We advise and represent you in all areas of general and special administrative law in which private individuals and companies appear against the state or public authorities. Examples are trade law, tax law, law on aliens, health law and education law. We accompany you through all stages of administrative proceedings, as well as in administrative lawsuits, if required. At the same time, we also advise municipalities and the state on various statutory administrative matters.

One focus is public construction law. Together with our specialists from the Real Estate and Construction Law Departments, we advise private individuals, experts from the construction industry and the public sector within the context of proceedings concerning construction permits, construction planning and building regulations, and represent clients before courts of law and public authorities in proceedings concerning construction law.

Our expert group for arbitration law has advised domestic and foreign clients for years in all areas of arbitration.  Our advisory services include in particular the preparation of arbitration agreements and arbitration clauses in agreements and company articles, advice and representation in arbitration proceedings, or representation in domestic judicial proceedings for the purpose of legal assistance to a court of arbitration.  As a result of Liechtenstein’s accession to the New York Convention, the comprehensive enforcement of foreign arbitral awards in Liechtenstein is possible; we will gladly advise and represent you in this contest.  We will answer any questions in connection with Liechtenstein arbitration law in the form of a legal opinion.  Being experienced arbitrators ourselves, we are also available for carrying out arbitration proceedings.

Due to our long-standing experience and our good network, we can offer you expert competence in arbitration and the solution tailored to your requirements in the handling of conflicts.

Our knowledge of the financial industry is thorough, and we have extensive experience in the formation and consultation of banks, insurance companies, asset managers, and other financial intermediaries or their branches and representations.  We advise our clients not only with regard to formation but also in connection with the preparation of the relevant banking and insurance documentation; the regulations and internal guidelines and instructions; the establishment of adequate risk management and impeccable corporate governance and compliance.  We are the first port of call for banks, investment service providers, and asset managers in matters of banking and capital market law.  We support you in all matters of regulation, contract, and supervisory law, and we are available to you at any time as your retained counsel who is thoroughly familiar with your company and your requirements.  We will also gladly support your own legal services as required, e.g. with legal opinions (second opinion) or with accepting mandates to conduct proceedings.  Due to the size and experience of our firm, we are able to put together an interdisciplinary team for the respective problem as required to ensure comprehensive legal services quickly, cost-efficiently, and with a high level of expert competence.

We advise in the area of financial technologies (FinTech). This area includes consulting in connection with electronic currencies, digital payment systems, distributed ledger technologies (in particular blockchain and directed acyclic graph or tangle), e-money and fund raising via Initial Coin Offerings (Token Generating Events).

Our FinTech team has in-depth technical know-how in the area of blockchain and token economy and advises in connection with the necessary capital market conditions for digital activities, platforms and crypto currencies. We also advise and represent in regulatory approval procedures before the Liechtenstein Financial Market Authority (FMA).

BWB is the sole shareholder of Blockstar (see www.blockstar.li), which is active in the fields of blockchain technology, artificial intelligence and crypto currencies. BWB is also a member of the CRYPTO COUNTRY ASSOCIATION (CCA) e.V., Liechtenstein.

Our expert group for capital market law advises domestic and international clients in all matters of banking, insurance, and capital market law.  This includes individual advice and the conduct of proceedings in the regulated financial services industry; support in company structuring and financing; advice in launching investment funds and securities offers as well as the corresponding issuing of prospectuses and any duties of disclosure or the like.  Due to long-standing experience and close cooperation with the authorities in the most demanding projects, we are excellently connected and can therefore rely on short paths of communication, which in turn enables us to offer you well-founded and recognised solutions on short notice.

For our clients – both private and corporate (e.g. insurance companies) – we handle liability cases of all kinds.  Claims for damages regularly result from traffic accidents, work-related accidents, occupational diseases, construction defects, or medical malpractice.  Being specialists in liability and insurance law, we will handle your claims and conduct lawsuits for damages to assert or defend against claims for damages because of damage or injury to persons, items, or assets; claims for the payment of compensation for pain and suffering are typically involved.

