Press Releases
Holman Fenwick Willan continues to strengthen Geneva office with Partner hire
International law firm Holman Fenwick Willan (HFW) has significantly strengthened its presence in Geneva this year with the appointment of three new partners.
Olivier Bazin will be the newest Partner to join the Geneva office, effective January 2017. Olivier is a finance lawyer with over 15 years’ experience in trade, commodities and emerging markets. He specialises in cross-border finance, structuring and negotiating transactions in the agri, oil & gas, and metals & mining sectors, and advising on debt restructuring and work-out situations. He has worked both in a leading law firm and most recently in-house at BNP Paribas (Suisse) SA in Geneva.
Olivier commented: “I am delighted to be joining HFW and further grow its finance and commodities practice in Switzerland, Eastern Europe and across EMEA and Asia. I look forward to partnering closely with financiers, traders and other clients to manage their legal risk in a challenging environment.”
Olivier’s appointment comes on the back of Partner Georges Racine who joined HFW in August and Sarah Hunt who was elected to partnership in April.
Georges has wide ranging experience in corporate, commercial and international business law, with a particular focus on joint ventures, M&A, projects, venture capital and private equity, public-private partnerships, privatisations, concessions and international trade regulation. Sarah acts for a range of trading companies, charterers and owners in disputes involving in particular petroleum products, cement, coal, ethanol and soft commodities.
The firm now offers its Swiss-based clients looking to grow internationally and international clients looking to trade in Switzerland the full range of expertise,including commodities litigation and arbitration,transactional and regulatory know-how, joint ventures, M&A, projects, venture capital, private equity, public-private partnerships, licensing and concessions, privatisations, international trade regulation and all aspects of trade finance.
Michael Buisset, Head of HFW’s Geneva office added: “The appointment of these three Partners significantly strengthens the offering of our Geneva office. Geneva is one of the world’s largest commodities trading hubs and HFW is now by far the most significant law firm in Switzerland dedicated to the commodities space with lawyers experienced in commodities trade who are qualified in Switzerland, England & Wales, France, Canada (Quebec) and Australia. The firm’s continued investment in this market means that we are able to offer clients the capability they require in the markets in which they operate”.
For further information please contact: Michael Buisset, Head of Geneva office, on +41 (0)22 322 4801, or email michael.buisset@hfw.com or Samantha Maher, Marketing Communications Manager, on +44 (0)20 7264 8148, or email samantha.maher@hfw.com.
