New Counsel and Partner as of 2021
Pestalozzi Attorneys at Law has promoted Christine Moehler to Counsel and Lukas Rusch to Partner, both members of the Litigation & Arbitration group in Zurich. Christine Moehler and Lukas Rusch are promoted from their roles as senior associates. The appointments take effect on 1 January 2021.
"Christine and Lukas are brilliant lawyers whose commitment and client-focus are outstanding. They are two indispensable members of our first-class litigation and arbitration team" says Pestalozzi Partner Michael Kramer, Head of Litigation & Arbitration.
"Their promotion reflects Pestalozzi's commitment to invest in the next generation of forward-thinking and business-focused advisers" comments Pestalozzi Partner Florian Mohs.
Christine Moehler - new Counsel
Christine Moehler specializes in national and international litigation and arbitration, with a particular focus on disputes relating to energy and commodities, construction, life sciences and financial services. Christine represents parties in state court litigations, acts as counsel in arbitration proceedings (institutional and ad hoc) and serves as arbitrator. She has Swiss / New Zealand dual nationality and frequently lectures and publishes in her field.
Christine was one of Pestalozzi's lawyers defending the owner of a casino in a billion-dollar licensing dispute against the State of Palestine. She represented a Swiss company in a post-acquisition arbitration under the Swiss Rules in the engineering sector. She acted as Sole Arbitrator in an ad hoc arbitration regarding the acquisition of a restaurant chain, and in a DIS arbitration concerning a shareholder dispute in the travel industry.
Christine has over 10 years of experience in dispute resolution and is a native speaker of English. She joined Pestalozzi in 2007, worked at leading international law firms in Sydney and acted as Adviser on International Legal Matters at the Permanent Mission of Liechtenstein to the UN in New York. She holds a doctorate in law (summa cum laude) from the University of Lucerne and is a lecturer for the LL.M. program of the University of Zurich.
"I congratulate Christine on her promotion. She is an outstanding lawyer, well organized and with long-standing experience in arbitration" says Knut Kaasen, professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Oslo, arbitrator and former Norwegian Supreme Court Justice.
"Christine is brilliant, precise, and always helpful. Congratulations on her promotion and I am confident of many more achievements as she reaches her full potential in the field of arbitration" says Abraham D. Sofaer, former legal adviser to the US Department of State, arbitrator and George P. Shultz Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University.
Lukas Rusch - new Partner
Lukas Rusch specializes in national and international litigation and arbitration. He has particular experience in complex construction and infrastructure, post-M&A, energy, commodity and trade, banking and insurance, pharmaceutical, as well as investor-state disputes. Lukas regularly speaks and publishes in his area of expertise.
Lukas was part of the firm's team who represented the Republic of India in an investment dispute against Deutsche Telekom before the Swiss Federal Supreme Court. He is also one of the counsels for the French construction company Bouygues in a large post-M&A dispute against the Swiss energy company Alpiq before the Swiss Chambers, which has been recently settled.
Before joining Pestalozzi in 2010, Lukas worked at leading international law firms in Princeton, Washington (DC) and London. Lukas is vice-president of the AIJA (International Association of Young Lawyers) International Arbitration Commission and he serves as a regional representative for the DIS40 (German initiative of young arbitration practitioners).
Clifford Chance partner Moritz Keller says: "I have worked with Lukas intensively in the past years. He is a fantastic lawyer and truly committed to helping his clients. His promotion to partnership is another key milestone in what I am sure will continue to be an amazing career in the world of dispute resolution and arbitration."