We offer an «all-in» service to our clients in all matters of day-to-day business and quasi act as a retained counsel with their domestic and border-crossing business activities.  Advisory services include the preparation, negotiation, review, and enforcement of contracts of any kind.  Particular emphasis is on matters of contract and commercial law in general (such as General Terms and Conditions or General Terms of Sale and Delivery); assistance in matters of civil liability, employment, provision, and social insurance law; in matters of tenancy law; advice in matters of mandate, purchase and commission law; and the like.

Our expert group for corporate law advises domestic and international clients in all fields of company law.  Our advisory services comprise all legal entities and other legal subjects of Liechtenstein law.  This includes in particular individual advice concerning the formation of Liechtenstein companies and trusts; the wording of articles and by-laws, trust deeds, and partnership agreements; continuous advice to the management, in particular with regard to the preparation and carrying out of general meetings, board meetings, and with regard to general entrepreneurial questions; the handling of national and international purchase transactions;  advice in connection with changes in capital, restructurings, and liquidations, and the preparation of legal opinions.

As a result of long-standing experience within our expert group, we are regularly consulted for demanding projects and are therefore in a position to offer solutions tailored to your requirements.

One feature of the Liechtenstein legal system is the existence of the Constitutional Court. After all instances of the ordinary courts of law have been exhausted, and if a violation of the Constitution is asserted, then recourse to the Constitutional Court is possible. We also repre-sent you within the field of constitutional law in individual appeals in which violations of the Constitution are asserted. Since our law firm possesses suitable expertise, we are also quali-fied to issue legal opinions in all matters of constitutional and international law.

We advise our clients in all matters of good and responsible Corporate Governance (best practice).  This includes the drafting and implementation of efficient management and controlling structures in individual enterprises as well as in the group; advice in connection with company law risks and risk management in general and functioning company management and controlling in particular; the preparation of organisational regulations and other internal guidelines, directions, rules of conduct, or specifications; questions in connection with shareholder relations or the managing director’s duties of good faith and conflicts of interest and transactions with affiliated persons; or compliance with laws and regulations (such as duties of disclosure) in general.  If possible, legal problems should be prevented in advance, and if problems do appear, we will assist the company management in reacting quickly, resolutely, and correctly.  If required, we will also assist our clients in carrying out internal investigations.

This field also includes the preparation of expert opinions and support in connection with all regulatory aspects of company law, in particular in the field of Compliance, investigations and reports in connection with money laundering, legislation on market misuse, and due diligence investigations in the course of mergers and takeovers.

Our Criminal Law Team supports clients in all areas of criminal law.  As a result of our specialisation and long-standing experience in this field, we guarantee the highest degree of competence and know-how.  We are very familiar not only with the current court practice but also with the relevant institutions at the police and the courts of law.  This ensures effective defence in court as well as competent advice and support in all areas of criminal jurisprudence.

We will advise and represent you in all fields of criminal law, such as general criminal law (e.g. assault, theft, embezzlement, fraud, money laundering, slander), juvenile criminal law, white collar crime (e.g. insolvency offences, tax criminal law), administrative criminal law, violations of the Liechtenstein Narcotics Act (Betäubungsmittelgesetz, BMG) or the Road Traffic Act (Strassenverkehrsgesetz, SVG), and in connection with (pre-trial) detention.

We protect the interests of our customers if their privacy is infringed, so if their personal data is processed illegally (e. g. data are unlawfully collected, used, or disclosed). We also support our clients in the exercise of their rights and represent them vis-à-vis companies and authorities. We also advise our customers on how they can protect their own data. Data protection is an everyday topic, whether in business, at work or privately.

We advise companies in dealing with all data protection regulations. This includes typical topics such as how a company has to organise itself, general data processing, how sensitive data is to be handled, who has access to data, what kind of data can be passed on to whom, what has to be considered when passing on data to authorities, how to deal with errors or complaints, and much more. We prepare the necessary (internal) documents, sensitize or train employees.

