Andreas D Länzlinger

Bär & Karrer Ltd

Zurich www.baerkarrer.ch

andreas.laenzlinger@baerkarrer.ch Tel: +41 58 261 50 00

Biography

Andreas Länzlinger heads Bär & Karrer’s internal investigations practice group and is one of the leading partners of the firm’s litigation/arbitration practice group. He has extensive experience of handling complex banking/ financing, commercial, corporate, contract and insurance litigations, both before Swiss courts and in cross-border proceedings. He and his team have conducted many large-scale internal investigations at global enterprises in the financial, pharmaceutical and construction business. He has represented a number of Swiss clients in mass tort litigation cases before US courts.

What inspired you to pursue a legal career?

The variety of issues to be handled, to assist clients with unique needs to find ways to efficiently resolve legal disputes, and more generally to be able to steer and manage complex legal issues to permit clients to resolve them in the best possible way to regain focus on future business development.

What qualities make for an effective litigator?

Be the master of the facts, involve yourself in understanding the particular needs of your client and of its business in question, be creative when assessing resolution processes and strategies, think “out of the box” to evaluate solutions that may be more efficient and client friendly than what the normal process would suggest. And, above all, be a responsible partner for your client who cares about the client’s business and needs.

How has the increase in corporate investigations around the world impacted the number and nature of D&O claims you are seeing?

Corporate investigations routinely trigger the management of insurance coverage claims, and therefore both D&O as well as PI insurance claims have been increasingly under review as a result of corporate investigations. In particular in cases where authorities have an interest in the investigation (or investigate in parallel the same issue), there has been a substantial increase of claims against D&O policies to cover legal fees of employees and associates of the corporation under investigation.

To what extent are you seeing consolidation in the insurance sector? What impact will this have on the market landscape over the next few years?

A consolidation in the insurance sector has taken place during the past 10-15 years. Currently, as a result of covid-19, we may see a further consolidation in certain segments of insurance carriers. Given the expectations as to the general development of the economy over the next years, with adverse impacts of covid-19 to GDP developments in all important parts of the global economy, with expected further rise of unemployment, currency devaluations, etc., the insurance and reinsurance industry will be facing fundamental threats to their business, and respective challenges. I expect that the sector will see another serious round of consolidation in the next maximum five years.

How has increasingly stringent cyber and data regulation impacted the nature of client demands in recent years?

Massively. Cyberattacks are a serious threat, among others, for financial institutions, and regulators around the globe are putting in place stringent regulations requiring the institutions to manage and control such risk, and to report such cases immediately. This has led to a massive overhaul of IT systems’ security features and processes. Also, in particular the GDPR and its serious consequences in case of violations of its provisions have led to much more stringent proceedings and processes applied internally at clients’ organisations, with resulting needs for advice and support. As we are heavily involved in cross-border management of investigations and dispute resolutions, this issue has gained much more attention.

What is the most memorable case you have been a part of?

The handling of insurance claims in connection with mass tort proceedings involving effects of PPA in patients suffering from haemorrhagic strokes.

Another remarkable case (among many others) was the defence of an insurance carrier in a case where insurance coverage was fraudulently claimed for a high-value race horse.

What is the best piece of advice you have received?

It was the handling/management of mass tort procedures in the USA by the then responsible local US counsel, Randy Sherman, which was the underlying case leading to the insurance recovery claims mentioned above.

WWL says: Andreas Länzlinger is “a highly respected name” in the Swiss market who excels at large-scale internal investigations with an international angle.