Marc Schmid is a Swiss lawyer with a legal practice in Zurich, Switzerland. The legal entity is RA Marc Schmid LLC with its domicile in Zurich. RA Marc Schmid LLC is legally responsible for this website and the services rendered by Marc Schmid on behalf of RA Marc Schmid LLC. Marc Schmid is a certified specialist by the Swiss Bar Association for employment law and he is also a specialist for Swiss criminal law.
Appointments in Boston and New England are frequently possible.
RA Marc Schmid LLC, Seestr. 80, 8002 Zurich
Phone: +41 79 105 80 83
Email: marc.schmid[at]rechtsschmid.ch
Zoom calls available
Marc Schmid is in the process of registering as foreign legal consultant in Massachusetts and setting up an address in Boston. He will continue to have his main practice in Zurich/Switzerland. Already now he is frequently available for appointments in the New England area.
The aim of Marc Schmid’s representation in Boston is to give clients of the New England area a single contact point for all matters related to Swiss law and the Swiss government or one of the Swiss Cantons’ governments.
Marc Schmid is politically active in a bipartisan manner. His main focus is to support movements which seek to end the taxation of US citizens who live outside the United States.
Furthermore, he can support US Persons with inquiries in Russian, thanks to one of his employees. Marc Schmid speaks English, German, French, Italian and Hungarian.
As Marc Schmid speaks Hungarian and has close ties with Hungary, he can also help with matters related to Hungary.
Memberships:
- Zurich and Swiss Bar Associations
- National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys, USA
- International Jewish Lawyers
- Workgroups of Zurich Bar Association for Criminal and Employment law
Marc Schmid studied law in Switzerland at the universities of Lucerne and Neuchâtel. He passed the bar exam in Zug in 2014 and has specialized in employment and criminal law ever since.
Articles:
- Lay off as shock for employees – overview over potential issues
- Dismissal from 55 and early retirement in Switzerland
- False allegation of sexual assault after a date or an argument
- Guide to additional citizenships
Swiss Employment Law
He represents employees in court against banks, insurances, Cantons, schools and federal corporations. At the same time he supports employers at trial and drafts employment agreements.
- Employment agreements and employee regulations
- Bonus/employee participation plans
- Working time
- Non-compete covenants
- Termination of employment and termination agreements
- Internal investigations
- Restructurings and reorganizations
- Social plans
- Collective bargaining agreements
- Secondments and personnel placement
- Discriminations and conflicts at the workplace
Swiss Criminal Law
Marc Schmid, furthermore, defends accused people in criminal law. He represents corporations, directors, management and other individuals in connection with a broad range of government investigations, enforcement actions, and internal investigations. He supports his clients when they have become victims of criminal behavior by their own employees or by third parties, and helps them assert their rights within and beside the criminal investigations and proceedings. He also represents his clients when they need to defend themselves against allegations of wrongdoing in various business contexts and at every stage of the criminal process, in investigations, before prosecutors or courts.
When people or companies are caught up in the web of the investigating authorities, they need qualified advice and assistance from an experienced criminal lawyer at the earliest possible stage. In view of the massive state intervention in criminal proceedings, the defender performs an important protection and control function in the interests of his clients.
- Violent Crimes
- Relationship problems;
- Financial crimes;
- Narcotics law (BetmG) / drug offences;
- Road traffic offences; and
- Deportations
Marc Schmid defends clients in the above mentioned fields of law. He is therefore as familiar with current case law as he is with the relevant institutions in the police and judiciary.
Whatever your legal needs are, Marc Schmid is there for you as quickly as possible and also in emergencies. He is available for a personal conversation. Put your defense in his hands if you want discreet representation and do not want to compromise in the criminal proceedings. Please contact his team to arrange a meeting.
Lay off as shock for employees – overview over potential issues
When employees are suddenly sacked at work, many questions arise. In most cases, employees perceive a lay off as unjust and inadmissible. They state, that the climate at work was not good and that they were overloaded with tasks. Often, there are also difficulties with superiors and colleagues.
