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Nadine Pfiffner

MLaw, LL.M. (KCL)

Senior Associate // Attorney-at-law

othorn legal | international disputes

nadine.pfiffner@rothorn.legal
t +41 (0)44 212 11 22
m +41 79 615 35 78

Nadine Pfiffner advises and represents companies and individuals in complex and multi-jurisdictional disputes, including in international arbitrations under all major arbitration rules, before Swiss courts and in pre-trial negotiations. She has a special focus on contract and commercial law, as well as on technology and engineering disputes. In addition, she frequently acts in award enforcement proceedings. Nadine also sits as an arbitrator.

Nadine regularly publishes and speaks on Swiss contract law, international arbitration and new developments in the field of legal technology. She also acts as DIS40 Regional Coordinator and HK45 Ambassador for Switzerland.

Before joining rothorn, Nadine was a lawyer in the arbitration, litigation and internal investigations department of major Swiss law firm Bär & Karrer. She holds a Bachelor (BLaw) and a Master of Law (MLaw) from the University of Zurich, and a Master of Laws in Business and Financial Law (LL.M.) from King’s College London. Before entering private practice, she worked as a teaching and research fellow at the University of Zurich and was a Visiting Research Associate at the University of Hong Kong. Nadine has regularly coached the University of Zurich’s Vis Moot team and is currently writing a PhD thesis on international and Swiss commercial law and arbitration.

Nadine is a Swiss-qualified lawyer. She speaks German and English and reads French.

Experience (Excerpt)
  • Representing an operator of conventional and nuclear power plants in an ICC arbitration against an equipment company on claims arising from the design and delivery of equipment.
  • Representing a world-leading automotive company in an ICC arbitration against one of its distributors concerning the alleged defective and late delivery of vehicles and spare parts.
  • Advising a major Swiss transportation company on a dispute with an international supplier of a new generation of transportation equipment.
  • Representing an Asian technology company in a CAS arbitration with an international sports body concerning media and sponsorship rights.
  • Advising a Middle Eastern company regarding an ICC arbitration against European companies concerning a distribution agreement in the automotive sector.
  • Acting as Administrative Secretary in an UNCITRAL international arbitration dispute relating to the construction industry.
  • Defending a Swiss bank in court proceedings against claims brought by a client due to allegedly misleading investment advice.
  • Defending a Swiss insurance company in court proceedings concerning the termination of an insurance contract for a major energy infrastructure project due to international sanctions.
  • Defending a Swiss insurance company in multiple court proceedings against claims resulting from the Covid-19 Pandemic.
Qualifications
  • Master of Laws (LL.M.), King’s College London, 2013
  • Master of Law (MLaw), University of Zurich, 2012
  • Bachelor of Law (Blaw), University of Zurich, 2011
Publications (Excerpt)
  • CISG und ICC Incoterms, in: Schiedsverfahren in der Unternehmenspraxis: Rechtliche und wirtschaftliche Grundlagen der internationalen Schiedsgerichtsbarkeit, June 2024 (co-authored with Dr. Pascal Hachem)
  • 406a – 406h OR, in: Handkommentar zum Schweizer Privatrecht, 4th ed., Zurich/Geneva, 2023
  • Brexit and the Recognition and Enforcement of UK Judgments in Switzerland – An Update, in: Bär & Karrer Briefing, May 2022 (co-authored with Nadja Jaisli Kull, Aurélie Conrad Hari and Dr. Romana Weinöhrl-Brüggemann)
  • Quantification of damages in post-M&A disputes under Swiss law, in: IFLR Magazine, September 2021 (co-authored with Dr. Pascal Hachem)
  • The Use of Analytical Tools to Determine Case Strategy, in: Austrian Yearbook on International Arbitration 2020, Vienna, 2020, pp. 447–457
  • Vertrauenshaftungsfälle 44 und 45 sowie UN-Kaufrechtsfall 5, in: Huguenin/Hotz (Hrsg.), Fälle zum Obligationenrecht, 2nd ed., Zurich/Basel/Geneva, 2020, pp. 211–217
  • Post-M&A-Schiedsverfahren: Recht und Rechtsfindung jenseits gesetzlichen Rechts?, in: SchiedsVZ, 2017, pp. 256–258