by North American investors concerning a large mining project and another initiated by Scandinavian investors relating to tax enforcement measures in the food and beverage industry
■ Representing a Southern European company in a USD 200 million ICSID arbitration against a Middle Eastern country relating to a construction project
■ Several partners of the firm act as arbitrators in investment treaty arbitrations, including as presidents

Dispute Resolution – Litigation: 

12 partners

■ Advising a number of companies and UHNWIs recently targeted by U.S. OFAC sanctions including a group of holding companies in multiple claims amounting to over USD 3.5 billion in a dispute against several banks and consortia
■ Advising an UHNWI and related entities in Swiss civil and criminal proceedings for the recovery of assets as a result of alleged fraud in relation to artwork transactions exceeding one billion US dollars involving several jurisdictions including Switzerland
■ Advising an offshore creditor in enforcing an arbitral award of CHF 241 million in a dispute related to a SPA between two Eastern European companies in the construction sector
■ Representing a number of private clients in mutual legal assistance proceedings initiated by requests of foreign governments to Switzerland in relation to client Swiss banking information, and providing representation in parallel Swiss domestic proceedings

White Collar Crime, Investigations, Regulatory & Compliance: 

8 partners

■ Representing and assisting FIFA in relation to the Lauber, Blatter, Platini cases and in relation to the criminal investigation against its president Gianni Infantino
■ Acting as Swiss Counsel to Koenig & Bauer Banknote Solutions SA (the Swiss high security printing company) in the first self-reporting to and settlement with the Office of the Attorney General in a case of suspected corporate failure to prevent bribery of foreign officials
■ Representing a foreign trust in asset recovery proceedings and investigations related to possible embezzlement and mismanagement by a former director of a trustee
■ Representing a Western Asian trading company in EUR 85 million fraud and embezzlement claims against a Swiss trading company in relation to a soft commodities trade

Banking & Finance:  

7 partners

■ Representing a number of private clients in actions brought against their banks for claims including mismanagement of assets, wrongful execution, fraudulent transfer orders and disputes related to structured and derivative products
■ Acting as Swiss Counsel to the monitor of a major Swiss bank, advising on data protection, banking secrecy, regulatory and criminal law questions arising under the monitorship, including setting up a whistleblowing platform
■ Advising four collective investment schemes in a civil mismanagement claim against a Swiss bank managing the accounts, in relation to substantial losses resulting from excessive leverage and subsequent margin calls

Insolvency: 

7 partners

■ Acting for the administrator of an insolvent foreign bank claiming damages in excess of EUR 400 million in a major fraud case involving various Swiss banks. The case was particularly complex as it was part of an international fraud scheme with over 30,000 individual transactions
■ Representing the Chairman of the board of a Swiss company beneficially owned by a large Russian steel conglomerate in the context of the Swiss company’s bankruptcy proceedings, in both civil and criminal proceedings for offences that include property and bankruptcy felonies

Public International Law: 

11 partners

■ Advising the World Food Program on its institutional structure and governance, its constitutive acts and internal regulations and on international administrative law matters, including privileges and immunities
■ Advising CGIAR, a global partnership uniting international organisations engaged in research on food security, in relation to host state agreements and governing instruments of individual organisations

Private Client: 

5 partners

■ Advising a HNWI domiciled in Switzerland in relation to inheritance and asset structuring issues, including conducting a compatibility assessment of complex and successive trust structures with Swiss heirship rules, locating assets in a number of jurisdictions and subsequently drafting the wills
■ Advising a family office representing the heirs in an international matter involving a USD 30 million estate in several jurisdictions, administrated by a US executor and involving complex issues of trust law and private international law

Art and Cultural Property Law: 

2 partners

■ Advising a UHNWI and its large-scale foundation in setting-up a sophisticated Swiss-based not-forprofit structure dedicated to supporting the art world, building a collection including antiquities and developing provenance and research programmes
■ Advising one of the largest art museums in the US with respect to a USD 374 million loan agreement with the Swiss private collector of the world’s largest art collection in its field in establishing the museum’s liability, responsibility and immunity from seizure

Intellectual Property: 

2 partners

■ Acting as counsel to a global supplier of integrated gambling and gaming systems in a USD 25 million ICC arbitration against an operator in the gaming industry concerning the alleged breach of a limited license for the use of IT products
■ Acting for a luxury car manufacturer in a trademark, copyright and unfair competition infringement case involving the seizing of counterfeit replicas