Articles on data protection by Dr. Philipp Mittelberger:

• The automatic exchange of information as a new form of data retention (November 2015)
• Reform of data protection in Europe and implications for a small state (September 2015)
• The relationship between the application of the Data Protection Act and special laws, using the SPG area as an example (September 2013)
• Constitutionality of data retention in Liechtenstein? (March 2012)
• Data protection opportunities and risks of cloud computing (July 2011)
• Video surveillance in the light of the Constitution (September 2008)
• Consent as a central element of data protection law (December 2006)
• The Liechtenstein Data Protection Act – an introduction (June 2003)

These essays can be found here:

As an EEA Member State Liechtenstein is part of the European Economic Area (EEA).  Therefore, the Liechtenstein legal system is strongly influenced by rules on the level of the EU.  It is in particular the rules concerning the Internal Market (the 4 fundamental freedoms) that increasingly shape Liechtenstein laws and court practice.  In this sense, it is indispensable to know the relevant rules of European law.

We consider the specifications and influences of European law in our daily advisory activities, be it in the support of banks and insurance companies concerning regulative aspects or in conducting civil lawsuits.  We are also qualified to prepare legal opinions concerning the law of the EEA and the EU and generally advise our clients in all aspects of European business law.  This also includes representation before the EFTA Court.

We will assist you in the collection of your claims; depending on the constellation, measures provided by debt collection law (payment order) will suffice.  If your claim has been recognised by the debtor and has been recorded in the required form, or if you want to have a foreign decision enforced, you have the option of initiating summary proceedings for obtaining an enforceable title (so-called Rechtsöffnungsverfahren), in which we will gladly assist you.

We will also advise and represent you in the enforcement of your claims by coercive measures.  If necessary, this is done by attachment measures such as the obtainment of provisional injunctions, by which you can provisionally secure your monetary or other claims.

We will also represent you in bankruptcy proceedings, in which we will register your claims or bring any legal action that is necessary.

We advise and assist all financial intermediaries in all matters of regulated financial services and in supervisory matters of any kind, be it in connection with obtaining the corresponding permits from the FMA in forming domestic banks, insurance companies, or asset management companies; with risks in terms of company law and under the aspect of functioning risk management; for impeccable corporate governance and compliance; in the preparation of the corresponding regulations and internal guidelines, instructions, rules of conduct, and specifications; and many more.  We always make our best efforts to offer you solutions for your problems fast and in a way recognised by the authorities.

We offer advisory services in all matters concerning domestic and international financial transactions.  We regularly assist the leading national and international banks and other financial institutions and companies from a wide range of industries in connection with structure financing, international transactions, and the securing of credits.  For both lenders and borrowers, we prepare and review agreements e.g. for the financing of an acquisition or a corporate finance transaction, or provide extensive legal opinions for the contracting parties involved.  Due to our long-standing experience, we are a permanent contact in connection with financing involving Liechtenstein domicile companies, where we are in particular responsible for structuring collaterals in accordance with the current domestic and international standards.

Our clients are the founders, beneficiaries, trustees, or other organs of foundations or trusts.  We advise them not only in connection with the formation of common-benefit and private-benefit foundations and trusts but also concerning the design of succession planning and beneficiary arrangements and their implications in terms of inheritance law; the preparation, review, and adjustment of articles and by-laws and other regulations; or the day-to-day management of the legal entities through the preparation of legal opinions on special questions and the like.  In particular, we advise our clients in connection with special problems concerning the handover to the next generation; with requests to receive information; with special legal issues in connection with distributions to beneficiaries; concerning the investment of the company’s assets; in the event of liability claims; in general questions of foundation governance, and many more.

A substantial part of our daily work concerns advice in connection with business foundations and charitable legal entities.  We are regularly concerned with matters of asset protection, in particular with matters of objections by creditors or forced heirs, with matters of enforcement, or connected questions of private international law.

We represent our clients in all contentious and non-contentions proceedings that may occur in connection with Liechtenstein legal subjects, in particular in proceedings on the receiving of information, supervisory proceedings, subsequent or official liquidation, appointment of guardians, etc.

We have almost twenty years experience in the field of data protection, a unique asset in Liechtenstein.

The GDPR entails numerous changes and innovations. We follow the rapid developments regarding the GDPR and advise companies on how to proceed in implementing its requirements. In addition to staff training, training as a data protection officer or the preparation of the records of processing activities, we support professional associations as well as small and large companies in general and provide information on our blog.

