Founder and Partner of Wilhelm Avocats SA, Christophe Wilhelm holds a doctorate in law from the University of Lausanne and an LL.M. from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, USA. He has over thirty years of experience in business law, particularly commercial and corporate law, covering litigation, arbitration and legal advisory work.
He advises companies and entrepreneurs on their business activities, strategic decisions and the resolution of disputes.
Taking a pragmatic and personalised approach, he places attentive listening, dialogue and the pursuit of practical solutions at the heart of his practice.
Christophe Wilhelm is the author of approximately fifteen academic articles on Swiss corporate law and four well-regarded books in the field.
Believing that dialogue and trust are essential to the relationship between a lawyer and their client, Christophe Wilhelm favours a personalised, constructive and solution-oriented approach. He places particular importance on the quality of personal relationships and on building lasting relationships of trust with his clients, striving to understand their expectations, concerns and objectives.
Committed to the pragmatic resolution of disputes, he favours negotiation, mediation and amicable settlements whenever circumstances allow. He believes that a balanced and lasting agreement may sometimes better serve his clients’ interests than lengthy and costly court proceedings.
When court proceedings are necessary, he is committed to defending their interests with determination and rigour.
Valuing a multidisciplinary approach to legal practice, Christophe Wilhelm encourages exchanges and the combination of complementary expertise. He believes that sharing experience and discussing ideas with other professionals and advisers enriches legal thinking and contributes to the quality of advice provided to clients.
Deeply committed to passing on knowledge, he devotes time to mentoring and training younger lawyers. Driven by enduring intellectual curiosity and genuine enjoyment of his profession, he continues to deepen his legal thinking and share his experience with new generations.
Outside his professional activities, Christophe Wilhelm is President of the Swiss national association of the NGO HI Handicap International, which supports vulnerable populations worldwide, particularly people living with disabilities, including those affected by armed conflicts.
He is also an accomplished endurance athlete, having completed 39 marathons, including 21 in under three hours. He has completed eight Patrouille des Glaciers (PDG) events and climbed all of Switzerland’s 4,000-metre peaks.