Jeremy Lack

Practice Areas

Jeremy Lack is an independent international mediator based in Geneva with over 30 years of experience resolving high-value, multi-jurisdictional commercial disputes. Admitted to the Bars of England & Wales (GB), New York (US) and Geneva (CH), and registered before the United States Patent and Trademark Office, he is regularly appointed in complex cross-border matters, including disputes conducted alongside parallel arbitration or court proceedings.

He has acted as mediator or settlement counsel in more than 400 commercial disputes, with settlement rates exceeding 90%. His matters frequently involve significant financial exposure, board-level and shareholder conflicts, investor-state negotiations, patent and licensing disputes, private equity and venture capital breakdowns, pharmaceutical and technology matters, construction and infrastructure claims, internet and UDRP disputes, and family businesses, trusts & estates, and succession conflicts.

Jeremy is particularly recognised for structuring mixed-mode dispute resolution processes integrating mediation with conciliation, expert determination or arbitration where appropriate, enabling efficient and enforceable outcomes while preserving commercial relationships.

He is an IMI Certified Mediator and Mediation Advocate and serves on the IMI Independent Standards Commission. He sits on several mediation panels in the Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe, including AAA/ICDR, AFIM, AOH Mediación, ASA, BCCI (Mumbai), CEDR, CMAP, CMC, CPR, ECDR, FSM/SDM, Geneva State Council, HUM/CMA, IBMS, IAM, ICC, IFCM, INTA, IMI, JAMS International, Mundi Mediatores, NAI, PMAC, Sage, SCCM/SKWM/CSMC, SIMC, SIMI, SMC and WIPO.

Career

Jeremy began his legal career as a barrister and patent and commercial litigation lawyer with Fish & Neave in New York, following his call to the Bar of England & Wales (Middle Temple) in 1989 and admission in New York in 1990. He subsequently served as International Attorney and IP Counsel with Becton Dickinson & Co in the United States and France.

After relocating to Switzerland, he held senior executive roles including CEO & General Counsel of Novimmune SA and Director & General Counsel of Medabiotech SA, and General Counsel to SonarSource SA and MindMaze Group SA, overseeing governance, intellectual property strategy and international commercial negotiations in the life sciences and technology sectors. He also served as Fractional Chief Legal Counsel for FIND (Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics) and as Ombudsperson to DNDi (Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative).

Jeremy is an independent lawyer and ADR (Appropriate Dispute Resolution) neutral with LAWTECH.CH (Etude de Me Jeremy Lack) in Switzerland. He worked as an associate at Fish & Neave (USA), as international corporare counsel and head of Intellectual Property for Becton Dickinson (US and France), served as counsel to ZPG Avocats, Charles Russell Speechlys, and as a partner at Altenburger legal + tax in Geneva. He currently maintains affiliations with Quadrant Chambers (London, UK) and Helvetica Avocats (Nyon, Switzerland) and serves as an advisor to Aina Blankson (Lagos, Nigeria). He is the founder and Managing Director of InnovADR SA, and co-founder of Neuroawareness Consulting Services.

He holds degrees in jurisprudence and physiological sciences from the University of Oxford, Lincoln College, and in EU competition law and comparative copyright laws from King’s College London.

Professional Memberships

RANKINGS & DISTINCTIONS

• Ranked by Who’s Who Legal / Lexology as a National Leader in Mediation since 2010

• Listed among the Ten Most Highly Regarded Mediators (2011)

• Recognised as one of the Most Highly Regarded Firms for Mediation (2012–2013)

• Designated Global Elite Thought Leader (2019–2026)

• Ranked as a Global Market Leader – Mediators, Chambers & Partners Global Guide 2026

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS & LEADERSHIP ROLES

• Co-President, Association Francophone Internationale de Médiation (AFIM)

• Member, Commission de Médiation, Republic & Canton of Geneva

• Member, Commission ADR, Ordre des Avocats de Genève (OdAGe)

• Member, Independent Advisory Committee and several taskforces of the International Mediation Intitute (IMI)