The GDPR also offers the possibility of drafting codes of conduct by professional associations. We draw up such rules of conduct or also act as (external) data protection officer.

We also advise companies with special questions regarding the legal situation in Liechtenstein with regard to the GDPR (implementation of the Data Protection Act and of special legislation with regard to data protection).

We represent our clients before all data protection authorities and in related penalty proceedings (for which the experience in the former Article 29 Working Party is very helpful).

Our participation in the Data Protection Association in Liechtenstein www.dsv.li, the cooperation with the Professional Association of Data Protection Officers in Germany (BvD) e.V. www.bvdnet.de  and the Association of Austrian Data Protection Officers: www.privacyofficers.at  excellently rounds off our offer.

Further links:
– Data Protection Authority of Liechtenstein: www.datenschutzstelle.li
– European Data Protection Board: www.edpb.europa.eu

We provide comprehensive support in your succession planning.  We will help you to achieve that distribution of your private and business assets that you consider ideal.  Our inheritance law specialists work together with our expert group for corporate law to take into due account all fields of law that are involved.

We will prepare and review for you last wills, inheritance and gift contracts, and will assume the office of executor and estate curator.  We will represent you in the probate proceedings to be carried out in Liechtenstein and will draw up agreements for you for the division of estate.  We will also support you in the assertion of rights in court, such as in an action for a forced share or an inheritance recovery action.

We register intellectual property rights for our clients on a national and international level.  We will provide advice in trademark law and represent our clients in proceedings to assert trademark rights.  We will also advise and represent our clients in matters of copyright and competition law for the protection of copyrights and for the preservation of fair competition.

Information technology (IT) has meanwhile become a part of many aspects of life.  In the legal profession, this leads to substantial challenges in day-to-day business in connection with data processing and data protection.  We advise our clients in all questions concerning the outsourcing of services, e-commerce, and specific issues in connection with data processing.

We advise and support our clients in all legal matters of investment fund law.  This includes the new formation of investment funds, their restructuring, the distribution of fund units, regulatory issues of any kind, and clients› representation vis-à-vis the Financial Market Authority or other authorities.

We will advise and represent you in all aspects of employment contract law (civil employment law) and public employment law (employment protection law).  In the field of employment contract law, there is often a need for advice and representation in the context of the ending of employment relationships (summary dismissal, wrongful termination, changed/partial terminations, prohibition of competition, leave and mass redundancies).  We will support you in seeking an out-of-court solution and will represent you in judicial proceedings if these efforts fail.

One of our focuses is on advising human resources managers in the preparation of employment contracts, regulations concerning staff and expenses, bonus participation models, and in the context of transfers of enterprises and restructurings.  We also advise recruiters and staff leasing companies in employment law and in neighbouring fields of law, such as social insurance law.

Furthermore, we provide advice or representation in conjunction with corporate purchases and sales, acquisitions and takeovers.

Clarifications concerning employment law and its surroundings frequently also concern other areas of law such as social insurance law or persons and companies law.  Such constellations occur e.g. in the event of the illness of death of employees or in the assessment of employment relationships with providers of financial services, such as banks.  As a result of our know-how not only in employment law but also in the other fields of law involved, we are able to offer comprehensive legal support to you.

Our contract specialists prepare and edit contracts from various fields of contract law.  Our Real Estate Law Department prepares a wide variety of real estate contracts (purchase, exchange, gift, etc.).  Often, our know-how is in demand in the preparation of employment and tenancy agreements.  We can also offer you support in the preparation of the contracts required by you, be it partnership and shareholder agreements, agreements for collateral, or matrimonial and inheritance contracts.

In addition to the preparation of contracts, one focus of our activities is on the implementation and enforcement of contracts, and where extra-judicial negotiations have failed, also on the representation in court disputes before all authorities and courts of law in Liechtenstein.

We advise our clients with regard to national and international acquisitions and sales of companies, mergers, divisions, transfers of assets, and other forms of restructuring, as well as in matters of outsourcing, management buyout, and the like.  We conduct comprehensive due diligence investigations, draft the merger plan and merger report, and prepare the corresponding general meetings.  We also prepare all agreements required in this context and if so desired design tailor-made shareholder agreements.  Matters of corporate governance and compliance also form a focal point of our activities in this field.  We accompany our clients even in the most complex transactions and represent them before all authorities in connection with the approvals and permits necessary for this.

