News | 04 September 2018

LALIVE opens in London

London office to focus on international commercial arbitration, investment treaty arbitration and public international law

Leading international law firm LALIVE has announced today that it has received regulatory approval from the Solicitors Regulation Authority of England and Wales to open an office in London. Located at 25 Eastcheap in the heart of the City, the office will be led by a two-partner team comprising Marc Veit and Timothy Foden as well as by highly reputed arbitration and public international law practitioner Dr Veijo Heiskanen, who will share his time between Geneva and London.

The focus of the London office will be international commercial arbitration, investment treaty arbitration and public international law, areas of particular strength for the firm and key strategic importance to its clients. While LALIVE does not intend to practice English court litigation, having a presence in London will increase the firm’s interaction with the common law world. The new office will also enable the firm to generate more inbound litigation and white-collar crime instructions, including investigations, asset tracing and private wealth, for its team based in Switzerland by strengthening relationships with English and US law firms based in the City.

Other renowned arbitration partners at LALIVE, namely Domitille Baizeau and Noradèle Radjai, will spend considerable time in London to help drive growth. The new office will also work seamlessly with the firm’s 45-strong team of full-time arbitration lawyers qualified in 16 jurisdictions. They include a number of leading figures at partner level, eight of whom are qualified to practice English law, including Domitille Baizeau and Noradèle Radjai. The firm’s intention is for the London-based team to grow steadily over time.

Marc Veit joined LALIVE in 2014. He has extensive experience in complex international arbitrations (both commercial and investment treaty) and litigation matters, in particular multi-jurisdictional disputes. His expertise spans across various industries, including energy, natural resources, construction, telecommunications, and new technologies. Marc also represents parties before the Swiss Federal Supreme Court in setting aside proceedings. He is ranked as a leading lawyer by the main legal directories in the field of arbitration and litigation.

Timothy Foden joined LALIVE in 2018. His practice focuses on investor-treaty and complex commercial arbitrations in the mining and energy sectors, with additional experience in technology licensing, commodities and hospitality. Prior to joining LALIVE, Timothy worked as Of Counsel in the International Arbitration Group at leading US law firm Quinn Emmanuel. He has been recognised by leading legal directories as a “Rising Star in International Arbitration” for the past two years. Tim is dual qualified in the US and England and Wales.

Domitille Baizeau, LALIVE Co-Managing Partner, comments:

“London will always be a key strategic hub in dispute resolution, not only for our clients but also for many of the leading international law firms with whom we have strong referral relationships. By having a high-quality presence in the City we will be better positioned to secure more in bound Swiss disputes work from existing clients and contacts with interests in the UK. This is an important step for the entire firm.”

Marc Veit, London Partner, adds:

“Our London office opening is all about playing to our strengths. LALIVE is recognised as one of the world’s leading disputes firms, particularly in the area of international arbitration, both commercial and investment, which will be a core focus for us. Our international arbitration group comprises approximately 45 full time arbitration lawyers and is currently handling over 140 international disputes, with a total amount at stake of over US$22 billion. In addition, with Veijo Heiskanen’s involvement, we believe that our presence in London will enable us to further grow the firm’s renowned practice in public international law matters. Timothy and I have extremely complementary skill-sets and have strong relationships with both clients and law firms with interests in the City. We very much look forward to this new and exciting challenge.”

NOTES TO EDITORS

LALIVE is an international law firm with offices in Geneva, Zurich and London. We are renowned for our expertise in international legal matters, in particular international dispute resolution.

With 70 lawyers including 20 partners speaking over sixteen languages, we operate on a worldwide basis, with a particular emphasis on Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia, Africa and South America. Our clients include multinationals, small and medium-sized enterprises, HNWIs, banks, financial institutions, investment funds, not-for-profit corporations, foundations, public sector entities, regulatory authorities, governmental agencies, State and international organisations.

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