Schmidhäusler Rechtsanwälte AG is a private limited company registered in the Commercial Register. Our lawyers and staff are employed by Schmidhäusler Rechtsanwälte AG.

The attorney-at-law mandate is a mandate within the meaning of Art. 394 et seq. of the Swiss Code of Obligations. The mandatee undertakes to fulfil the mandate diligently in the interest of the principal (client); however, no success is owed.

In order for us to be able to legally represent you vis-à-vis third parties, in particular courts and authorities, we require a written power of attorney signed by you. In the download area you will find our power of attorney and a sample mandate agreement.

A mandate and a power of attorney based on it can, in principle, be revoked at any time.

Our fees are generally calculated on the basis of the time spent. It is therefore important that you prepare well for the respective meetings. Here is a useful link for preparation.

We set the hourly rate according to the type of mandate (value of interest, urgency, etc.) and the client’s situation. We use the following basic rates as a starting point:

• Guido Schmidhäusler, Attorney at Law, from CHF 330.00 (excl. VAT)
• Lukas Bosshard, Attorney at Law, from CHF 330.00 (excl. VAT)
• Thilo Pachmann, lawyer, from CHF 330.00 (excl. VAT)
• Andrea Bosshard, MLaw, CHF 200.00 (excl. VAT)

For secretarial work we charge CHF 110.00 (excl. VAT) /hour.

All legal efforts, including the initial meeting and telephone or e-mail enquiries, are to be remunerated. In particular, this includes all time spent on studying files, giving advice, correspondence with the client and third parties, drafting legal documents, preparing negotiations and representation before courts and authorities, including travel.

If any legal expenses insurance does not pay the full hourly rate, the client undertakes to pay the difference.

Expenses incurred in the handling of your case will be charged to you. These include the reimbursement of expenses for postage, telephone, photocopies (CHF 1/copy), travel expenses (CHF 1/car kilometre or tram/train ticket), courier services, transport of files, legal costs, fees, invoices from third parties for services obtained within the scope of the mandate, mandate-related use of legal databases (e.g., Swisslex), etc.

Invoices from third parties, e.g., court costs or fees from public authorities, must always be paid directly by the client, even if the invoice is in the name of our law firm.

We may request advances or payments on account for our services and expenses and will provide you with interim invoices.

You may at any time request a statement of account or a statement of the amount of the fee owed and the expenses incurred as well as interim invoices.

In principle, every procedure before the authorities brings with it opportunities, but also risks. For example, in court proceedings and in other proceedings before authorities – even in the event of complete victory – it is often the case that not all of your expenses for your lawyer will be reimbursed by the other party. In the canton of Schwyz, for example, the tariff of fees for lawyers (SR SZ 280.411) applies in court proceedings.

In the event of losing a civil case, the client (in addition to his or her own lawyer’s fees) must in principle pay the court costs (in accordance with the scale of fees for the administration and administration of justice in the canton of Schwyz SR SZ 173.111and also reimburse the lawyer’s fees of the opposing party (within the scope of the awarded party compensation in accordance with the scale of fees), which are primarily calculated according to the amount in dispute.

If you have legal expenses insurance, you must clarify in advance whether the case is covered by your insurance. Please follow the Checkliste of the Swiss Bar Association and the Swiss Insurance Association.