Lukas Bühlmann, LL.M.
Partner, Zurich
T +41 58 552 04 80
lukas.buehlmann@mll-legal.com
Profile
Lukas Bühlmann is partner and head of the firm’s digital, data privacy & e-commerce group. He advises and represents a broad range of Swiss and international clients in the internet and e-commerce sector, in the health sector, in the tourism industry as well as for public transport providers. He regularly advises clients in e-commerce, data protection, advertising as well as numerous legal aspects of the digital economy. Lukas Bühlmann has a particularly broad experience in advising clients active in international, cross-border e-commerce as well as legal issues at the interface of competition law and all areas of digital commerce.
Lukas Bühlmann chairs the firm’s ICT practice group comprising lawyers from the firm’s Zurich and Geneva offices. He leads the firm’s e-commerce task force that exchanges and develops know-how within the firm and its network of partner firms. Lukas Bühlmann has particular experience in the sectors of luxury goods, new technology, advertising, media, tourism and retail. He is fluent in German, English and French.
Lukas Bühlmann is a highly recognized expert for the digital and internet economy. In 2019, he has been appointed Legal Expert to the International Trade Centre (Geneva) and advised the ITC as well as a foreign government on legislative projects with regard to data protection as well as cybersecurity. Lukas Bühlmann is also a member of the IBA (Past-Chair Product Law & Advertising Committee) as well as ITechLaw. He serves as a board member of the Swiss Direct Marketing Association responsible for regulation, self-regulation and data protection, legal counsel to the Swiss Distant Selling Association as well as media expert with the Swiss Commission for Fair Advertising. Since its launch in 2012, Lukas has been a member of the jury of the Swiss E-Commerce Award.
Lukas Bühlmann is an author of numerous publications in the field of digital legal matters as well as the editor of one of the leading Swiss online blogs/journals on legal issues in digital business (www.mll-news.com). He regularly speaks at local and international conferences on legal issues within his areas of expertise. He has been listed in all relevant international lawyers rankings: Chambers and Partner Europe, Legal500, Best Lawyers, Who’s Who Legal for several years in a row.
Industry Groups
Special Desks
Rankings & Awards
- “Lukas always provides to-the-point and cost-effective advice” – Chambers and Partners Europe, TMT, 2023
- “He knows this area better than pretty much anyone” – Who’s Who Legal, Global Leader Data Security, 2023
- “Lukas Bühlmann impresses market sources with his advice on digital, e-commerce and data protection law for domestic and international clients” – Who’s Who Legal, Global Leader Telecoms & Media, 2023
- “Lukas Bühlmann has a thorough knowledge of the law and technological developments, is always amiable and identifies his clients’ needs. He is a top TMT lawyer with broad expertise and long experience” – Legal 500 EMEA, TMT, 2022
- “The established Lukas Bühlmann earns acclaim for his leading expertise in licensing, distribution and franchising agreements in Switzerland” – Who’s Who Legal, National Leader Franchise, 2022
- “He is experienced and driven with specific knowledge in the e-commerce industry” – Who’s Who Legal, Global Leader Data Information Technology, 2022
- “Lukas Bühlmann is a top practitioner, frequently sought after by clients in the telecoms and media sectors for his excellent work on e-commerce and data privacy matters” – Who’s Who Legal, Global Leader Telecoms & Media, 2022
- “Lukas has comprehensive know-how of the key issues of data protection law” – Who’s Who Legal, Global Leader Data Privacy & Protection, 2022
- “Lukas Bühlmann really is the go-to person for e-commerce in Switzerland” – Chambers and Partners Europe, TMT, 2022
- “Lukas Bühlmann is an extremely far-sighted lawyer who always tries to keep an eye on the whole picture and take future developments into account. He is very careful in his legal researches and has a deep understanding of economics” – Legal 500 EMEA, TMT, 2022
- “Lukas Bühlmann is an extremely solution-oriented practitioner who strives for the best possible outcome for his clients even in the most complex environments” – Who’s Who Legal, Thought Leaders Data Privacy & Protection, 2021
- “Lukas Bühlmann is recognised as very present in the IT market thanks to his experience handling complex data privacy and protection issues” – Who’s Who Legal, Thought Leaders Data, 2021
- Sources laud Lukas Bühlmann for his “proactive personality, thinking outside the box and pursuing pragmatic approaches” – Chambers and Partners Europe, TMT, 2021
- “Very business oriented; team player” – IFLR 1000, 2021-22
- Lukas Bühlmann is a board member of the Swiss Direct Marketing Association and is responsible for regulation, self-regulation and data protection
- Since its launch in 2012, Lukas Bühlmann has been a member of the jury for the annual Swiss E-Commerce Award
Deals & Cases
- Advice and assistance to a UN-Organization with regard to a project assisting a UN member state modernizing its local data protection laws
- Advising various public transport providers with regard to digitalization strategies, in particular data sharing
- Advising a major online pharmacy in e-commerce and data protection matters
- Advised various clients in the Tourism industry, including tourism destinations, with regard to digitalization, data protection and joint offerings
- Advice to a major public hospital in Switzerland implementing compliance with the GDPR