Unlike in other European countries, a termination of the employment by an employer in Switzerland does not virtually guarantee monetary compensation. Which is why employers have to be approached with a strategy.
In a first step, employees need to assess, what claims they wish to raise and what strategic long term goal they seek. Arguing with a sacked employee is burdensome and costly for employers. This means, that both parties often times have a common interest despite all. They both want to get on with business without an escalating legal case.
For employees, a lot of value lies in a good reference letter. Most reference letters are never reviewed by a specialist. This leads to reference letters appearing worse than intended – even by the employer. There are certain key phrases and words which must be included in reference letters. While other seemingly harmless phrases can make a reference letter appear bad. At the same time, even employers are often unaware of disadvantageous aspects of a reference letter. As a consequence, improvements can be negotiated at no objection by the employer.
When it comes to monetary compensation for the lay off, the situation normally is more complex. Employers are obviously reluctant to give away compensation for free. However, the international culture of an employer can lead to unexpected compensation, which would be uncommon in Switzerland. In such cases, it is important to at least ask for compensation and to do it the right way with the proper legal wording.
Furthermore, employers often times make mistakes before a lay off. This can cause employers to be more vulnerable to potential court action. In order to avoid court action and the related costs, employers can often times financially justify compensation, after all. However, this requires that the employee is aware of potential claims and points them out to the employer. E.g., because a termination might be abusive under Swiss law.
Additionally, employees frequently suffer psychological illnesses when losing a job. As a result, their salary is typically paid by a daily allowance insurance. This can lead to a situation, where the financial burden for the employer in case of a termination agreement can be eliminated. In such cases, it is very important, that doctors make careful assessments of the employee’s ability to work and that there is a time frame, by when the employee is expected to be fit for work again. In other words, assessment by doctor’s need to be worded carefully, as they have legal consequences. Insurances must be included in the negotiations.
Last but not least, compensation by the unemployment insurance should be secured in case a phase of unemployment is expected. Multiple issues can be an obstacle for such compensation. By planing carefully, however, such obstacles can usually be avoided.
Dismissal from 55 and early retirement in Switzerland
If someone over the age of 55 loses their job, the question usually arises as to what consequences this will have for retirement. In most industries in Switzerland, it is difficult to find a new job from this age.
Anyone who loses their job from the age of 55 is generally entitled to unemployment benefits for 520 days. At the same time, the end of the employment relationship means that the pension fund’s accumulated retirement capital is transferred to a vested benefits account and pension benefits can no longer be drawn.
Many pension fund regulations allow early retirement only from 58 or 60. This means that a pension can only be drawn from this point in time. This pension is significantly lower than it is with the regular reference from 64 for women, or 65 for men. It should be borne in mind that an early withdrawal of the AHV pension is only possible a maximum of two years before the normal retirement age. This causes an income gap. In addition, also with the AHV only a reduced pension is aligned and for the whole pension duration, i.e., also from 64/65.
In order to prevent a gap in the AHV contributions, insured persons can continue to pay contributions into the AHV. The amount to be paid is calculated on the basis of the insured person’s income. If there is no such income, only a minimum amount must be paid. However, it should be noted that the amount increases depending on the assets.
In case of early retirement, it is usually no longer possible to receive unemployment benefits. However, there is one important exception. In fact, unemployed persons who have been prematurely retired for economic reasons or due to mandatory provisions in the context of occupational pensions may continue to receive unemployment benefits. In addition, it is necessary that the retirement benefits are lower than the unemployment benefits.
In conclusion, it should be noted that dismissals of employment relationships with employees who are already older than 58 may be abusive. An additional criterion is that an employee has been working in the company for a long time, i.e. at least five years. Such dismissals are abusive if they were only made on the basis of the employee’s age. Whether the age is the reason for the termination can usually only be deduced from the circumstances. This is supported by the fact that the employer unexpectedly dismisses the employee without considering alternatives with him prior to dismissal.
