With some of the cornerstones of Swiss identity – banking and secrecy – under threat, the country’s law firms are caught up in the maelstrom. LB uncovers how Switzerland’s conservative legal community has been responding to the upheaval.
Switzerland recently encountered its most significant period of economic turmoil, and its lawyers are right on the front line. Although the consequences of the financial backlash were largely kept at bay through government intervention, hitherto unknown banking and investor losses were recorded.Defining the rot was UBS, a bank more known for its conservatism than recklessness in the past. Yet UBS turned out to be the shock victim of the credit crunch, incurring huge net losses and writedowns, owed largely to its exposure to the sub-prime industry.
