Mark John Barmes

Lenz & Staehelin

Geneva www.lenzstaehelin.com

mark.barmes@lenzstaehelin.com Tel: +41 58 450 70 00

Biography

Mark Barmes is a senior counsel at Lenz & Staehelin in Geneva. He contributes actively in the field of wealth planning in Switzerland and particularly in connection with trusts and trust disputes.

What interested you in pursuing a career in private client practice?

As a trainee, I preferred my six months in the tax department, working with a partner specialising in trusts. After qualifying, I stayed in that group and wanted more international work. Pursuing that ambition, I found private client practice, particularly for high-net-worth individuals, offered the best opportunities and I moved to Switzerland to work at Lenz & Staehelin (named Lenz Schluep Briner & de Coulon at that time), to focus on international estate planning.

What matters are clients coming to you with most over the past year? What is driving this?

Health checks/reorganisations and disputes. The driver to my mind is globalisation and the leap forward in complexity in this field given the many and ongoing global regulatory and tax initiatives. The pandemic years and geopolitical uncertainties have encouraged many a rethink.

How do you effectively approach and execute complex crossborder matters for your clients?

The complexity means high costs and lost time can easily result. To be effective, it is central to spend time with the client and identify and flesh out priorities as well as gather the competences required for the task. Inevitably, this involves building a team that works well together.

How does your international background enhance your practice?

Experience. Having worked in matters involving the key jurisdictions and

How are recent developments in technology changing private client practice the most?

Access to information and effective means to work collaboratively on documents and in meetings with sharing of resources has improved the possibilities to group the necessary competences.

What aspect of your practice do you enjoy the most?

The interaction with the clients and other experts. Trying to solve the puzzle.

How does your activity and position in several private client organisations enhance your knowledge and the practice area more broadly?

Access to information and learning and being able to share experiences with others. It is possible to sit in a session, often virtual, where multiple jurisdictions are covered in one session. This has naturally heightened awareness of the many possibilities offered across the globe.

What advice would you give to the up-and-coming generation of private client lawyers?

Don’t be a lone wolf. Complex matters need collaborative work methods and technology has greatly increased the scope for this, whether within a global organisation or as a sole lawyer with a good network.

WWL says: Mark Barmes is “a very experienced private client lawyer”, particularly acclaimed for his “wealth of expertise” in trust law.