Zurich-based law firm Froriep has appointed a new managing partner as well as a new head of its Zurich office, finews.com has learned. One of the partners has direct ties to UBS.
Commercial law firm Froriep named Nicola Benz managing partner of its five offices, effective immediately, according to finews.com research. The firm also named Isabelle Romy head of its Zurich practice.
The Scottish-trained Benz was the first lawyer to qualify in Switzerland under bilateral treaties with the European Union. She has been with Froriep for 15 years and is specialized in technology, information, and data protection law, and has been a partner at the firm since 2010.
Benz replaces Catrina Luchsinger Gaehwiler, who held the role for five years and remains a partner at the firm.
UBS Connection
Romy (pictured below), who is specialized in environmental and construction law, is also a board member of UBS, Switzerland's largest bank. She joined Froriep as a partner from Nieder Kraft & Frey five years ago.
Froriep, which is made up of 21 partners in five offices, is one of a handful of go-to Swiss law firms for finance and technology companies. The two sectors are the largest money makers for the firm, which doesn't disclose its revenue, Benz told finews.com.
Late last year, Froriep lost five partners (article in German) and five associates to rival Baker & McKenzie, underscoring the heated competition for legal talent in Zurich.
As finance firms increasingly seek to offshore their back office, issues of data protection loom large.
«The data protection regime in Switzerland will change quite a lot as it already has in Europe with the introduction of fines for breaches and a lot more compliance requirements to set up policies and have procedures in place. I think that’s something that’s going to occupy a lot of companies in the next months and years,» Benz said.
Brexit Fillip?
Froriep, which employs roughly 100 staff overall in Zurich, Geneva, Zug, Madrid and London, is also seeing renewed interest in Switzerland as a place to do business due to uncertainties stemming from Brexit, Benz said.
«We are beginning to see interest reawaken because of the uncertainty around Brexit and what that means,» she said. Potential investors are waiting to see if a popular vote on corporate taxes for foreign firms passes next month.
«If that goes through, it will give another boost to the stability of Switzerland and in that case we expect to see increased interest in Switzerland as a location.»
