Werner Jahnel

Werner Jahnel

Attorney at law  |  LALIVE
JURISDICTION

TOP SPECIALISMS

Estates: Contentious

Estates: Planning

Family and Matrimonial

Office Location

Zurich, Switzerland

Short Biography

Werner Jahnel is a Partner at Swiss law firm LALIVE. He specializes in private wealth, advising private clients, family offices, foundations and trust companies on complex international estate planning and inheritance law matters, succession planning, divorce and family issues. He is certified by the Swiss Bar Association as a Specialist in Inheritance law and is admitted to the bar in Switzerland, Austria and Spain. Having practiced international arbitration for two decades, he also acts as counsel and arbitrator in commercial and private client related arbitration proceedings.

What is your favorite restaurant to take a client or colleague to?

Buech Herrliberg Switzerland

What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?

Advice from my father: When you get up in the morning you should not have the impression to go to work

What was your first job?

Private secretary of my grandfather

What is the book you recommend to everyone?

Any book written by our colleague Philippe Sands

What changes do you expect to see in your practice over the next year?

I expect an increase in contentious estates given the amount of wealth accumulated in the baby boomer generation


Niklas Schmidt

Niklas Schmidt

Partner  |  Wolf Theiss
JURISDICTION

TOP SPECIALISMS

Estates: Planning

Family Office

Tax Advisory

Office Location

Austria

Short Biography

Dr. Niklas J.R.M. Schmidt, TEP, is a partner at the Vienna office of WOLF THEISS Attorneys-at-Law, one of the leading law firms in Europe. He has been admitted both as a lawyer and as a tax accountant in Austria. His areas of specialization include tax law, foundations, private clients and crypto assets. Recently, he has been doing a lot of research into AI and what it means for the private client profession. Before joining Wolf Theiss, Dr. Schmidt worked for several years at a "Big Four" accounting firm and held the post of research assistant in the department of tax law of the University of Vienna. His publications include three books on Austrian tax, four books on crypto, as well as numerous articles in Austrian and international tax journals. Dr. Schmidt is frequently engaged as a speaker at international conferences and has held more than 450 presentations.

What is your favorite restaurant to take a client or colleague to?

Figlmüller (Schnitzel restaurant in Vienna)

What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?

Don't strive for money, strive for knowledge - money will follow.

What was your first job?

Ernst & Young

What is the book you recommend to everyone?

1984

What changes do you expect to see in your practice over the next year?

AI


Michael Nueber

Michael Nueber

Attorney at Law and Notary Public  |  Gasser Partner Rechtsanwälte
JURISDICTION

TOP SPECIALISMS

Corporate Law

Dispute Resolution or Arbitration

Trusts: Planning

Office Location

Liechtenstein

Short Biography

Dr Michael Nueber is a dual-qualified (Austria and Liechtenstein) lawyer and a Notary Public in the Principality of Liechtenstein. In addition, he serves as a Professor of Practice for Litigation and Arbitration at the University of Liechtenstein. Michael advises individuals and legal entities (including trusts) in the realm of Austrian and Liechtenstein business- and corporate law as well as (international) dispute resolution. In addition, Michael serves as a board member of major Austrian and Liechtenstein foundations and as arbitrator in institutional or ad-hoc proceedings, be it on an international or a domestic level.

What is your favorite restaurant to take a client or colleague to?

It is my club in Vienna city centre, the Wiener Rennverein. Members only and exquiste cuisine.

What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?

Never give up, no matters what happens. It is a simple principle, but equally applies both in the professional and private context.

What was your first job?

I worked as a summer intern atan inernational carrier's warehouse. In my first full-time job, however, I served as an Assistant Professor at the University of Economics and Business Administration in Vienna.

What is the book you recommend to everyone?

Philippe Sands: The Ratline

What changes do you expect to see in your practice over the next year?

Clients become more cost-sensitive and at the same time more cautious in terms of the person who advises them in personal matters. It is therefore why integrity and professional excellence will become ever more important in the near future, which is why it will not be enough to simply be affiliated to a reputable firm. One's personal track-record is what matters.


Hannes Arnold

Hannes Arnold

Senior Partner  |  Gasser Partner Rechtsanwälte
JURISDICTION

TOP SPECIALISMS

Estates: Contentious

Trusts: Contentious

Trusts: Planning

Office Location

Liechtenstein

Short Biography

Hannes Arnold is senior partner of GASSER PARTNER Attorneys at law, one of the leading law firms in Liechtenstein and a Chambers Global top tier firm. Hannes is admitted to the Liechtenstein and Austrian Bar and specializes in Private Client matters, where he is involved in both the planning, as well as the contentious side. He is constantly advising high net worth individuals in a variety of estate planning and asset structuring matters. Hannes furthermore has broad experience in challenging Liechtenstein private wealth structures, especially in asset tracing and recoery matters, but also in defending such structures in international cross border disputes.

What is your favorite restaurant to take a client or colleague to?

Restaurant Torkel in Vaduz

What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?

Stay calm and focused

What was your first job?

