Patrick Eberhardt

Patrick Eberhardt focuses on international trade and trade finance and advises banks, traders, logistic companies and insurers in litigious and non-litigious matters.

Patrick was in-house counsel for 12 years at BNP Paribas (Suisse) SA, the market leader in trade finance. Through this experience, he has gained in-depth knowledge on the functioning of banks, including in crises situations.

Patrick has extensive experience in structuring and securing trade finance transactions for oil & gas, metals and soft commodities. He advises on the appropriate title documents (bill of lading, FCR, etc.), storage arrangements (collateral management, stock monitoring, etc.), security structure (pledge, assignment, guarantees, etc.) and payment methods (documentary credits incl. DOCDEX procedures).

Patrick represents banks, insurers and traders in large scale and multi-jurisdictional disputes before state courts and arbitration tribunals against traders, borrowers, ship owners and inspection companies. He also represents his clients in criminal proceedings in trade related matters (mostly fraud).

Patrick equally has a long track record in general banking law (including regulatory and international sanctions), corporate and asset finance and M&A.

Patrick studied law in Berne and Lausanne. He was admitted to the Berne bar in 1996. In 1997, he earned a LL.M. (magna cum laude) in European Union Law at the Katholieke Universiteit of Leuven (Belgium).

Patrick is member of the legal committee of the Banking Commission of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris. The ICC Banking Commission produces universally accepted rules and guidelines for international banking practice such as the UCP 600. It advises policy makers in relation to trade finance and offers a dispute resolution mechanism for documentary credits (DOCDEX).