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Steve Alder Partner

Steve Alder primarily focuses on constitutional and administrative law. He advises and represents public entities (cantons, municipalities, and public law institutions), particularly in matters involving public service law, public procurement, and construction and land-use planning law. He also has experience in advising and representing clients in immigration law.

Steve Alder holds a degree in international relations from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IUHEI). He joined Fontanet & Associés in 2011 for his legal traineeship and has been a partner since 2019.

Member of the Geneva Bar Association

French, English,  Italian

+41 22 818 09 09 +41 22 818 09 00 s.alder@fontanet.ch Gisèle Kummer g.kummer@fontanet.ch

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Serge Benusiglio Partner

Serge Benusiglio specializes in commercial law. He is highly active in negotiating and drafting contracts, particularly in international matters, and also represents clients in related litigation.
He advises private clients on all matters related to wealth law, including estate planning, asset structuring, and succession. He also regularly supports foreign nationals with their relocation to Switzerland.
In addition, Serge has developed a niche practice in art law, providing legal counsel to art dealers and gallery owners.
A member of the Geneva Bar, he joined Fontanet & Associés in 2003 after working as legal counsel in the investment funds department of the private bank Edmond de Rothschild.

He holds an LL.B. (Hons.) from the London School of Economics and Political Science (1998) and obtained his Swiss attorney’s license in 2000, following a two-year traineeship at the firm Lachenal, Brechbuhl Cottier Roguet in Geneva.
Serge Benusiglio is also admitted as a Solicitor in England and Wales. He is a member of the Geneva Bar Association, the Swiss Bar Association, the Law Society of England and Wales, and the British-Swiss Chamber of Commerce.

Member of the Geneva Bar Association, the Swiss Bar Association and the Law Society

Member of the British-Swiss Chamber of Commerce

French, English

T +41 22 818 09 09 F +41 22 818 09 00 s.benusiglio@fontanet.ch Danièle Salerno d.salerno@fontanet.ch Serge BENUSIGLIO/Nicolas JEANDIN, In : Le recueil des contrats commerciaux : modèles en français et en anglais commentés selon le droit suisse. – Bâle : Helbing & Lichtenhahn, 2013, p.8

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Adrien Borel Partner

Adrien Borel specializes in business law and commercial litigation. His practice also includes private international law, tax law, and general criminal law. In addition to his professional activities, he served as a military investigating judge in the Swiss Army with the rank of captain and obtained a Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) in criminal judiciary.

He joined Fontanet & Associés in December 2019 after working as an associate at Bonnant & Associés. Adrien Borel was admitted to the bar in 2014.

Member of the Geneva Bar Association, the Swiss Bar Association and the Swiss Arbitration Association

French, English, German and Italian

+41 22 818 09 09 +41 22 818 09 00 a.borel@fontanet.ch Katrina Mennella k.mennella@fontanet.ch

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Méliné Deukmedjian Counsel

Méliné Deukmedjian is mainly active in real estate and lease law; she also advises her clients in contractual matters as well as corporate law (in particular real estate companies). She joined Fontanet & Partners as Counsel in 2019 after completing her LL.M. in New-York University School of law.

She previously worked for two years as an associate at Schellenberg Wittmer after completing her internship at Fontanet & Partners. She passed her Bar exam in 2014 after graduating from the University of Geneva.

Member of the Geneva Bar Association

French, English, German and Armenian

+41 22 818 09 09 +41 22 818 09 00 m.deukmedjian@fontanet.ch

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Christian D'Orlando Partner

Christian D’Orlando primarily advises on contract law, focusing on real estate, tenancy law, employment law, and debt enforcement and bankruptcy law. He also serves on the boards of companies in the real estate and financial sectors.

He has been a member of the Geneva Bar since 2001 and holds an LL.M. from the London School of Economics and Political Science (2003). He joined Fontanet & Associés as a partner in 2008.

Member of the Geneva Bar Association, the Swiss Bar Association and the Geneva Business Law Association

French, English

+41 22 818 09 09 +41 22 818 09 00 c.dorlando@fontanet.ch

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Nicolas Favre

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Bénédict Fontanet Partner

Bénédict Fontanet is a co-founder of the firm, established in 1985 alongside Guy Fontanet. He advises entrepreneurs, companies, and both Swiss and international groups, and is mainly active in commercial, financial, banking, and administrative law. He is particularly involved in business transfers, restructurings, and complex real estate transactions.