Working on the assembly line

What is the book you recommend to everyone?

The Alchemist

What changes do you expect to see in your practice over the next year?

Given the geopolitical and macroeconomic situation, I expect to see an increased interest in highly professional, viable and long-term wealth planning solutions. On the other hand, disputes in this area will also increase.


Eva Stadler

Eva Stadler

Counsel  |  Wolf Theiss
JURISDICTION

TOP SPECIALISMS

Relocation and Cross-Border Advisory

Tax Advisory

Office Location

Austria

Short Biography

Dr. Eva Stadler has been a member of Austrian law firm Wolf Theiss' Tax team since 2010. She focuses on advising high net worth individuals on tax matters, particularly in connection with their relocation to or from Austria and with wealth management structures, including foundations and trusts. Further, she regularly advises banks, fund managers and investors on tax aspects of finance transactions, financial instruments and investment funds. Eva regularly speaks at international tax conferences and publishes articles in tax journals. In addition to her PhD in law from the University of Vienna, Eva has a business degree with a specialisation in tax from the Vienna University of Economics and Business.

What is your favorite restaurant to take a client or colleague to?

Time permitting, a Heuriger (winery) in one of Vienna's wine growing quarters

What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?

Trust your intuition

What was your first job?

Waitress at my uncle's winery

What is the book you recommend to everyone?

"Station Eleven" by Emily St. John Mandel

What changes do you expect to see in your practice over the next year?

Intensification of discussions on anti-BEPS measures targeted at private clients


Clemens Philipp Schindler

Clemens Philipp Schindler

Partner Attorney  |  Schindler Attorneys
JURISDICTION

TOP SPECIALISMS

Corporate Law

Estates: Planning

Tax Advisory

Office Location

Austria

Short Biography

Clemens is a founding partner at Schindler Attorneys, a firm highly ranked in the area of private client advisory. Before establishing the firm, Clemens practiced as a partner at Austria’s largest law firm, after having worked in Munich and New York. Clemens focuses on corporate and tax advice in complex matters most of which have a cross-border element. Private client matters acting as counsel to family offices and UHNWI had always been a key area of his practice, in particular in the context of migrations and estate planning matters. Clemens is admitted in Austria both as attorney at law and a certified public tax advisor. In addition to law degrees from University of Vienna [Dr. iur.] and New York University School of Law [LL.M. lnt'I Tax], Clemens also holds degrees in business administration from Vienna University of Econo­mics and Business Administration [Dr. rer. soc. oec.]

What is your favorite restaurant to take a client or colleague to?

Fabios in Vienna

What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?

What was your first job?

What is the book you recommend to everyone?

What changes do you expect to see in your practice over the next year?


Bernhard Motal

Bernhard Motal

Counsel / Attorney at law  |  Gasser Partner Rechtsanwälte
JURISDICTION

TOP SPECIALISMS

Dispute Resolution or Arbitration

Estates: Planning

Trusts: Contentious

Office Location

Liechtenstein

Short Biography

Bernhard Motal is Counsel at Gasser Partner Attorneys at law. He is admitted to the Liechtenstein bar and also took the bar exam in Austria. Bernhard advises international clients and specializes in the areas of corporate, foundation and trust law, asset protection, estate planning and international private law. He regularly represents clients in domestic and international trust and foundation disputes (arbitration and litigation) and inheritance and divorce proceedings. He is author of numerous books and articles in renowned legal journals. Before joining Gasser Partner Attorneys at law in 2019, Bernhard worked in the corporate law department of a renowned Austrian law firm, as research and teaching assistant (US: Assistant Professor) at the Department of Civil law at University of Vienna and as research fellow at the Austrian Supreme Court, where he has acquired outstanding expertise in his fields of work.

What is your favorite restaurant to take a client or colleague to?

In Liechtenstein: The Torkel, Vaduz, owned by the Princely Family. In Vienna: The Hansen Restaurant, which is located in the basement of the former and beautiful Vienna Stock Exchange building in the heart of Vienna.

What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?

"I've seen at every level people who are very good at describing problems, people who are very sophisticated in explaining why something went wrong or why something can't get fixed, but what I'm always looking for is, no matter how small the problem or how big it is, somebody who says, 'Let me take care of that.' If you project an attitude of, whatever it is that's needed, I can handle it and I can do it, then whoever is running that organization will notice" (Barack Obama) This piece of advice was obviously not given to me personally, but it is well-applicable to the client-attorney relationship.

What was your first job?

Waiter at a typical Viennese Restaurant (Heurigenrestaurant). There, I think, I also first encountered my passion to deal with challenging customer requests.

What is the book you recommend to everyone?

The Cicero Trilogy by Robert Harris – a masterful recreation of the tumultuous life of Cicero, the legendary orator and statesman. The author's meticulous research and storytelling prowess bring ancient Rome to life, drawing parallels to contemporary issues we face in the legal profession today.

What changes do you expect to see in your practice over the next year?

I expect the global developments on taxation and asset protection to become even more dynamic, requiring a mindful and proactive approach to navigate the evolving regulatory and legal landscape.