Firm & Awards

Patricia Guerra, partner and head of the Zurich private client’s team, is featured as an exceptional talent in Switzerland in an article presenting the portraits of the few highly successful female lawyers in Swiss leading business law firms. Andrea Sieber, partner and M&A specialist, is listed as one of the few female lawyers acting on the board of Swiss listed companies.  The article is featured in the 1st September issue of the “Handelszeitung”,  the business newspaper of largest circulation in Switzerland.

“The resume of Patricia Guerra needs space in order to list all her qualifications. She has a broad education, is well-connected, speaks several languages and is one of the few female business lawyers who have been successful in rising up to partner in a top law firm. On a daily basis she needs more than competence and commitment. When she speaks about her work, words like “empathy”, “tact” and “understanding” rise to her lips.

Her clients are wealthy private persons with the highest demands, who need advice in connection with real estate or commercial transactions, taxes and succession and estate planning. They are, however, also confronted with more mundane issues like the loss of a driver’s license. And whatever happens, Guerra handles it. “Don’t worry, I will take care of the problem for you”, she says also when she is needed on a Sunday morning. Always careful about discretion and etiquette, she would never, as common in the business, appear with an attaché case to impress. One of her main challenges is to be empathetic vis-à-vis her clients and at the same time to keep a professional distance. Apparently she is good at it: the British magazine “Citywealth” describes her as one of the most important women worldwide advising wealthy private clients. Such reputation is worth a mint – and the result of hard work. Guerra already knew during her legal studies in Geneva that she wanted to be a partner in a large law firm. She applied for a job at Meyerlustenberger because this law firm had the reputation of being open to women already at the time. Most of the other long-established law firms were male bastions at partnership level into the 90s.“

  Andrea Sieber is a partner specialized in national and cross-border M&A, corporate law, capital market and private equity transactions. In spring 2016 she was appointed to the board of directors of Allreal, a major actor in Swiss real estate, listed on the Swiss stock exchange. Andrea is also serving since 5 years as chairman of the supervisory board of a German company, formerly listed at the German stock exchange. Andrea Sieber has the qualities and qualifications necessary to competently serve on the boards of corporations, thereby strengthening the position of women in business.

Meyerlustenberger Lachenal is highlighted in the article for being from its beginning a leading law firm also in terms of female representation and leadership. Out of the eleven Swiss law firms listed in the article we hold one of the top leading female to male partner ratios.