Heini Rüdisühli

Lenz & Staehelin

Zurich www.lenzstaehelin.com

heini.ruedisuehli@lenzstaehelin.com Tel: +41 58 450 80 00

Biography

Heini Rüdisühli is a partner in the Zurich office, where he leads the private clients practice group. As a certified tax expert his main field of activity is national and international tax planning for private individuals as well as taxation of corporate reorganisations and acquisitions. In addition, Heini Rüdisühli is a certified specialist in inheritance law with a focus on succession planning as well as executorship of estates. He is a Trust and Estate Practitioner with a broad knowledge of trusts.

How has private client practice changed most since you first started your career?

The focus of many clients has shifted in that existing structures have been simplified and adapted to the new rules of transparency. There is a tendency for clients to set up simple and manageable structures for their assets.

What recent developments in national and international tax are most affecting your clients?

The complexity of new transparency regulations in the area of tax law and anti-money-laundering requires increased attention from clients, primarily in order to remain compliant with the applicable laws.

If you could introduce one reform in the areas of law you operate within, what would it be and why?

In an international comparison, the overall Swiss tax system for corporate and individual taxpayers is attractive. Nevertheless, I would try to reduce the tax rates for individuals and simplify the tax bases by eliminating deductions.

How do you effectively coordinate teams on complex crossborder matters?

Coordination primarily requires regular personal discussions with all parties involved to ensure that everyone has the same level of knowledge at all times.

What makes Lenz & Staehelin stand out from competitors in the private client arena?

One of our unique selling points is certainly that we have specialised expertise of the highest level in the area of tax law and succession planning and that we can tap additional expert knowledge seamlessly from other teams in our firm.

To what extent is the increasing client scrutiny over costs affecting your practice, and how are you adapting accordingly?

We try to have routine and compliance work performed by specialised staff so that our tax and estate law experts can focus on their core tasks and add value.

What aspect of your practice do you enjoy the most?

The most exciting and at the same time satisfying part of our daily work is the direct contact with our clients and the personal interaction with them.

As head of the private client team, how are you aiming to develop the team over 2022–2023?

We have a proven track-record as a leading team at the intersection of tax law and inheritance law. To satisfy the increasing needs of our clients we are constantly looking for new talents. We attach great importance to first-class training and we place great importance to their personal development in order to meet the highest standards of our clients. We refuse to compromise when it comes to developing the quality of our team and thus choose the path of steady rather than fast growth.

WWL says: Heini Rüdisühli is commended as “an inheritance law specialist” who holds “strong standing in the market” thanks to his “outstanding practice” and “strong tax knowledge”.