News

Our partners Olivier Bula and Oliver Gnehm shared their experiences on "Dealing with guarantees in construction contracts" during a presentation at the 14th Zurich Practitioners' Day for Construction Law of the Europa Institute at the University of Zurich (EIZ). 

Among other things, they presented the results of a survey on the term "guarantee", which shows that in construction practice the term is understood very broadly and not only the classic, abstract guarantee.

Many thanks to the EIZ and the organizers Marlen Patt, Peter Rütimann and Richard Calame for this very successful event and the exciting, practice-relevant discussions, which were perfectly rounded off with the inspiring and enriching guest contribution by Professor Peter Gauch.

The presentation can be downloaded here.

For almost 20 years, BGPartner has been a member of LAWorld. In the beginning, the "AGM's" were meetings of a few dozen lawyers who met for an annual exchange. Two decades later, the meetings have grown into full-fledged conferences with well over 100 participants.

We are proud to be part of this positive development and will continue to write the success stories of LAWorld. Thanks again to our partner Simons Muirhead Burton, you were a perfect host. We not only benefited professionally from the event, but also had a lot of fun. Enjoy the video with some impressions and highlights from this event. 

The annual Jazz Brunch is as much a part of BGPartner as the negotiation competence or the different legal services. For the 23rd time over 240 guests enjoyed culinary delights, fantastic jazz music, great weather and a relaxed atmosphere on the Gurten Hill (Berne). This year, after more than two decades of powerful welcome addresses, Senior Partner Michael Bader officially handed over the microphone to CEO Elena Mégevand-Valli.

A big thank you to the Gurten - Park im Grünen crew under the new leadership of Patrick Vogel for the smooth running of the event and the Imelda Gabs Jazz band, who has remained loyal to us over the years, despite her rising fame. Here you can find the photo gallery. 

"The World's Toughest Row" is the ultimate rowing competition across the Pacific ocean. 14 teams gather to test themselves against mother nature and to compete the 4,500 kilometers from California to Hawaii. BGPartner is proud to be a partner of the Swiss Kiwi Fondue Team.

As negotiation experts, we want to explore the parallels between tough negotiations and rowing at the limit. We will accompany the team during this challenge and discuss these parallels with them. Besides the impressive athletic and mental performance of the rowers, it is remarkable that the Kiwi Fondue Team will donate USD 60,000 to help rebuild coral reefs. The funds will go to the charity Coral Vita. Interested in making a donation as well? Click here.

Negotiations are in everybody's mind. Hardly a report in the news, a field report from the business world or a further training course fails to mention this topic. The relevance of negotiation skills in professional life across all industries and companies seems undisputed. Nevertheless, little is known about how executives actually negotiate in the Swiss business world.

BGPartner AG, in cooperation with the Negotiation Academy Potsdam (NAP), has conducted the first scientifically based practical study on the negotiation behavior of Swiss executives. More on the topic of negotiation.

The results of the study "How do Swiss executives negotiate?" were presented to around 100 invited guests at the Kongresshaus Zurich on May 25, 2023. In the subsequent panel discussion, experts from business and science discussed the study results and their significance for practice. Click here for the aftermovie.

Three important key findings from the study are briefly summarized here once again:

1. Only 48% of all Swiss executives had the topic of negotiation as part of their training. Although the trend is rising, there is a considerable need to catch up: In Germany, for example, 70% of all executives already enjoy negotiation training.
2. 62% of all Swiss executives are not prepared by their companies for upcoming negotiation tasks. Here, too, there is a considerable need for action, especially since it has been proven that much better negotiation results can be achieved with appropriate training and continuing education.
3. Only 32% of all Swiss executives regularly negotiate in teams, although team negotiations have been proven to achieve better results. The potential here is also not fully exhausted.

The panel members were: Andrea Wucher (entrepreneur and independent board member), Marc Lüthi (Chairman and CEO of SCB Eishockey AG), Yusuf Savmaz (Member of Executive Committee, BNP Paribas Wealth Management Switzerland) and, on the part of the study authors, Prof. Dr. Uta Herbst (NAP, University of Potsdam), Prof. Dr. Markus Voeth (NAP, University of Hohenheim) as well as Elena Mégevand (lawyer, partner and CEO of BGPartner) and Oliver Gnehm (lawyer, partner and chairman of BGPartner). Download complete media release.