At Veil side helping UBS is Denis Chemla (pictured below), a partner at the international law firm Allen Overy, which has the necessary manpower to conduct as complex a judicial process as this one.
He is also well-versed in tax dispute litigation, and last year appeared for HSBC when the bank – a premiere in France – ended the probe with a settlement.
In the HSBC defense, Chemla was assisted by Éric Dezeuze (pictured below). He is a partner at Bredin Prat, and is supporting UBS France, the local subsidiary, against charges of tax evasion and money laundering.
Internal Cracks
However, UBS' Diethelm isn’t relying only on external expertise. He is also calling on the skills of the internal litigation team under the leadership of Anne Wildhaber. She is one of four regional heads who, under the leadership of Karen Yen in New York, was involved in the U.S. tax dispute proceedings.
Wildhaber, who holds the title of head litigation Switzerland, keeps a low profile, but her family ties suggest a certain judicial talent. Her father Luzius Wildhaber was, from 1998 to 2007, President of the European Court of Human Rights, and her sister Isabelle Wildhaber lectures as a professor in private and labor law at the University of St. Gallen.
Technicals Skills
Wildhaber’s work at UBS is well respected in professional circles, and the publication «The Legal 500» makes special mention of the legal department at UBS.
«The team has a reputation for technical excellence, mastering crisis efficiently and experienced in complex cases covering several legal areas», it is said. The team was also a key player in the U.S. tax spat.
For UBS and Diethelm, it is to be hoped the same people will be able to judge it 10 years later. Since UBS hasn’t been able to set aside substantial provisions ahead of the process, the case could turn out to be very costly for shareholders.
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