Sandrine Giroud

LALIVE

Geneva www.lalive.law

sgiroud@lalive.law Tel: +41 58 105 2000

Biography

Sandrine represents individuals, companies and sovereign entities in the recovery or protection of their assets. In addition to fraud and commercial litigation expertise, she is particularly skilled in complex cross-border matters involving criminal and civil proceedings. She is also recognised for her expertise in art law, public international law and human rights. Sandrine is ranked by the leading directories and in 2021 received WWL’s Swiss Asset Recovery Lawyer of the Year Award.

What inspired you to pursue a legal career?

A strong sense of justice and the willingness to help those in need.

What have been the highlights of your practice in the past few years?

After five years of intense legal fighting, I successfully defended a client against extradition to Russia. My client was subject to abusive prosecution for politically motivated reasons. I put my heart into the case, and it was a great relief to finally tell him and his family that they were safe from proceedings and could resume their lives.

What is the most memorable case you have worked on to date?

It is probably one that is still ongoing, regarding a $1billion art fraud. It is particularly interesting because of its legal complexity and the strategic thinking required to coordinate proceedings in multiple jurisdictions. As a bonus, it involves important masterpieces of modern art.

What are the main tools of an asset recovery practice in Switzerland?

Civil attachments can be quite effective if the conditions are met. This said, Swiss law does not provide for discovery, so criminal proceedings are still a very powerful route to trace and freeze assets.

What challenges has covid19 brought when seeking to recover and protect client assets effectively?

An obstacle specific to covid-19 is the difficulty to hold hearings in person. Switzerland is not very advanced in what concerns virtual hearings and some judges and practitioners are quite resistant. Consequently, it has not always been possible to hear key witnesses and matters simply stall.

You are a member of various organisations related to the field of art. What do you enjoy most about this work?

Law is about people and art law is about how people feel about art. I particularly enjoy the opportunity to assist people in their relation, often emotional, to artworks, which adds another layer to often complex transactions or matters. I also appreciate the safeguarding of cultural heritage and the proximity to beautiful artefacts. Intellectually, it is a challenging and complex field of law, at the crossroads of many topics: private international, public international law and sometimes whitecollar crime.

What can younger practitioners be doing to make a name for themselves in the white-collar crime legal market?

Quality work is the best business card, but it takes time to be noticed. Make yourself known through a solid international network of colleagues and contribute to topical conferences and publications.

What is the best piece of career advice you have received?

Be passionate about your work, curious about the people you work with and always eager to learn from others.

WWL says: Sandrine Giroud is a “highly experienced practitioner” renowned for her expertise in asset recovery-related litigation.