Lukas Bühlmann, LL.M.

Lukas Bühlmann heads MLL Legal’s Digital, Data Privacy & E-Commerce group and co-chairs the firm’s ICT industry group. He advises boards, executive teams, and general counsel of Swiss and multinational companies on complex data protection (FADP/GDPR), AI governance, e-commerce regulation, and digital transformation matters. Clients turn to Lukas when mandates are cross-border, strategically significant, or operationally complex — and when they need advice that is legally precise, commercially grounded, and practically workable.

His practice covers the full spectrum of Swiss and EU digital law: data protection and privacy (Swiss revDSG/FADP, EU GDPR), AI regulation (EU AI Act), e-commerce, advertising and unfair competition, IT and software contracts, cybersecurity, and platform regulation (DSA, DMA). Lukas brings particular depth to cross-border and multi-jurisdictional matters, consistently advising clients at the interface of competition law and digital commerce — an increasingly critical area as digital markets face intensified regulatory scrutiny.

He advises leading companies across retail, e-commerce, healthcare, tourism, media, luxury goods, and public transport, including global technology companies, healthcare innovators, and major international brands. His mandate experience spans legal structuring of digital business models, data commercialisation, regulatory proceedings before Swiss and EU authorities, and the governance of AI and data strategies at board level.

Before joining MLL Legal in 2017 through the strategic merger of his specialist technology firm Bühlmann Rechtsanwälte, Lukas founded and built a one of Switzerland’s first dedicated digital law boutique – experience that underpins his entrepreneurial perspective and practical understanding of the commercial realities his clients face.

Lukas has been recognised as a leading lawyer in digital and technology law for more than a decade: he is ranked in Chambers Europe (Band 2, TMT), Legal 500 (Leading Individual, TMT and Data Privacy), Best Lawyers, and Who’s Who Legal / Lexology Index Thought Leader. He holds the St. Gallen Board Certificate (CAS HSG, University of St. Gallen) and serves as Legal Expert to the International Trade Centre (ITC) in Geneva, advising the ITC and foreign governments on digitalisation, data protection and cybersecurity legislation within the WTO/UN framework.

In addition to his advisory practice, Lukas brings first-hand governance experience from his service as an independent board member (including Audit and Risk Committee responsibilities), which informs his perspective on oversight, risk, and strategic decision-making.

A recognised thought leader, Lukas co-founded the Alpine Privacy Days and is the founder and a principal contributor to mll-news.com, the firm’s widely read legal news platform. He is a regular speaker at national and international conferences, a member of the International Bar Association (Member, Advisory Board Technology Law Committee; Former Chair, Product Law & Advertising Committee), ITechLaw, and the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham, Legal Chapter). He acts as legal counsel to the Handelsverband.swiss (Swiss Distant Selling Association) and as media expert with the Swiss Commission for Fair Advertising, and has served on the jury of the Swiss E-Commerce Award since its inception in 2012. He is a former Board Member of the Swiss Direct Marketing Association (SDV), responsible for regulation and data protection. Lukas is fluent in German, English, and French.