Pierre-Yves Gunter
Founding Partner
Pierre-Yves Gunter is a highly acclaimed legal professional and is consistently ranked in leading professional guides such as Who’s Who Legal (“Thought Leader”), GAR, Chambers & Partner, and Legal 500. In 2023, he was named as one of the top 9 Leading Arbitrators in Switzerland by Leaders League.
Pierre-Yves Gunter
Founding Partner
Attorney-at-law
LL.M. Harvard
Geneva Bar Admission: 1991
Areas of practice:
Arbitration,
Dispute Resolution
Languages:
English, French, German
Overview
Pierre-Yves Gunter benefits of a remarkable track record in international commercial arbitration. His experience, spanning over three decades, also includes business law and IT law.
Since 1991, he has acted as counsel and arbitrator in 245 international commercial arbitration cases, both ad hoc (including UNCITRAL) and institutional (ICC, LCIA, ICDR, SIAC, SCAI, Stockholm Arbitration Institute, VIAC), making him one of the most experienced practitioners in the field.
Experience
His extensive experience in commercial arbitration includes a wide range of industries, such as, but not limited to, construction and complex projects, oil & gas, commodity and international trade, telecommunications and IT, intellectual property, post M&A, pharmaceutical, military & defense, real estate, and hotel management. Additionally, Mr. Gunter has experience as Counsel and arbitrator with investment arbitration cases.
Third party funders are regularly seeking his expert advice. He is also frequently called upon to serve as arbitration and Swiss law expert.
He is acting as counsel before state courts primarily for litigation cases connected to arbitration cases and appeals to the Swiss Federal Tribunal against arbitral awards, or in defending such appeals.
Qualifications
Mr. Gunter graduated summa cum laude from the Law School of the University of Neuchâtel (Switzerland) where he was also a teaching assistant for contract law.
He furthered his education by earning an LL.M. from Harvard Law School.
He also gained experience abroad by working for two years in London and Paris for a leading international law firm.
Mr. Gunter is a Board Member of the Swiss Arbitration Center (SAC), and has served as a Board Member of the Singapore International Arbitration Center (SIAC) and Chair of the Arbitration Committee of the section “International Law and Practice” of the American Bar Association (ABA).
He is a frequent speaker at conferences in arbitration and regularly publishes on topics of Swiss law, commercial disputes, and international arbitration.
His contributions to the field of international arbitration include co-editing the Guide to IP Arbitration for the Global Arbitration Review (GAR), co-authoring an article on “Organization of the Proceedings in Construction Arbitrations: General Considerations and Special Issues” in the GAR Guide to Construction Arbitration, and co-authoring the yearly review of the Swiss arbitration case law (Panorama de jurisprudence) for the Paris Journal of International Arbitration.
Anya Marinkovich
Counsel
J.D. Santa Clara University
LL.M. University of Neuchâtel
Contact details:
Areas of practice:
Arbitration,
Dispute Resolution
Languages:
English, French, German
Overview
Anya Marinkovich is a Swiss-American attorney who has been practicing in the field of international commercial arbitration for more than 10 years.
She has extensive experience acting as counsel, tribunal secretary, and arbitrator in a wide variety of commercial disputes, with a focus on the construction and energy sectors. She is a member of the California Bar and of the Section of Foreign Lawyers of the Geneva Bar Association, and on the Board of ICDR Young & International.
Experience
Anya Marinkovich has been working in Switzerland in international commercial arbitration since 2013.
She has a well-established practice in the fields of energy, construction, joint venture and post-M&A disputes, advising clients on all stages of dispute avoidance and resolution.
She has acted as counsel on numerous cases before various arbitral institutions, including the ICC, the LCIA and the Swiss Arbitration Centre, and also acts as arbitrator and arbitral secretary.