Bénédict Fontanet serves on the boards of several companies operating in finance, real estate, hospitality, and the luxury industry. He was admitted to the bar in 1986 and holds a law degree from the University of Geneva. He has been a registered attorney since 1984.

Alongside his legal career, Bénédict Fontanet was politically active for over 15 years. A former president of the Parti Démocrate Chrétien (now known as "Le Centre"), he also served as a member of the Geneva Grand Council.

Passionate about music, he chairs the Board of Directors of the École de Musique Actuelle (EMA) in Geneva and played an active role in founding the Centre des Musiques Actuelles.

Member of the Geneva Bar Association, the Swiss Bar Association, the Swiss Lawyers Society and the Geneva Business Law Association

French, English, German

+41 22 818 09 09 +41 22 818 09 00 b.fontanet@fontanet.ch Claire-Marie Guillet cm.guillet@fontanet.ch Mervé Top m.top@fontanet.ch

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Christine Fontanet Office Manager

Christine Fontanet is in charge of the administration, human resources and logistics of the practice; she acts as Office Manager since 2005. Admitted to the Bar, she has been working for Fontanet & Associés since 1993.

Christine Fontanet passed the Bar exam in 1995 and graduated in Law from the Geneva University in 1993.

Member of the Geneva Bar Association, the Swiss Bar Association and HR Geneva

French, English

+41 22 818 09 09 +41 22 818 09 00 c.fontanet@fontanet.ch

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Stéphanie Fontanet Partner

Stéphanie Fontanet is both a lawyer and tax specialist. She advises clients on civil law matters, particularly in real estate and contract law, as well as in tax and estate law, and represents them in related disputes. She also regularly assists foreign nationals relocating to Switzerland (permit applications, lump-sum taxation negotiations, tax and estate planning, real estate acquisition, etc.).

She joined the firm in 2013 after being admitted to the bar and became a partner in 2017. She completed her legal traineeship at the law firm Poncet Turrettini and studied at the Faculty of Law of the University of Geneva. She holds an LL.M. in Tax Law from the University of Geneva and is a Certified Specialist SBA Construction and Real Estate Law, title awarded by the Swiss Bar Association.

Member of the Geneva Bar Association and the Swiss Bar Association

French,  English, German, Spanish

Nicolas Jeandin/Stéphanie Fontanet, Commentaire Romand du Code de procédure pénale suisse, art. 118 à 126, 2ème édition

Stéphanie Fontanet/Nicolas Jeandin, Le blocage du registre du commerce et sa validation, in Notalex 2/2016

+41 22 818 09 09 +41 22 818 09 00 s.fontanet@fontanet.ch Claire-Marie Guillet cm.guillet@fontanet.ch

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Alexandra Gauthey

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Michel Hottelier Counsel

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Marie-Hélène Jeandin Associate

Marie-Hélène Jeandin mainly practises civil litigation (contract law, family law disputes) and criminal litigation (general criminal law and juvenile criminal law). She also regularly assists individuals in matters relating to immigration law. She is also interested in humanitarian law. She joined Fontanet & Associés as an associate in 2019 after completing her internship at a local law firm.

Marie-Hélène Jeandin was a member of the Young Bar Committee of the Geneva Bar Association, first as a trainee secretary (2018 to 2019) and then as a solicitor secretary (2021 to 2024). Admitted to the bar in 2019, Marie-Hélène Jeandin studied at the University of Geneva, where she obtained her bachelor's and master's degrees. During her master's degree, she spent a semester on exchange at the University of Zurich.

Member of the Geneva Bar Association and the Swiss Bar Association
Member of the Human Rights Commission of the Geneva Bar Association
Member of the Children's Rights Commission of the Geneva Bar Association
Member of the Supervisory Commission for Judicial Officers

+41 22 818 09 09 +41 22 818 09 00 mh.jeandin@fontanet.ch

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Prof. Dr. Nicolas Jeandin Partner

Nicolas Jeandin is specialized in civil procedure with a particular focus on debt collection and bankruptcy law, restructuring and negotiable instruments. His activities also encompass domestic and international arbitration as well as inheritance law. He is an ordinary Professor at the University of Geneva for civil procedure and debt collection and also teaches at the Ecole d’avocature (Geneva Bar School). He regularly lectures throughout Switzerland in his areas of specialization. Further, Nicolas Jeandin is Deputy Judge at the Civil Chamber of the Court of Justice of Geneva and is authorized to practice before ecclesiastical courts.

