Sébastien Besson

Patrick W. Vogel is a partner with Walder Wyss. He specializes in corporate law, as well as in banking and finance. He advises domestic and foreign companies on mergers and acquisitions and private equity transactions. With an education in both business and economics (HEC Lausanne) and law, he began his career by working for several years as an associate in the busy corporate finance departments of two pre-eminent US law firms in New York. Patrick Vogel has advised numerous clients on cross-b...

Diana Akikol represents our clients in complex commercial arbitrations and regularly sits as an arbitrator, often as president. She has been involved in more than 65 arbitrations seated in a number of jurisdictions and involving claims governed by various national laws. Her expertise extends to both institutional arbitrations (e.g. Swiss Rules, ICC, LCIA and DIS Rules) and ad hoc arbitrations (including UNCITRAL proceedings). Diana Akikol acts as counsel or arbitrator in all types of contract...

Partner Olivier Carrard mainly focuses on Sports law, litigation, arbitration, commercial law, construction law, inheritance law and bankruptcy. Graduated from the University of Fribourg (1982), he was admitted at the Geneva Bar in 1985. He worked at the General Direction of SBS (Basel). He founded his own firm in 1990, and joined ZPG as a partner in 2005, which merged with CMS in 2014. Olivier Carrard is now a Partner of CMS Geneva office. Since January 1st 2016, he has been appointed in 98 ...

Michel Abt is the co-head of the Tax Group and a member of the Banking & Finance Group. He advises both natural persons and legal entities such as banks, family offices and trusts, as well as investors and administrators whether in Switzerland or abroad, with a specific emphasis on asset holding structures. Since 2009, Michel Abt has been advising a large number of French clients in their regularization process and has assisted them with their tax optimisation. He thus addresses all tax m...

Jérôme Levrat specialises in corporate law, private equity, venture capital, M&A and commercial matters. He regularly advises funds and companies (including in the industrial, distribution, health care and life sciences, finance and energy sectors) in international and national M&A and private equity transactions, and routinely represents investors and start-ups in venture capital investments and financial rounds. Jérôme also has solid experience in regard to...

Christian Lüscher mainly focuses on litigation, banking and commercial law, construction law, landlord-tenant disputes, white collar crime, and international judicial assistance in civil and criminal matters. He was admitted at the Geneva Bar in 1990, and attended law school in the United States graduating as a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from Tulane Law School in 1991. He founded his own firm in 1994, and joined ZPG as a partner in 2005, which merged with CMS in 2014. In 2001, he was elected...

Etienne von Streng is a co-founder of Streng SA, a tax law firm based in Geneva, Switzerland. Etienne received his law degree from the University of Lausanne (Switzerland), was admitted to the Zurich bar, and holds a Certified Tax Expert diploma. Etienne advises on Swiss and international tax matters for companies including listed and private multinationals, high net worth individuals, entrepreneurs, and families. His expertise includes in general tax optimization, frequent negotiations with ...

Jean-Luc Bochatay is the cofounder and the chairman of the FBT Attorneys-at-law. He has broad experience in tax, finance and corporate commercial issues regarding Swiss and foreign corporations and their shareholders. He regularly advises individuals and corporate clients on complex domestic and cross-border matters. Jean-Luc Bochatay has extensive experience in handling and coordinating multi-jurisdictional projects. He is considered as a leading expert in Swiss-French regulatory and tax mat...

Rayan Houdrouge advises and represents Swiss and multinational companies as well as international organizations on all employment law matters. He has an extensive experience in executive transfers, compensation packages, work regulations, internal audits and collective procedures such as business transfers and collective dismissals. Rayan Houdrouge is also an accredited social security expert (Swiss federal certificate) and regularly assists clients in matters related to social security and p...

Christophe Buchwalder is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Banking and Finance Law, Corporate Law and Mergers and Acquisitions Law. Christophe, who practices law in Geneva, Switzerland, has been recognized since 2014. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Christophe is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.