Privacy policy

Communication: We process personal data so that we can communicate with you and with third parties, such as parties to proceedings, courts or authorities, by email, telephone, letter or otherwise (e.g. to respond to inquiries, as part of legal advice and representation and to initiate or process contracts). For this purpose, we process in particular the content of the communication, your contact details and the metadata of the communication.

Initiation and conclusion of contracts: With regard to the conclusion of a contract, such as in particular a contract to establish a client relationship, with you or your client or employer, which also includes checking for any conflicts of interest, we may in particular obtain your name, contact details, powers of attorney, declarations of consent, information about third parties (e.g. contact persons, family details and counterparties), contract contents, date of conclusion, creditworthiness data and all other data which you provide to us or which we process or that we collect from public sources or from third parties (e.g. commercial register, credit agencies, sanctions lists, media, legal expenses insurance or from the Internet).

Administration and processing of contracts: We obtain and process personal data so that we can comply with our contractual obligations towards our clients and other contractual partners (e.g. suppliers, service providers, correspondence law firms, project partners) and, in particular, provide and demand the contractual services. This also includes data processing for client management (e.g. legal advice and representation of our clients before courts and authorities and correspondence) as well as data processing for the enforcement of contracts (debt collection, legal proceedings, etc.), accounting and public communication (if permitted). For this purpose, we process in particular the data that we receive or have collected as part of the initiation, conclusion and execution of the contract as well as data that we create as part of our contractual services or that we collect from public sources or from other third parties (e.g. courts, authorities, counterparties, information services, media, detective agencies or from the Internet). This data may include, in particular, minutes of meetings and consultations, notes, internal and external correspondence, contractual documents, documents that we prepare and receive in the context of proceedings before courts and authorities (e.g. statements of claim, appeals and complaints, judgments and decisions), background information about you, counterparties or other persons as well as other mandate-related information, proof of performance, invoices and financial and payment information.

Operation of our website: We also process data via our website. We use cookies for this purpose. We also use a contact form and a data transmission tool. For more information, see section 7.

Security purposes and access controls: We obtain and process personal data in order to ensure and continuously improve the appropriate security of our IT and other infrastructure. This includes, for example, monitoring and controlling electronic access to our IT systems and physical access to our premises, analyzing and testing our IT infrastructures, system and error checks and creating backup copies.

Compliance with laws, directives and recommendations from authorities and internal regulations ("compliance"): We obtain and process personal data to comply with applicable laws (e.g. to combat money laundering, tax obligations or our professional obligations), self-regulation, certifications, industry standards, our corporate governance and for internal and external investigations in which we are a party (to proceedings) (e.g. by a law enforcement or supervisory authority or a commissioned private body).

Risk management and corporate governance: We obtain and process personal data as part of risk management (e.g. to protect against criminal activities) and corporate governance. This includes, among other things, our business organization (e.g. resource planning).

Job application: If you apply for a job with us, we obtain and process the relevant data for the purpose of reviewing the application, carrying out the application process and, in the case of successful applications, for the preparation and conclusion of a corresponding contract. In addition to your contact details and the information from the corresponding communication, we also process the data contained in your application documents and the data that we can additionally obtain about you, e.g. from job-related social networks, the Internet, the media and from references, if you consent to us obtaining references.

Other purposes: Other purposes include, for example, training and education purposes as well as administrative purposes (e.g. bookkeeping). In addition, we may process personal data for the organization, implementation and follow-up of events, in particular participant lists and the content of presentations and discussions, as well as image and audio recordings made during these events. The protection of other legitimate interests is also one of the other purposes, which cannot be listed exhaustively.

From you: You (or your end device) provide us with the majority of the data we process (e.g. in connection with our services, the use of our website or communication with us). You are not obliged to disclose your data, with exceptions in individual cases (e.g. legal obligations). However, if you wish to conclude contracts with us or make use of our services, for example, you must provide us with certain data. The use of our website is also not possible entirely without data processing.

From third parties: We may also obtain data from publicly accessible sources (e.g. debt collection registers, land registers, commercial registers, media or the internet including social media) or receive such data from (i) authorities, (ii) your employer or client who either has a business relationship with us or is otherwise involved with us, as well as from (iii) other third parties (e.g. clients, counterparties, legal expenses insurers, credit reference agencies, address dealers, associations, contractual partners). This includes in particular the data that we process in the context of the initiation, conclusion and execution of contracts as well as data from correspondence and discussions with third parties, but also all other categories of data in accordance with section 3.

Service providers: We work with service providers in Switzerland and abroad who (i) process data on our behalf, (ii) process data that they have received from us or collected for us on their own responsibility or (iii) process data on their own responsibility.

Clients and other contractual partners: This initially refers to clients and other contractual partners of ours for whom the transfer of your data arises from the contract (e.g. because you work for a contractual partner or they provide services for you). This category of recipients also includes entities with which we cooperate, such as other law firms in Switzerland and abroad or legal expenses insurance companies. The recipients generally process the data under their own responsibility.

Authorities and courts: We may disclose personal data to offices, courts and other authorities in Switzerland and abroad if this is necessary for the fulfillment of our contractual obligations and in particular for the performance of our mandate, or if we are legally obliged or entitled to do so or if this appears necessary to protect our interests. These recipients process the data under their own responsibility.

Counterparties and persons involved: Insofar as this is necessary for the fulfillment of our contractual obligations, in particular for the management of the mandate, we also pass on your personal data to counterparties and other persons involved (e.g. guarantors, financiers, affiliated companies, other law firms, persons providing information or experts, etc.).

Other persons: This refers to other cases where the inclusion of third parties arises from the purposes set out in para. 3 results. This concerns, for example, delivery addressees or payment recipients specified by you, third parties in the context of representation relationships (e.g. your lawyer or your bank) or persons involved in official or court proceedings. We may also pass on your personal data to our supervisory authority, in particular if this is necessary in individual cases to release you from our professional confidentiality obligation. If we cooperate with the media and transmit material to them (e.g. photos), you may also be affected. As part of our corporate development, we may sell or acquire businesses, parts of businesses, assets or companies or enter into partnerships, which may also result in the disclosure of data (including your data, e.g. as a client or supplier or as their representative) to the persons involved in these transactions. In the course of communication with our competitors, industry organizations, associations and other bodies, data relating to you may also be exchanged.