Other Legal Services

Dispute boards have become an increasingly popular feature of major infrastructure and energy projects worldwide. Their growing adoption reflects the construction industry’s recognition that timely resolution of disputes is critical to keeping projects on track and controlling costs. Under the FIDIC 2017 contracts in particular, the standing DAAB has become a standard mechanism, tasked not only with resolving disputes but also with assisting parties in avoiding them altogether.

Adjudication procedure is designed to provide rapid, binding—but not final—decisions on disputes arising during the life of a project. Unlike arbitration, where proceedings can take years, adjudication under FIDIC contracts is measured in weeks. This speed is both the defining advantage and the defining challenge: parties must be able to present highly complex technical and legal issues within tight timelines, supported by clear evidence and concise argumentation.

Our team is adept at managing this compressed process. We bring the discipline of international arbitration advocacy to adjudication, while tailoring our approach to the urgency and procedural particularities of construction disputes. We are experienced in working closely with technical experts, managing large volumes of project documentation, and framing submissions that address both the contractual framework and the practical realities of project execution.

Restitution

We have extensive experience in restitution matters, a highly specialised field of law that sits at the crossroads of property law, international dispute resolution, and historical justice. We represent individuals, families, and institutions in claims arising from past dispossessions, particularly those connected to expropriation, confiscation, or dormant assets. Our lawyers have been directly involved in proceedings before the German Ausgleichs- und Restitutionsausschuss für Vermögensfragen (ARoV), handling complex land restitution claims involving complex evidentiary and legal issues. We have also acted before the Claims Resolution Tribunal for Dormant Accounts in Switzerland. Restitution claims often require the reconstruction of events that occurred decades earlier. This involves tracing chains of ownership, navigating incomplete or fragmented archives, and engaging with historical experts to substantiate claims. Beyond technical expertise, restitution cases demand sensitivity to the human dimension. They frequently involve profound personal and historical narratives, and achieving recognition through legal processes can carry symbolic weight in addition to material value. We understand this dual dimension and tailor our approach accordingly, combining the efficiency of modern dispute resolution with respect for the significance of each claim. Our Geneva base places us at the heart of international legal practice, giving us unique proximity to institutions and archives relevant to restitution cases. Whether before national courts, arbitral bodies, or specialised tribunals, we are well placed to guide clients through the challenges of asserting restitution rights, securing both procedural fairness and meaningful outcomes.

Class Actions and Mass Claims

We have significant experience in handling large-scale disputes involving multiple claimants, where effective case management, procedural strategy, and evidentiary coordination are crucial to success.

Our lawyers have acted in landmark proceedings, including one of the largest medical malpractice case in Denmark. In that case, we represented over 700 victims of steroid-induced osteoporosis, managing extensive medical evidence, expert testimony, and the challenges of presenting a unified claim on behalf of a large and diverse group of clients.

Mass claims and class actions present unique challenges. They require robust systems for client coordination, clear communication across large groups, and the ability to distill individual grievances into common legal and factual issues that can be advanced efficiently in court. The evidentiary burden is significant, often involving thousands of documents, multiple expert witnesses, and complex causation analyses.

Beyond national litigation, we recognise that collective redress mechanisms are becoming increasingly relevant in international contexts, particularly in consumer protection, investor disputes, competition law, and human rights-related claims. We are well positioned to advise on strategy, admissibility, and enforcement in multi-jurisdictional proceedings, where coordination across legal systems is essential.

We have decades of experience in advising and representing clients in civil and commercial matters before the courts of Geneva, and in other Swiss cantons. This includes debt enforcement, freezing measures, and other interim relief. We have particular expertise in Swiss litigation concerning international arbitration, including support from the Swiss courts for the constitution of the arbitral tribunal, the setting of the seat within Switzerland, challenges to arbitral jurisdiction, actions to set aside arbitration awards, and the enforcement of Swiss and foreign arbitration awards.

Landolt & Koch can assist you in drafting commercial contracts in a wide variety of sectors.

We have extensive experience of drafting of contracts for sales of goods, telecommunications, distribution and agency agreements, consultancy agreements, franchise agreements, service agreements, employment agreements, joint venture agreements, loan agreements, shareholders and other corporate-law agreements, settlement agreements, construction and engineering law agreements, security agreements, commercial leases, transport agreements including by ship and by road, manufacturing agreements, and guaranties, and many other types of agreements.

We are positioned to advise on competition law aspects of these agreement, and on the application of other public interest norms around the globe.

Naturally, we have particularly strong expertise in dispute settlement clauses.

Since we are knowledgeable of both common law and civilian law systems we can provide you with strategic advice as to what applicable law would best serve your purposes, and what the risks and rewards may be.