A new boutique firm in Switzerland: Killias & Legler
In January 2025, Laurent Killias (pictured left) and Thomas Legler (pictured right), Pestalozzi’s former heads of arbitration respectively in Zurich and Geneva, have left the firm to found Killias & Legler, a new disputes-specialised boutique.
The profiles
A member of the ICC International Court of Arbitration since 2021, Laurent Killias has acted as arbitrator and counsel in more than 140 international arbitration cases under several institutional rules. Killias is a member of the ICC Commission of Arbitration and the ICC National Committee of Switzerland as well as the co-founder and head lecturer of the Swiss Arbitration Academy. He also lectures on international arbitration and litigation at the University of Zurich’s LLM program.
Thomas Legler has served as an arbitrator and counsel in over 100 international arbitration cases under various institutional rules, including ICC, SIAC, DIS and Swiss Rules as well as in ad hoc cases. Moreover, he advised clients in arbitration-related state court proceedings, such as setting-aside proceedings before the Swiss Federal Tribunal, with a particular focus on intellectual property and new technology matters. Legler currently serves as a deputy judge at the Swiss Federal Patent Court.
