Luxembourg-based law firm Leroy & Goldbach is opening an office at Othmarstrasse 8 in Zurich. From there, it will advise Swiss and Liechtenstein asset managers, wealth managers, family offices, pension funds and institutional investors, according to the firm.

The Zurich office will be overseen by the DACH Desk, headed by co-founder and Managing Partner Lissie Goldbach. The advisory offering is intended to cover the entire lifecycle of a fund structure – from structuring and launch to distribution and ongoing operations.

A Bridge Between Zurich and Luxembourg

By establishing a presence in Zurich, the firm is moving closer to its Swiss clients. Luxembourg plays an important role particularly in cross-border fund business. While the Limited Qualified Investor Fund (L-QIF), available since 2024, has made Switzerland’s fund market more flexible for qualified investors, Luxembourg vehicles remain important for cross-border distribution in the EU and for internationally diversified investor bases, according to Leroy & Goldbach.

Goldbach therefore does not see the two fund domiciles as competitors. «The Swiss financial centre and Luxembourg as a fund domicile form one of the most important axes in European asset management,» she says. This relationship is «complementary rather than competitive».

Swiss and Liechtenstein providers could combine their investment expertise and investor relationships with structures that give them access to the European market. With its Zurich office, the firm aims to strengthen professional exchange between the two locations.

Two Founders With International Experience

Leroy & Goldbach was founded by Lissie Goldbach and Virginie Leroy. According to the firm, the two lawyers have together launched more than 100 funds and advised more than 95 fund managers and 35 family offices in over 35 countries.

Goldbach is admitted to practise law in Luxembourg and Germany and previously worked for firms including Allen & Overy, Baker & McKenzie and Pinsent Masons. In addition to heading the DACH Desk, she is responsible for Private Wealth & Family Offices at Leroy & Goldbach.

Leroy is admitted to practise law in Luxembourg, England and Wales, and France. Before founding the firm, she was a partner in Goodwin Procter’s investment funds practice and previously worked at Luxembourg law firm Arendt & Medernach. At Leroy & Goldbach, she heads the French and US Desks.

She also sees the Swiss market as an international crossroads: «Swiss asset management is internationally oriented – in Geneva and French-speaking Switzerland just as much as in Zurich, often combining US investors and European structures.»

From Fund Structuring to M&A

According to the firm, its advisory offering includes regulated and unregulated Luxembourg fund vehicles as well as securitisation platforms, co-investment structures and club deals. It also provides advice in the areas of corporate and M&A, fund financing, regulation and compliance, as well as private wealth and family offices.

On the investor side, Leroy & Goldbach advises, among other things, on legal due diligence, subscription terms and side letters.