Lenz & Staehelin

About Lenz & Staehelin

Lenz & Staehelin is the largest law firm in Switzerland, with offices in Zurich, Geneva, and Lausanne, and a private client practice that benefits from the firm's broader strengths in banking, tax, and corporate law. The Zurich private wealth team advises international UHNW families on estate and succession planning, trust and foundation structuring in Swiss and offshore jurisdictions, asset protection, and the governance of family businesses. Lenz & Staehelin's integration with its market-leading banking and finance practice means that private clients receive advice that accounts for the financial regulatory environment in which their assets are held, a dimension that private-client boutiques can overlook. The firm's private client partners are consistently ranked in Chambers HNW, and the firm's scale allows it to field multi-disciplinary teams for the most complex multi-jurisdictional mandates.

Known For

• The largest law firm in Switzerland by headcount, with offices in Geneva, Zurich and Lausanne
• Private client practice ranked in the top tier by Chambers HNW alongside top-tier banking, tax and corporate practices
• Advises international families on Swiss residence, lump-sum taxation, trusts, foundations and succession
• Frequently instructed on the Swiss aspects of multi-jurisdictional estate planning and family business succession

Typical Mandate

Lenz & Staehelin is engaged by international families and family offices with a Swiss connection: relocation to Switzerland under lump-sum taxation, structuring the holding of Swiss real estate, estate and succession planning involving Swiss and offshore trusts or foundations, and succession within family-owned businesses. Because banking and tax are core practices, the firm is also instructed where a family's assets are held with Swiss private banks and regulatory questions arise. Mandates often involve coordinating with foreign counsel.

How to Engage

Instructions typically arrive through Swiss private banks, trustees or the family's home-country lawyers, although the firm accepts direct inquiries via its website. Choose the Geneva or Zurich office based on where the family's advisers and banks sit. A concise summary of residence, citizenship, asset locations and the immediate question allows the firm to assign the right partner. Client identification and conflict checks precede any substantive advice.

Frequently Asked Questions