Dr. Stefan Leimgruber is a partner in Schellenberg Wittmer's dispute resolution group in Zürich. His main areas of practice are domestic and international commercial arbitration and litigation. He acts as counsel and arbitrator in international arbitrations, both ad hoc and institutional (including ICC, Swiss Rules, UNCITRAL, WIPO, CEPANI), in a wide range of commercial disputes, including disputes arising from international joint ventures, shareholders' and share purchase agreements, sales, licence and distribution agreements and construction contracts. Stefan also represents parties before Swiss courts with a particular focus on banking, post-M&A and corporate litigation, interim measures and enforcement of foreign judgments and awards.
Stefan's recent experience in arbitration matters includes: counsel to an Indonesian producer and to a South Korean trading company in two Swiss Rules arbitrations relating to warranty and damage claims arising from the purchase and shipment of steel bars; arbitrator (chairman) in an ad hoc arbitration concerning the exercise of put options under a shareholders agreement; counsel to two Swiss companies in a post-M&A dispute following the rescission of a share purchase agreement by the sellers (CEPANI Rules).
Stefan is recognised and ranked for his work in arbitration and litigation by leading international directories such as The Legal 500, Expert Guides and Who's Who Legal. They describe him as "highly recommended by clients and peers alike" and as "an excellent all-round lawyer with particular strength in post-M&A arbitration proceedings".
Prior to joining Schellenberg Wittmer in 2007, Stefan worked at the Zürich District Court, first as a legal secretary and later as a judge, mainly dealing with debt enforcement, civil attachments, injunctions, and recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. From 2010 to 2011, Stefan was a visiting scholar at the University of Sydney Law School, where he conducted extensive research in the fields of international arbitration and transnational litigation. He obtained a doctorate in law from the University of Lucerne in 2013 for his thesis on negative declaratory relief in international arbitration in Switzerland.
Stefan is a member of several professional associations, including the International, the Swiss and the Zurich Bar Associations.
