Speechly Bircham opens in Geneva with Maitland duo, Wells-Greco and Rojas

Law firm Speechly Bircham has today opened a new office in Geneva. The launch of a second office in Switzerland follows the firm’s successful Zurich and Luxembourg openings in 2011. Home to a third of the world’s privately held wealth and a quarter of the world’s private banking, Switzerland is a key market for Speechly Bircham where it advises on the complex cross-border wealth management needs of its clients and their advisors.

The new office will be headed by two well-known international private client lawyers in Switzerland, Michael Wells-Greco and Francis Rojas.Michael Lingens, senior partner at Speechly Bircham, commented: “The office in Geneva represents an important development in the firm’s international expansion. Growing client demand for joined-up corporate and private wealth expertise, made a second presence in Switzerland a logical next move for us. Zurich and Geneva are both important centres for the private banking sector and having an on the ground presence in both cities demonstrates our commitment to the Swiss market.

Michael and Francis have worked together over many years – both at Withers in Geneva and, more recently, at Maitland. Working alongside Mark Summers, who heads the Swiss practice, they will build upon our reputation for multi-jurisdictional tax planning and wealth structuring. They will also bring an added capability in cross border family disputes and international law.”

Michael Wells-Greco added: “This is a very exciting venture for us and we are looking forward to joining Speechly Bircham and being part of its growing international network. There is significant demand in Switzerland for a wider range of integrated corporate and private wealth services and Speechly Bircham’s strengths in both these areas makes them uniquely positioned to serve this part of the market.”