• Former Vice-Chair, Independent Standards Commission – International Mediation Institute (IMI)

• Past Co-Chair, International Committee – ABA Dispute Resolution Section

• Former Member, Practices & Standards Committee; Former Chair, Mediation Subcommittee – CIArb

• Former President (Section Romande) – Swiss Chamber of Commercial Mediation

• Executive Committee Member – Section of International Lawyers, Geneva Bar

• Global Negociation Insight Initiative (GNII) and NCMG International

INTERNATIONAL MEDIATION & ADR PANEL APPOINTMENTS / MEMBERSHIPS

• AAA/ICDR (American Arbitration Association / International Center for Dispute Resolution, US)

• AFIM (Association Francophone Internationale de Médiation, CH)

• AOH Mediación (ES)

• ASA (Swiss Arbitration Association, CH)

• BCCI (Bombay Chamber of Commerce & Industry, IN)

• CEDR (Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution, GB)

• CMAP (Centre de Médiation et d'Arbitrage de Paris, FR)

• CMC (Civil Mediation Council, GB)

• CPR (International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution, US)

• ECDR (European Centre for Dispute Resolution, SI)

• FSM/SDM (Fédération Suisse Médiation, CH)

• Geneva State Council – Mediation Commission (CH)

• HUM/CMA (Hrvatska Udruga za Mirenje / Croatian Mediation Association, HR)

• IBMS (AT)

• IAM (International Academy of Mediators, US)

• ICC (International Chamber of Commerce, FR)

• IFCM (Institut Français de Certification des Médiateurs, FR)

• IMI (International Mediation Institute, NL)

• INTA (International Trademark Association, US)

• JAMS International (US)

• Mundi Mediatores (NL)

• NCMG (Negotiation & Conflict Management Group, NG)

• NAI (Netherlands Arbitration Institute, NL)

• PMAC (Patent Mediation & Arbitration Centre, EU)

• Sage (SG)

• SCCM / SKWM / CSMC (CH)

• SMC (Singapore Mediation Centre, SG)

• SIMC (Singapore International Mediation Centre, SG)

• SIMI (Singapore International Mediation Institute, SG)

• WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization, WO)

Publications

Jeremy has published extensively on international dispute resolution, mixed-mode processes, mediation advocacy and investor-state dispute resolution. His work has appeared in:

Dispute Resolution International · Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution · Nature Biotechnology · Transnational Dispute Management · Who’s Who Legal · Intellectual Property Magazine · Kluwer Law International · Eleven International Publishing · Fordham Papers.

A full list of publications is available at: https://lawtech.ch/publications-videos/.

Languages Spoken

English (bilingual)

French (bilingual)

Spanish (fluent)

Hebrew (working proficiency)

Italian and German (basic conversational)

Industry Sector Expertise

Jeremy Lack has experience mediating and advising on disputes across a broad range of sectors, including:

• Life Sciences & Healthcare – Pharmaceutical, biotech and medtech disputes, product launches, licensing agreements, regulatory matters and research collaborations

• Technology & Intellectual Property – Patent and trademark disputes, technology transfer, software and ICT conflicts, internet and UDRP matters, copyright and multimedia disputes

• Private Equity & Venture Capital – Investment breakdowns, shareholder disputes, exit conflicts, governance and board-level disputes

• Corporate & Commercial – Joint ventures, strategic alliances, M&A disputes, distribution and agency agreements, finance and banking matters

• Family Businesses & Succession – Trusts and estates, intra-family governance disputes, succession planning conflicts

• Construction & Infrastructure – Industrial construction, engineering, shipping and trading disputes

• Investor-State & Public Sector – Investor-state negotiations, inter-governmental and NGO-related disputes

• Sports, Media & Entertainment – Sponsorship, licensing and contractual disputes

• Global Health & Non-Profit Sector – Governance and partnership disputes involving international organisations and foundations

Jeremy regularly handles matters involving cross-border elements, multi-party structures and parallel arbitration or court proceedings.