We offer comprehensive advice to our clients in all matters concerning their private and business assets.  The focal points of our activities are on succession planning – in particular the regulation of succession in enterprises – and on the structuring of assets including the connected tax planning.  The preparation of last wills, matrimonial and inheritance contracts, gift contracts, estate management, execution, division of estates, and the formation of common-benefit or private-benefit foundations and trusts are among the core competences of our expert group for private clients.

Successful succession planning also includes (preventive) advice in asset protection in connection with objections from creditors and forced heirs, matters of enforcement, or matters of private international law.  Together with our Litigation Team, we represent our clients before all courts and public authorities in all disputes under inheritance law or trust/foundation law as well as in corresponding arbitration proceedings.

Often, our clients want to move their place of residence to Liechtenstein.  In this context, we assist our clients in connection with work and residence permits, negotiate lump-sum taxation, and accompany them comprehensively in all matters that may occur when taking residence in Liechtenstein.

We gladly also take the function of «family office» for very wealthy families, and together with specialised partners we handle for them all legal and administrative matters concerning their assets in Liechtenstein or abroad.

Questions of private international law come up firstly in court proceedings: border-crossing facts are frequent in Liechtenstein as a result of the country’s smallness and the international orientation of its economy.

On the other hand, knowledge of private international law is often required when preparing a legal opinion.  There are often questions concerning jurisdiction and concerning the recognition and enforcement of foreign decisions.

We will support you in such questions that concern border-crossing facts.  This includes in particular the preparation of sound legal opinions.

Our  Litigation Department represents clients in judicial and extra-judicial disputes.  Our focus is in the conduct of civil proceedings in all areas of civil law.  In particular in court proceedings involving company law, our specialists from the Litigation Department work in close cooperation with the Corporate Law Department in order bundle our know-how in both fields in the best interest of the client.

We support and represent our customers if they have been violated in their fundamental rights. This applies not only to domestic authorities or in proceedings before the State Court, but also to the European Court of Human Rights. In addition, we also represent our clients vis-à-vis any media if they see themselves violated by public reporting or contributions to social networks.

Our Real Estate and Construction Law Department offers comprehensive advice to private individuals as well as experts from the real estate industry in the clarification of all questions from real estate and construction law.  In addition to legal advice and support in real estate transactions, we will if required support you in all disputes concerning construction law, also by representation before the courts of law and administrative authorities.

The emphasis of our activities is on the preparation of contracts (purchase, exchange, gift, easements, contract modifications, general contractor agreements, etc.), the obtaining of the necessary permits from the authorities, tax-law clarifications concerning real estate gains tax, clarifications in terms of real estate transaction law, implementation of contracts in the Land Register, establishment of condominiums, establishment of charges on real property (including builder’s liens), and advice in tenancy law.  We will also gladly advise you in connection with actions for ownership and in defence of rights of possession, in the conduct of lawsuits concerning neighbourhood law and building lawsuits of any kind, and in the review of aspects of building regulations with construction projects.

In the event of insolvency (even if only threatening), several disciplines are typically involved, which is why the experts from our various teams cooperate on an interdisciplinary basis.  We advise our clients comprehensively and accompany them in a goal-oriented and pragmatic manner through the most difficult times.  Our advisory services include restructuring and refinancing in general, the conduct of the corresponding composition or other proceedings, the representation of the client – be it as a concerned company or as a creditor – in the insolvency proceedings proper (e.g. registration of claims, actions for separation and preferential treatment, lawsuits concerning objections and what is called «collocation» [i.e. the collection and ranking of all creditors], and the like), or coordination between domestic and foreign insolvency proceedings, etc.

As a result of its high percentage of aliens, Liechtenstein is restrictive in the granting of residence permits.  The fundamental freedom of the free movement of persons that applies in European law has been restricted in this.

Concerning residence in Liechtenstein, there are different rules for citizens of EEA states, Swiss citizens, and citizens of third states.  Under the Liechtenstein Act on the Free Movement of EEA Citizens, part of the residence permits to be granted annually are issued by lottery.

