Inhousecommunity Day 2026

The in-house legal community gathers at the Mandarin Oriental Savoy, Poststrasse 12, Zurich, on 29 October 2026 for the fifth edition of Inhousecommunity Day Switzerland. Organised by LC Publishing Group through LegalcommunityCH, the event brings together general counsel and legal professionals for an afternoon of debate, networking and reflection on the changing responsibilities of legal leadership.

This year’s programme explores how general counsel contribute to business decisions and how legal departments need to evolve to support that role. A roundtable featuring perspectives from different industries is followed by a dialogue between the general counsel of Vontobel and Axpo, before the closing Best 50 Celebration Cocktail.

THE DAY: OPENING AND ROUNDTABLE

Following a welcome message from Aldo Scaringella, CEO of LC Publishing Group, the programme opens with the roundtable “From General Counsel to Business Leader: How a Changing World Is Redefining the Role of the GC”, scheduled from 2:30 PM to 4:15 PM.

Moderated by Claudia La Via, Editor-in-Chief of MAG, the session features Sebastian Fanai-Danesh, co-founder and managing director of Interim Legal; Dirk Kessler, general counsel global procurement at Nestlé; Nils Kjaergaard, global head legal, Novartis operations; Charlotte Kufus, co-founder of Flank; Pejman Madani, head of legal Switzerland and chairman of the board at Oracle; and Fabienne-Anne Rehulka, Group general counsel and head legal, compliance, regulatory & public affairs and member of the executive board at SIX.

The discussion examines where legal judgement makes a difference to business decisions. From managing disruption in supply chains and supporting the manufacture and supply of medicines to advising on AI and contributing to executive decisions, speakers will explore how general counsel can take on broader responsibilities while preserving their independence.

The session also considers what this means for the organisation of legal departments: how to allocate resources, develop business knowledge, combine permanent teams with specialist expertise and use AI without losing control of accountability. A central question runs through the discussion: what should legal leaders own, what can they delegate, and where must they be prepared to challenge the business?

A coffee break follows, giving participants an opportunity to continue the conversation before the next session.

THE GC DIALOGUE: DIFFERENT INDUSTRIES, COMMON TOUGH CALLS

The programme continues with “2GC. Different Industries. Common Tough Calls.”, a conversation between Maria-Antonella Bino, group general counsel at Vontobel, and Hansueli Sallenbach, group general counsel at Axpo.

Also moderated by Claudia La Via, the dialogue compares the practical choices behind legal leadership in finance and energy. While the two industries operate on different timescales, both require general counsel to make recommendations under uncertainty, protect trust and manage competing priorities.

Through short answers and direct exchanges, the speakers will discuss what they need to know before advising the business to proceed and what would make them recommend

stopping. The conversation will also explore how to respond when a proposal is legal and commercially attractive but difficult to defend publicly.

Further topics include the limits of delegation to AI, what general counsel need from external lawyers when a decision is urgent, and how to make disagreement possible within both the executive team and the legal department. Each speaker will also have the opportunity to put a question to the other, exploring a practice or perspective they could learn from their counterpart.

EVENING: BEST 50 CELEBRATION COCKTAIL

The day concludes with the Best 50 Celebration Cocktail, bringing participants together to celebrate in-house legal talent and strengthen connections across the Swiss legal community.

The gathering offers an opportunity to continue the afternoon’s exchanges on the decisions, skills and working relationships that shape the contribution of general counsel to their organisations.