He is the author of numerous publications in the fields of private law, civil procedure, restructuring and arbitration. He has been a member of the Geneva Bar since 1984, obtained the Bar exam in 1986 and received a doctorate in Law in 1993. Nicolas Jeandin studied at Geneva University where he also obtained a degree in economics in 1984.

Member of the Geneva Bar Association, the Swiss Bar Association, the Geneva Business Law Association, the Debts Collecting and Bankruptcy Association (Association LP), the Swiss Lawyers Society, the Geneva Law Society and the Swiss Arbitration Association

French, English, German, Italian

Awarded with the Walther Hug Foundation Prize

+41 22 818 09 09 +41 22 818 09 00 n.jeandin@fontanet.ch Myriam Capt m.capt@fontanet.ch

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Ella Meyer de Stadelhofen

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Yasmin Paes Batista Associate

asmin Paes Batista mainly practices civil law, in particular contract law, corporate law, and employment law. Her practice also extends to administrative law, especially immigration law, as well as civil and administrative procedure. She joined Fontanet & Associés in 2022 to complete her legal traineeship and has been working as an associate since obtaining her bar admission in 2024.

Yasmin Paes Batista completed her studies at the Faculty of Law of the University of Geneva, where she earned both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, including an exchange semester at Humboldt University in Berlin. Following her Master’s, she interned at the Civil Division of the Geneva Court of Justice and at Court VI of the Federal Administrative Court in St. Gallen.Y

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Olivier Péclard Partner

Olivier Péclard specializes in business and tax law, as well as international mutual legal assistance and international arbitration. He joined Fontanet & Associés in December 2019, having previously been a partner at Bonnant & Associés since its founding in 1996.

Earlier in his career, he worked for a major U.S. law firm after being admitted to the New York Bar in 1987 and earning an LL.M. from Duke University in 1986. Olivier Péclard was admitted to the Geneva Bar in 1983.

Membre de l’Ordre des Avocats de Genève et de la Fédération suisse des Avocats

Français, anglais

+41 22 818 09 09 +41 22 818 09 00 o.peclard@fontanet.ch Katrina Mennella k.mennella@fontanet.ch

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Alisa Ramelet-Telqiu Partner

Alisa Ramelet-Telqiu focuses primarily on civil and criminal litigation, including enforcement, debt collection and bankruptcy law, as well as contract law.
She joined the firm as an associate in 2015 after gaining experience in two other Geneva-based law firms, and became a partner in 2024.

A member of the Geneva Bar, she has held her attorney’s license since 2012, ranking second in her cohort.
She completed her legal studies at the Faculties of Law of the Universities of Geneva and Basel, earning a bilingual Master’s degree with magna cum laude honors in 2009.
In November 2024, she was appointed Associate Judge at the Supervisory Authority for Debt Collection and Bankruptcy Offices.

Member of the Geneva Bar Association and the Swiss Bar Association

French,  English, German, Albanian

+41 22 818 09 09 +41 22 818 09 00 a.telqiu@fontanet.ch Myriam Capt m.capt@fontanet.ch

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Tiffany Sutter Associate

Tiffany Sutter is mainly active in the field of civil procedure, in particular family law, contract law and bankruptcy law. She also acts in criminal and administrative proceedings (in particular foreigners’ law and public procurement). She joined Fontanet & Associés in 2020 to complete her legal internship, and then as an associate since she obtained her law degree in 2022.

Tiffany Sutter studied at the Faculty of Law of the University of Geneva, where she obtained her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. During her master’s degree, she did two semesters of exchange at the University of Zurich.

Member of the Bar Association

French, English

t.sutter@fontanet.ch

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team

Lawyers, in alphabetical order

Administrative team, in alphabetical order

companies

private clients

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public authorities

team

Lawyers, in alphabetical order

Administrative team, in alphabetical order

public
authorities