LEGAL ADVICE IN NEGOTIATIONS

Negotiations are an intrinsic part of business relationships. We advise our clients on two distinct but intertwined fundamental facets of negotiation: on the one hand, the legal issues involved in every matter under discussion by the parties; on the other hand, the living expressions of the cultural approach to the contractual delineation of rights and obligations. The latter of these two facets is no less important than the former because it impacts both the purpose of the negotiation and the way the goals agreed on are actually written down into preambulatory and operative clauses so as to achieve that intended purpose up to the effective execution of the contract.

Concerning Brazil, the elements that underpin what we call 'Brazilian Business Behaviour' are anchored in a legal order embodying the values of the whole society and, more specifically, those of the business community. For instance, the Brazilian legal order embodies the principle of good faith under a different approach than that adopted under Swiss law; moreover, Brazilian formalism could be seen as excessive through a Swiss prism and by Swiss businesses.

At each stage of the negotiation, we provide legal advice and 'translate' into Swiss approaches and legal terms what is meant by Brazilian counterparts' statements, references, proposals, behaviours, and manifest commitments.
Conversely, the Swiss legal order features differ in many aspects from what prevails not only in distant countries but also in neighbouring ones. We proceed to similarly “translating” Swiss specificities into more international common approaches and legal terms.