Before joining MLL in 2008 as an associate in the private client team, Maud earned an LLM at Duke University (2005), passed the New York Bar (2006) and was admitted to the Swiss Bar (2008). Qualified specialist SBA family law, Maud has considerable experience in this field with an emphasis on divorce and estate issues, most often with strong international components. She also advises clients in their relocation to Switzerland and their philanthropic ventures.

How has the market changed since you first started practising?

The cases we deal with are becoming increasingly complex and require specialist and specific advice. Thanks to our merger with Froriep Legal SA, we have an even larger panel of specialists in various field to best address our clients’ needs.

What private client-related reform, if any, would you most like to see in Swiss law?

Certain important reforms were made or are been considered; to cite only a few, the new succession law will enter into force in 2023, the tax law was recently reformed, and the parliament is examining a possible introduction of a Swiss trust law.

I would like to see more clarity in relation to maintenance obligations. Even if the Supreme Court has recently ruled that a unique method shall be used to calculate all types of contributions, there are still too many question marks regarding its application in each specific case.

To what extent has networking been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, and how is this changing opportunities and interactions in the sector?

Alternatives to the usual networking opportunities such as seminars and travels had to be found. The coronavirus pandemic has led us to consolidate our existing network with a focus on “one-to-one” exchanges. This very particular period we all experienced brought us closer together, allowed us to share more personal experiences and was quite revealing sometimes.

The length of the pandemic gave us no other choice but to adapt, to be creative, open-minded and to deal with the unknown.

All these skills can only be beneficial to our clients who faced the same challenges. In many cases, it strengthened our relationship with our private clients.

What challenges do you face when working at a cross-border level and how do you ensure you are equipped to meet them?

It is key to being able to identify issues that may be problematic in other jurisdictions, have a large network of lawyers internationally and be able to contact the right lawyer and get the best answers in the clients’ interests.

In some jurisdictions, the KYC requirements are too heavy, onboarding a new client can take several weeks at the detriment of the work that needs to be done.

What are the main challenges you are expecting to encounter over the next couple of years, and how are you planning to adapt?

Finding the right balance between over specialisation and having a more generalist approach that allows a lawyer to identify potential issues in other legal fields. It is crucial not to lose the global picture, essentially in complex and cross-border cases, with lawyers involved in several jurisdictions. This leads us to often be in the position of an orchestra conductor which I find fascinating.

Another challenge is of course pressure on fees. It forces us to distinguish ourselves in terms of the quality of the services and advice provided. With private client, the relationship is always built on trust. Once this trust is acquired and the services delivered with satisfaction, the issue of the fees becomes secondary.

What do you enjoy most about working within MLL’s private client team?

MLL has a fantastic private client team; we are multicultural, multilingual, open-minded, with great solidarity among each other, each having our own strengths, special interests, and skills. Enthusiastic, we enjoy taking up the constant new challenges of our work and finding pragmatic, creative, and solution-oriented advice for our clients.

What would you like to achieve that you have not done so already?

There are many things I would still like to achieve!

As we have just completed our merger with Froriep Legal AG, we will now strengthen our private client team and our new firm. I also really want to concentrate on my clients and my core business now that the merger is realised.

The amazing thing about the private client world is that each person and situation are so unique and different that we learn something new every day!