Qualifications
Anya Marinkovich graduated (cum laude) from the University of California, Santa Barbara, obtained her Juris Doctorate from Santa Clara University with a specialization in international and comparative law, and studied Swiss law at the University of Neuchâtel, where she obtained an LL.M. in Business and Tax Law. She also holds a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Law & Management from the University of St. Gallen.
Prior to moving to Switzerland, Mrs Marinkovich worked as assistant legal counsel before the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague and as an intern in the judges’ chambers at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.
Mrs Marinkovich regularly publishes and speaks on topics related to international arbitration and construction disputes. She has lectured at the University of Lausanne on cross-examination techniques, and also on international arbitration for the ELSA Summer School and the Swiss Arbitration Academy.
She is a member of the Board of the International Centre for Dispute Resolution’s Young and International group, for which she co-organizes the annual Swiss Chalet Debate! on hot topics of international arbitration and co-hosts a webinar series on best practices in international construction arbitration.
She is also an active member of many professional associations, including ASA Below 40, California Arbitration, ArbitralWomen and the Society of Construction Law – North America.
Annette Ponti
counsel
Annette Ponti
Counsel
Law Degree, University of Geneva
Degree in Economics, University of Geneva
Geneva Bar Admission: 1998
Contact details:
Areas of practice:
Commercial and Corporate,
International Arbitration,
Litigation
Languages:
French, English, Dutch
Overview
Annette Ponti is a Swiss attorney with over 20 years of experience in the fields of commercial and corporate law as well as domestic and international dispute resolution.
Experience
Annette regularly advises clients with respect to commercial contracts and corporate matters such as investment agreements, shareholders’ agreements, corporate governance or employment issues.
She has extensive practice in international arbitration in the fields of construction, joint ventures, post-M&A, pharmaceuticals, banking and insurance disputes among others. She has acted in over 30 international arbitration cases including high-stake cases involving complex contractual and corporate disputes seated both in common law and civil law jurisdictions under the leading arbitration rules such as the ICC Rules and the Swiss Arbitration Rules.
She also represents clients successfully before the Swiss courts at all jurisdictional levels in particular in relation to commercial and contractual matters but also in relation to arbitration related matters.
Her past experience as the head legal advisor of a Geneva company in the field of digital ride hailing has given her valuable insight into the fast-paced environment of a start-up company. Issues dealt with daily were related to regulatory, digital, data protection, corporate, commercial, investment and shareholder matters. Such in-house experience allows her to fully understand her clients’ expectations and needs and to keep a practical and results-orientated approach.
Luis Enrique Serrano
Associate
Luis Enrique Serrano
Associate
Attorney-at-law
L.L.B. University of Asuncion
L.L.M. Master of Laws in International Dispute Settlement (MIDS)
Paraguay Bar Admission: 2020
Contact details:
Areas of practice:
Arbitration,
Dispute Resolution
Languages:
English, Spanish
Overview
Luis Serrano is a dual Paraguayan-Spanish attorney with five years of experience in commercial and investment arbitration, as well as in civil litigation. He has worked as counsel and as an assistant to arbitral tribunals under various institutional arbitration rules across various industry fields. He is a member of the Paraguayan Bar.
Experience
Qualifications
Rik Vincent Koning
student trainee
Rik Vincent Koning
Student Trainee
Master in Law - Student at the University of Geneva
Contact details:
Areas of practice:
Arbitration,
Dispute Resolution
Languages:
English, French, German and Dutch
Overview
Rik Koning is currently pursuing a Master degree (MLaw) at the University of Geneva (UNIGE) with a focus on corporate and commercial law. He is assisting Gunter Arbitration with legal research in particular for Counsel cases. He is co-authoring with Pierre-Yves Gunter and Sabrine Schnyder the yearly review of Swiss arbitration case law in The Paris Journal of International Arbitration Rik Koning is Co-Captain of the UNIGE team participating in the 32nd Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot (Vis Moot). Participating in the prestigious Vis Moot allows him to sharpen his skills in international arbitration and international commercial law.