Patricia Guerra, LL.M.
Partner, Zurich
T +41 58 552 04 60
patricia.guerra@mll-legal.com
Profile
Patricia Guerra is head of the private clients team in Zurich and head of the Latin-America desk of the firm. She has extensive experience in advising UHNW and HNW individuals and families in all personal matters and matters concerning family assets as well as in philanthropic endeavours. Patricia Guerra continuously deals with complex cross border issues and regularly takes on the legal leadership necessary to coordinate teams across various jurisdictions. She is fluent in English, Spanish, German and French and has command of Portuguese and Italian. Patricia is board member of several Swiss charitable foundations and of a Swiss Private Bank. She is furthermore the Honorary Consul of Ecuador in Zürich.
Industry Groups
Country Desks
Rankings & Awards
- “She is purely solutions-driven” – Chambers and Partners, HNW, 2022
- “She has a unique ability to understand complex cross-border situations” – Chambers and Partners, HNW, 2022
- “Her client care is second to none; she is caring, thoughtful and supportive, but also a firm hand when needed” – Chambers and Partners, HNW, 2022
- “Patricia Guerra is immaculate in her dealings with clients. She is empathetic, charming and kind whilst also giving hard advice and a firm steer where needed. She is always a pleasure to work with and a great team player, collating the best advisors for her clients across the spectrum” – Legal 500 EMEA, Private Client, 2022
- “Her grasp of clients’ needs and understanding of complex situations is outstanding” – Legal 500 EMEA, Private Client, 2022
- Patricia Guerra is “an excellent and diligent lawyer who is extremely proactive and cuts right to the point” – Who’s Who Legal, National Leader Private Client, 2022
- Patricia Guerra is “an outstanding lawyer”, revered as “a very capable and pragmatic lawyer” with “a very strong knowledge” of private client practice – Who’s Who Legal, Global Leader Private Client, 2022
- Patricia Guerra is “in the top five list of Swiss practitioners” praise sources who regard her as “an impossible opponent” and “a real asset” who “works hard for her client” – Who’s Who Legal, Thought Leaders Switzerland Private Client, 2021
- Patricia Guerra is an “excellent” private client lawyer, and “one of the best in Switzerland”. She has ample experience with ultra-high-net-worth clients, including on philanthropic issues – Who’s Who Legal, Thought Leaders Private Client, 2021
- “She has so much experience, she understands the unique demands of a high net worth client with family in all different parts of the world. She is able to set out the broad picture for the client and she can coordinate the international advice. She is able to present the complex information from a number of jurisdictions and put it together in a clear and concise way for the client. This is all second nature to her” – Chambers and Partners, HNW, 2021
- “Patricia is a very good lawyer. She is very technically talented, she is very good with clients and she understands the issues of an international client” – Chambers and Partners, HNW, 2021
Deals & Cases
- Advised international family in connection with family governance issues and restructured family assets using a Dutch trust foundation
- Relocated South American UHNWI to Switzerland and restructured the family assets using Canadian International trusts
- Advised UHNWI in connection with complex shareholders agreements, assets in Liechtenstein trusts and estate planning
- Advised clients in connection with transfer of Swiss real estate to common law trusts
- Advised parents in connection with protection of special needs children
Education & Admission
- Admitted to the bar in New York (1992)
- University of Michigan Law School, LL.M. (1990–1991)
- Admitted to the bar in Switzerland (1989)
- University of Geneva, lic. iur. (1987)
Memberships and public offices
- Honorary Consul of Equador in Zurich
- International Bar Association (IBA)
- American Bar Association (ABA)
- Corps Consulaire de Zurich (CCS)
- ProFonds
Languages
- German
- English
- French
- Spanish
Publications
Assistant
“Patricia Guerra is immaculate in her dealings with clients. She is empathetic, charming and kind whilst also giving hard advice and a firm steer where needed. She is always a pleasure to work with and a great team player, collating the best advisors for her clients across the spectrum”
Publications
Covid-19 crisis – Succession planning and planning for incapacity
MLL-News, 17 March 2021- EN
- Patricia Guerra
- Maud Udry-Alhanko
- Joanna Metaxas
Bergos Berenberg Adds Top Lawyer and Banker to Its Board
finews.com, 14 August 2019- EN
Bergos Berenberg: Topbanker und Staranwältin im Verwaltungsrat
finews.ch, 14. August 2019- DE
Lump-Sum Taxation in Switzerland: Recent Developments
Tax planning international. European tax service, volume 14, number 10, October 2012, www.bna.com- EN
- Patricia Guerra
- Barbara Stillhart-Zimmermann
Firm News
Patricia Guerra | Moderator | Private Client Exchange Switzerland 2023
Patricia Guerra will be speaking at the Private Client Forum Americas 2023 in Mexico on 14 February 2023
MLL Legal at IBA Annual Conference in Miami 2022
Chambers High Net Worth Guide 2022 recommends MLL Legal
Patricia Guerra and Julie Wynne will be speaking at the Private Client Forum Americas 2022 in Mexico on 13 and 14 July 2022
News Portal
Covid-19 Crisis – Succession Planning and Planning for Incapacity
The second wave of Covid-19 in the fall of 2020 and the resurgence of the virus in several places in Europe and the world at present, as well as the slow vaccination process, has shown that the virus is not yet under control and that it may still take us a long time to go back to a new normality. The pandemic has given us time to reflect, prioritize and take up projects that were on stand-by because of our busy lives. Many clients have had time to dedicate to solving family matters and have approached us to set up or review their estate planning and to establish mechanisms to protect them and their families in case of incapacity. Broadly speaking, this includes last wills, durable powers of attorney, patient decrees or living wills and any practical or legal measures which can be set up to organise one’s affairs in the event of death or durable incapacity.
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