Andrea Schäffler | “IP in Focus: New Challenges, Perspectives and Opportunities” | 3 April 2025 | Munich, Germany
Andrea Schäffler, Senior Associate at MLL Legal, will be speaking at the upcoming Hybrid IP Conference organised by Anaqua and BVMW on Thursday, 3 April 2025 in Munich, Germany.
Kilian Schärli | Lexology European Awards 2025 | London
We are delighted to announce that Kilian Schärli, Managing Partner at MLL Legal, has been awarded Banking Fintech & Blockchain Lawyer of the Year at the Lexology European Awards 2025.
International Women’s Day 2025: Celebrating Accelerated Action at MLL Legal
To celebrate International Women’s Day 2025, themed Accelerate Action, MLL Legal hosted an inspiring workshop for all our colleagues, showcasing our commitment to health and well-being.
IBA Conference | Lukas Bühlmann | Cybersecurity Due Dilligence | Geneva | 13 March 2025
Lukas Bühlmann will be speaking at the International Bar Association M&A in the Tech Sector Conference, co-moderating a roundtable discussion on cybersecurity due diligence.
MLL Legal Advises Validation Cloud AG in its Series A Financing and Prior Convertible Loan Financing
Validation Cloud AG, Zug, Switzerland, a leading Web3 data and AI company, recently announced closing of a further financing round of USD 15m in several closings.
For many companies the 2024 financial year ended on 31 December 2024. With the end of the financial year, it is once again time to prepare for the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (AGM), which takes place every year. By law, the AGM must take place within the first 6 months of the new financial year. For companies whose financial year ends on 31 December, this period therefore runs until 30 June. The Board of Directors is responsible for convening and organising the AGM. It must pass the necessary resolutions and make the necessary preparations so that the AGM can pass valid resolutions. This article addresses selected aspects of the preparation and organisation of the AGM of companies whose annual financial statements are subject to audit.
Revision of the Swiss Sustainability Reporting Framework: New Requirements for Companies
The Swiss Federal Council has proposed new sustainability reporting requirements to align with EU regulations, set to take effect in 2026. These new requirements will substantially expand the scope of companies required to report on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) matters, introduce stricter disclosure standards, and mandate transition plans for net-zero emissions. Meanwhile, the European Commission has proposed significant reductions in sustainability reporting obligations under the CSRD and the CSDDD, which could influence Switzerland’s final implementation of its own framework.
Regulatory developments on sustainability in the EU and Switzerland
What is it all about? Briefly summarised
1. Increasing regulation of sustainability reporting
Both in the European Union (EU) and in Switzerland, the disclosure obligations of companies in the context of sustainability reporting (or non-financial reporting) are becoming increasingly more stringent and comprehensive. For example, large public companies, banks and insurance companies in Switzerland have been required to publish a non-financial reportsince 1 January 2024 as part of the implementation of the indirect counter-proposal to the Responsible Business Initiative (Konzernverantwortungsinitiative).
At the same time, a further, much more comprehensive wave of regulation was launched in the EU with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) with effect from 1 January 2024. The CSRD sustainability information must be published in the management report as part of the annual report and audited by an independent audit firm. On 24 May 2024, the EU Council then adopted the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), which obliges companies to identify, assess and mitigate sustainability risks in their value chains. Swiss companies are also directly or indirectly affected by the CSRD and the CSDDD.
Against this background, Switzerland feels compelled to keep pace with the rapidly advancing international regulatory developments. On 26 June 2024, the Federal Council initiated a consultation procedure with the aim of adapting the current Swiss provisions on sustainability reporting to the CSRD.
2. Swiss companies with a larger EU footprint already affected from 2025
For Swiss parent companies (with an EU net turnover of at least EUR 150 million and a relevant EU subsidiary or branches with an EU net turnover of at least EUR 40 million), the reporting obligation under the CSRD generally does not apply until the financial year 2028. However, for large EU companies, i.e. from a Swiss perspective at the level of large EU subsidiaries, the disclosure obligations under the CSRD will already apply from the 2024 financial year (companies that were already required to report under NFRD) or from the 2025 financial year. From the 2026 financial year, all companies based in the EU (including unlisted companies) must report in accordance with the CSRD, regardless of their legal form and the registered office of any parent company, if two of the following three criteria are met:
Average of at least 250 employees during the financial year;
Balance sheet total over EUR 25 million;
Turnover in excess of EUR 50 million.
Even smaller Swiss companies that do not fulfil the above-mentioned requirements may nevertheless soon be indirectly affected by the reporting obligations under the CSRD. In particular, they are subject to certain disclosure requirements if they are part of the supply chain of a company subject to reporting obligations, which must disclose comprehensive information, including in relation to their supply chain.
3. Start analysing now, ensure time for any extensive preparation
In order to have revisable processes and systems in place in good time to collect all the necessary qualitative and quantitative sustainability information, extensive preparatory work is required depending on the initial situation. We therefore recommend that you analyse your group structure, strategy and business model as well as your customer relationships and supply chain at an early stage with a view to the requirements under EU and Swiss law. The first priority is to determine whether and from when your company falls within the scope of the reporting obligations or whether at least a partial reduction of the operational burden in connection with reporting is possible based on an exemption. Based on this, a step-by-step procedure for the implementation and realisation of reporting (possibly already oriented towards the CSRD) should be defined.
The future of sports arbitration: the ISU v. Commission judgment and its impact on CAS arbitration
In the previous blog of the MLL’s Sports Law Blog Series, we delved into the unique aspects of dispute resolution during the Olympic Games and highlighted some notablehigh–profile cases.In this final part of the three-part series, we take a look at the future of sports arbitration.
On 21 December 2023, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) issued a landmark ruling (C-124/21 P), which could have a considerable impact on the future of sports arbitration, particularly with regard to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
This decision underscores the commitment from the highest EU judicial instances – as already demonstrated with the 2018 Achmea decision (C-284/16) – to ensure the effective application of EU law through proper judicial review and therefore undermining the existence of international arbitration
The judgment is expected to have far-reaching implications, particularly in situations where the arbitration clauses of sports federations – such as those providing arbitration before the CAS – are challenged on the grounds of EU law. This development could reshape the landscape of sports arbitration, especially in cases involving EU-related issues.
2025 Safe Harbour Interest Rates for Swiss Tax Purposes
On 27 and 28 January 2025, the Swiss Federal Tax Administration published the 2025 editions of the two circulars on safeharbour interest rates.The Administration uses the 5-year SWAP rates and the yield on long-term bonds in the various currencies as a basis, which rebounded at the end of 2024despitecentral bank rate cuts. For this reason, compared to 2024, the safe-harbour interest rates are falling only for CHF denominated loans, while they remain the same for EUR (2.50 %) and USD loans (4.25 %) and are rising for GBP (4.50 %) and JPY loans (1.25 %).
“I can tell you that it is my number-one go-to firm in Switzerland”
“Extremely pragmatic and commercial, they provide really practical solutions, having the best European lawyers in FinTech”
“The MLL data privacy and data protection practice group combines excellent legal expertise with an understanding of the business needs of their clients. Also, I could observe a lot of team spirit, diversity, and joy amongst the different team members. This is key to me”
“Thanks to the merger between Meyerlustenberger Lachenal and Floriep we now benefit from a large group of very skilled and specialised partners and associates. As the firm is fully integrated, we are always referred to the best specialist and the partners really work as one team”
“They have the high competency to handle complex real estate matters, and they find the best solution for us as a client”
This website cannot be displayed correctly because you are using
Internet Explorer. For optimal viewing and security, please use Chrome,
Firefox or Edge.