No-one likes to discuss it, but most Swiss lawyers are now demonstrating a heightened sensitivity to the issue of fees. Swiss banks, the staple client of so many firms in the country, have not had a good time recently because of market conditions and new regulations.

The Italian fiscal amnesty, which saw the departure of billions of euros from Swiss banks, hit the market hard as Italian clients repatriated large sums of money to Italy as the new law came into effect. The effect on law firms has been to limit the level of fees that can be commanded from banking clients – more work has been carried out in-house to save the banks’ costs, limiting the volumes of work available. “The easier money is more or less going away for the banks and the lawyers,” says Martin Anderson, Baker & McKenzie’s Geneva-based head of banking and finance.