The agreement – which covers French speaking Switzerland – is the result of a relationship which began in 2009 but was strengthened in 2010 when the two firms co-created the Legal Counsel Club.

Best practice

The Legal Counsel Club is a forum dedicated to bringing together the general counsel of multinational companies located in the Lake Geneva and Rhones-Alpes region to share best practice, experience and relevant issues.
BCCC is an independent business law firm with 30 lawyers based in Geneva and Lausanne with expertise in industries aligned with Bird & Bird such as TMT, healthcare and life sciences and practices such as employment, corporate and intellectual property.

Arbitration hub

Frédérique Dupuis-Toubol, Bird & Bird's head of France, commented: ‘Switzerland is emerging as a key European arbitration hub, increasing 15 per cent year on year. This, combined with the recently founded Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property, presents great opportunities for us to develop and expand our work in this region.
The agreement is the second for the London firm this year, having earlier signed a cooperation agreement with Australian firm, Truman Hoyle.