Profile
Nicolas is an expert in litigation and dispute resolution, handling cases relating typically to banking and asset management, distribution agreements, construction, employment and service agreements, debt and judgement enforcement, asset recovery, bankruptcy and white-collar crime. Besides, he often acts as expert on all kinds of contractual and procedural matters in Swiss and foreign proceedings.
Experience
Nicolas has broad expertise in all aspects of complex domestic and cross-border litigation, including party representation in civil, criminal and administrative matters before all state-court instances and all authorities in Switzerland. Nicolas is also a Professor at the University of Fribourg (Prof. tit.) and Swiss Distance University, teaching Contracts and Roman Law. He has regularly published and is regularly invited to speak on a wide range of contracts topics and is frequently solicited by clients as expert to provide legal opinions on contractual and procedural matters.
Recent experience highlights include advising:
- a maritime tonnage provider in over half bio debt enforcement proceedings in Switzerland
- a company and its beneficial owner in criminal proceedings for alleged over USD 100 million money laundering
- a major insurance company in a construction dispute relating to building of a company’s international HQ
- a French broadcasting company in debt enforcement proceedings relating to license fees
- high net worth Middle East individuals as claimants in anti-money laundering tort proceedings against a financial institution
- represented a worldwide leading German access control and security company in dispute with an exclusive distributor in Turkey
- Swiss Law of Contracts, Zurich 2022
- La responsabilité précontractuelle et le lutteur déçu (ATF 121 III 350) in: Werro/Pichonnaz (edit.), La responsabilité civile en arrêts et une nouveauté législative de taille, Zurich 2022, pp. 91 ff
- La renonciation à invoquer la prescription : le temps d’y renoncer? in: Werro/Pichonnaz (edit.), Le nouveau droit de la prescription, Zurich 2019, pp. 49 ff
- Droit suisse de la faillite internationale : quoi de neuf ? in: Revue Suisse de Jurisprudence 16/17 2019, pp. 499 ff (with Simon Bianchi)
- La pratique des locations Airbnb et la sous-location In: Pichonnaz/Werro (edit.), La pratique contractuelle 6, pp. 57 ff, Geneva et al. 2018
- La responsabilité du propriétaire d’immeuble dans le temps In: Foëx/Hottelier (edit.), Imprescriptibilité, contrôle et responsabilité, Les effets du droit de propriété dans le temps, pp. 113 ff, Geneva et al. 2018
- Loi contre la concurrence déloyale, Commentaire des art. 3 al. 1 let. a à i LCD Martenet/Pichonnaz (edit.), Commentaire romand, Loi contre la concurrence déloyale, Basel 2017
- 30 ans de législation contre la concurrence déloyale : brève étude d’impact sur la construction In: Baurecht-Droit de la construction 2016, pp. 203 ff
- La propriété commune (art. 652-654a CC) In: Foëx/Pichonnaz/Piotet (edit.), Commentaire romand, Code civil II, Basel 2016
- Exercices en droit de la famille In: 2nd ed., Geneva et al. 2010 (co-editor with Pascal Pichonnaz)
- La responsabilité précontractuelle In: Zurich 2007
- Geneva and Swiss Bar Associations
- New York State Bar Association
- International Bar Association
- DRI, For the Defense
French
English
German