The lawyers of commodity trading

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Commodity trading has given rise in Geneva to a legal specialism. The law firms of the centre have built teams devoted to international sales contracts, trade finance, security over goods, transport, sanctions, compliance and arbitration, which advise trading houses, banks and insurers and appear before arbitral tribunals and state courts.¹ This specialism draws on Swiss law, the English law of sale and charterparty contracts, the international conventions on the sale of goods and on carriage, the rules of the International Chamber of Commerce and the laws of the producing countries. It requires the languages that Part J has described.

The criminal cases of the 2010s and 2020s, traced in Part H, added a further dimension: the criminal defence of companies and their executives, internal investigations, negotiations with Swiss and foreign prosecuting authorities, and the design of compliance programmes. Geneva’s trading lawyers have thus moved from the contract to the courtroom. Their experience constitutes a component of the cluster that competing centres have not yet built up. It draws to Geneva litigation and advisory work concerning flows organised elsewhere and contributes to the legal centre described in Part F.

Notes

The Legal 500, ranking “Banking and finance: Geneva” (my.legal500.fr): Lenz & Staehelin and Schellenberg Wittmer in the first tier; Bär & Karrer, FBT, HFW, MLL Legal, Pestalozzi and Walder Wyss in the second; HFW is singled out for its knowledge of commodity trading and structured finance (Olivier Bazin, Jason Marett), Eversheds Sutherland for trade finance; HFW, page “Geneva” (hfw.com): an office of some twenty lawyers devoted to the international sale of goods, shipping, trade finance, sanctions and compliance. ↩

For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of September 2025.

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Dr Alexander Ressos, TEP

Rechtsanwalt/Attorney-at-Law

I am a Swiss attorney-at-law and also admitted as a solicitor in Hong Kong and in England & Wales, with almost 25 years of experience.

Together with my multilingual team, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Ukrainian and French native speakers, I advise companies and their owners from around the world on the full range of banking, corporate, commercial and tax law matters in Switzerland, including international tax planning, fiduciary services, and legal family office services including immigration & relocation or real estate investments. My practice has a particular focus on clients from growth and frontier markets in Greater China, Central Asia and the Caucasus, the rest of Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, and I equally advise clients from Europe and North America. Through an affiliated Swiss trust company, we also take care of the incorporation and ongoing administration of their companies and other structures, including accounting, tax returns and corporate secretarial services, and I serve as a professional director where required. With the support of a network of first-class cooperation partners, I also implement solutions worldwide.

My approach is to act as a trusted advisor who works directly with decision-makers, on an equal footing: I start from what you want to achieve and shape every structure, contract and tax decision around your commercial goals and how it improves your after-tax return. As “lawyers who make it happen”, my team and I stay involved until your company is set up, your structure is in place and your transaction has closed, and we remain available for any follow-on work that may be required. You benefit from bespoke solutions and personal attention, and sound, friendly and practical advice. We are not the lowest-cost provider in the market, nor do we intend to be; our aim is to deliver well-founded, proper solutions and excellent value for money.

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The lawyers of commodity trading

Notes

Setting up or expanding in Switzerland?