- Advised a major producer and reseller of jewelry & watches with regard to the launch of their international online business involving the coordination of legal compliance in various jurisdictions
- Advised and represented a major payment service provider in the context of an important data breach case
- Advised various Swiss companies implementing compliance with the new EU regulation on data protection (GDPR)
Education & Admission
- Merger of Bühlmann Attorneys at Law and Meyerlustenberger Lachenal (2017)
- Founding Partner with Bühlmann Attorneys at Law, Zurich (2009 – 2017)
- LL.M. (Master of European Community Law), European Legal Studies, College of Europe, Bruges, Belgium (2002)
- Admitted to the Bar in Switzerland (Zurich, 2001)
- University of Lausanne, lic.iur. (1998)
- University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK (1997)
Memberships and public offices
- International Bar Association (IBA) (Past-Chair Product Law & Advertising Committee)
- Deutsche Gesellschaft für Recht und Informatik (DGRI)
- International Technology Law Association (ITechLaw)
- Swiss Direct Marketing Association, Member of the Board (Regulation and Self-Regulation & Data Protection)
- Swiss Distant Selling Association, Legal Counsel
- Swiss Commission for Fair Advertising, Media Expert
- Swiss Online Award, Jury (Legal & Compliance)
- NetComm Swiss E-Commerce Association
Languages
- German
- French
- English
Publications
Assistants
“Lukas Bühlmann has a thorough knowledge of the law and technological developments, is always amiable and identifies his clients’ needs. He is a top TMT lawyer with broad expertise and long experience”
Publications
Länderreport Schweiz
K&R 1/2023, Kommunikation und Recht, S. 39-42, Januar 2023- DE
Länderreport Schweiz
K&R 9/2022, Kommunikation und Recht, S. 589-591, September 2022- DE
Begriff und Rechtsfolgen des Profilings im nDSG und der DSGVO
Jusletter, 12. September 2022- DE
Gutachten Sekundärnutzung Gesundheitsdaten
Im Auftrag von Interpharma – Verband der forschenden pharmazeutischen Firmen der Schweiz, Gutachten Sekundärnutzung Gesundheitsdaten, Zürich, 26. Juli 2022- DE
- Lukas Bühlmann
- Michael Schüepp
- Max Königseder
- Dr. Ursula Widmer
Firm News
Lukas Bühlmann lectures CAS Data Protection at the University of Zurich
Alpine Privacy Days | 8 – 10 March 2023
MLL Legal at IBA Annual Conference in Miami 2022
Rechtsgutachten für Interpharma zur Schweizer Gesetzgebung über die Weiterverwendung von Gesundheitsdaten in der Schweiz
Legal Opinion for Interpharma on the Swiss Legislation on the Secondary use of health data in Switzerland
News Portal
GDPR Fines: A Graphic Calculation Guide – Part 6
The European Data Protection Board (hereafter ‘EDPB’) has published Guidelines for the calculation of fines under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). In this part 6 of a series of six articles, we will go through how the supervisory authority must consider that the setting of a fine must always ensure that the fine is effective, proportionate and dissuasive with regard to each specific case. In practice, this means the amount of the fine imposed must be tailored to the infringement committed in its specific context.
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GDPR Fines: A Graphic Calculation Guide – Part 5
The European Data Protection Board (hereafter ‘EDPB’) has published Guidelines for the calculation of fines under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). In this part 5 of a series of six articles, we will go through the amount of fines when the turnover is up to €500 million in the previous financial year and more than €500 million in the previous financial year, the notion of “undertaking”, its corporate liability, the Akzo presumption, the determination of the turnover and to whom in an undertaking a fine is addressed.
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GDPR Fines: A Graphic Calculation Guide – Part 4
The European Data Protection Board (hereafter ‘EDPB’) has published Guidelines for the calculation of fines under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The supervisory authority retains the discretion to utilize the full fining range of GDPR fines from a point above € 0,- until the legal maximum, ensuring that the GDPR fine is tailored to the circumstances of the case. The categories for starting amounts of GDPR fines serve as starting points for further calculation of the fines and do not limit the supervisory authorities’ abilities to take into account aggravating and mitigating circumstances to an amount above or below the categories for starting amounts of GDPR fines. In this part 4 of a series of six articles, we will go through how the supervisory authority must consider the aggravating, neutral and mitigating factors (as listed in Article 83(2) GDPR,) for the further calculation of the GDPR fine.
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GDPR Fines: A Graphic Calculation Guide – Part 3
The European Data Protection Board (hereafter ‘EDPB’) has published Guidelines for the calculation of fines under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). In this part 3 of a series of six articles, we will go through how the EDPB identifies a harmonised starting point for the calculation of GDPR fines from which the further calculation should commence.
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GDPR Fines: A Graphic Calculation Guide – Part 2
The European Data Protection Board (hereafter ‘EDPB’) has published Guidelines for the calculation of fines under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). In this part 2 of a series of six articles, we will go through what processing operation(s) and infringement(s) to base the GDPR fines on.
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