We represent you before the competent authorities in proceedings to receive a residence and establishment permit.  We will also gladly advise you in all matters connected with this, such as labour law (work permit), tax law (lump-sum taxation), and real estate law (acquisition of real estate).

We advise and represent our clients in all fields of social insurance law, which in addition to civil liability serves as an important pillar in the damage compensation system of our legal system.  We support our clients in the individual categories of social insurance law, in particular in medical law and accident insurance law, in disability insurance law, and occupational pension law.  We conduct legal proceedings for our clients to assert claims if an insured event occurs (disability, old age, death); in Liechtenstein, some of these are settled in specific mixed proceedings before public authorities and the courts of law.

Often, questions and disputes of social insurance law cannot be solved without taking into account civil liability, private insurance, and labour contract law.  Due to our experience in these fields, too, we are able to offer comprehensive advice to our clients and develop solutions in consideration of all legal questions that may come up.

We advise our clients in all fiscal matters, be it in connection with the handling of international purchases and commercial transactions, restructuring, the establishment of businesses, succession planning, or in connection with private-benefit or public-benefit legal entities.  Complex issues require interdisciplinary cooperation within the team, which we can provide quickly as a result of our size and wide-ranging experience.  Many facts of daily life have an international aspect, which is why we regularly work together with proven foreign specialists or with counsels preferred by clients.  The application of recently concluded double taxation treaties is more and more becoming a focal point of our advisory activities and offers new possibilities in connection with the very liberal Liechtenstein tax law.

In addition to tax planning, advice in connection with the exchange of information in matters of taxation (AEOI, FATCA, TIEA) and the representation of clients in proceedings connected with this forms a focal point of our activities.  If required, we will also represent our clients in tax proceedings, including any criminal tax proceedings.

In Liechtenstein, there is no conciliation authority in tenancy matters, as there is in Switzerland, for example.  It is all the more important to have professional support in the context of matters and problems of tenancy law.

We advise private individuals and companies in all areas and matters concerning tenancy law.  This includes the preparation and review of tenancy agreements, advice in running tenancy relationships in the event of rent increases, damage to the rented object, change of ownership of the rented property, and advice in the termination of tenancy relationships (judicial or extra-judicial termination, extraordinary termination of tenancy agreements, difficulties in connection with ancillary costs).

We will also represent you in rental disputes in court, which typically occur at the end of a tenancy relationship and often require expert knowledge in execution law (assertion of rights of retention, actions for eviction).

If you have violated road traffic rules, you may expect administrative measures (loss of driving licence, warning) and penal proceedings (fines).  We will advise and represent you in either kind of proceedings before the competent authority for administrative measures (Motorfahrzeugkontrolle, Motor Vehicle Licensing Authority) and before the court.  In legal cases involving road traffic law, both administrative and criminal law must be taken into account to the same extent, which is ensured by our expert knowledge in both fields.

Regardless of violations of traffic rules, participation in (motorised) road traffic will occasionally lead to traffic accidents.  Apart from the above-mentioned aspects, accidents involve another one: the law concerning compensation for damages.  We will advise you in connection with the assertion of your claims (damages, treatment costs, compensation for pain and suffering) and with defence against unjustified claims where you have caused an accident yourself.  The comprehensive handling of civil liability cases is a focal point of our Litigation Department.

We represent our clients as complaining parties, injured parties, or defendants in all matters of white collar crime and administrative criminal law and represent them before all supervisory and prosecution authorities.  It is particularly in well-regulated fields such as the financial services industry that adherence to international compliance standards and advice to executive staff are of pivotal importance.  For our clients, we investigate possible criminal acts and regulatory violations by executives and employees and assist our clients in mending any defects found.  Focal points of our activities concern money laundering, corruption, insider trading, but also internal investigations in companies.

We conduct criminal lawsuits of any kind and will also assert any resulting civil-law claims for our clients.  Together with the Corporate Law Team, we have recognised expertise in asset tracing and also represent victims of fraud in the civil-law securing and retrieval by legal action of the lost assets.

Another focal point of our advisory activities is on matters of international legal assistance in criminal matters and on representation in court in corresponding legal assistance proceedings.