False allegation of sexual assault after a date or an argument
The aim of this article is to make my network aware, that dating habits have changed. It happens more frequently today, that women call the police because they feel assaulted. When at the same time, from a male perspective, it was only a kiss and/or „making out“.
People must not fear such charges and be assured, that justice usually is served. Meaning, such cases get closed as quickly as they are opened. However, when injuries are documented and no witnesses can help, it can be a very tough spot to be in for accused people.
In the past few years I helped multiple male clients defending against false charges for sexual assault by women. The charges were typically raised after spending time with a new acquaintance, either out in the street or at home in someone’s apartment.
My clients all had in common that they met with women, had drinks, good conversations, laughter at a restaurant or pub and then went outside to either catch a train/taxi seperately or to go home together.
Eventually, there came a point where the women suddenly and very surprisingly claimed they did not agree with intimacy. For example, she did not agree with kisses or touches. In other words, trying to kiss a woman as part of a date or an intimate touch led to the women informing the police and raising a sexual assault claim. Pushing on and continuing to kiss a woman after she said no, is very risky.
Clients should also be aware the What’s App and other electronic communication can be used as evidence.
At the same time, I was made aware, that it is increasingly popular among younger women, to immediately inform the police, once a male partner on a date makes a physical advance. It is something they even brag about among peers. In other words, it seems to have become common among younger women, to view an attempt to kiss them or touch them as part of a date as criminal. It takes very little to involve the police, there is little self-doubt with the accuser and most of all, no fear at all of a false accusation charge.
At the same time, the police has an obligation to investigate. They must summon the accused person and question them.
In other cases, there were couples who had been in a relationship for a while who ended up arguing. Often times arguments are over jealousy. Then, the women ended up claiming, that they were physically assaulted by the men. With nobody else but the couple present, it was impossible for outsiders to know, what actually occurred. When the woman can prove she had injuries it becomes very challenging to defend the men.
This often leads to the accused person being arrested until all involved people were questioned.
My advice:
- never communicate in writing about situations which could lead to criminal charges. For example escalating arguments and unwanted kisses or touches
- be careful with what type of pictures are taken with the phone during a date
- be aware that injuries as part of an argument can always very easily be documented by simply taking a picture with the phone
- end a date and walk away the minute you feel the other person is not comfortable with further advances or even says so specifically
- do not panic if you are summoned by the police for a questioning. prepare yourself, make a good strategy and attend the questioning.
Guide to additional citizenships
In today’s globalized world, a lot of people are unaware of other potential national citizenships they might be entitled to.
As Swiss employment lawyer and defense attorney, citizenships are very important and valuable in my daily practice. Obtaining the citizenship of a European country gives employees the option of working in Switzerland. At the same time, in criminal cases, citizenships typically define countries, from which a person cannot be extradited.
The media has given a lot of attention to services, who help people buy a new citizenship through investment. For many people, however, there are more interesting and less costly ways to claim an additional passport.
It typically depends on the ancestors of a person and the place of birth. For some countries, a naturalization is possible, even when a distant ancestor, such as a great-grandparent was born and/or lived in another country.
A prime example is Hungary. I have helped people obtain Hungarian citizenship based on ancestors who have lived in Hungary before 1920. But there are also other countries, where citizenship can be passed down over multiple generations. Other clients were born in the US or Canada but never registered as citizens.
The best thing a person interested in new citizenships can do, is to track their ancestors, starting with the parents, grandparents and even great-grandparents. Place of birth and all the places they have lived should be collected.
Often times it is impossible to prove, that a specific ancestor was a citizen of a country. The reason being, that passports are not at hand, anymore. However, birth certificate, marriage certificate, certificates of death, are often still at hand or can be found through ancestral research.
Such documents are excellent ground to get started with the hunt for an additional passport.
But also from a legal perspective, complicated research is often required. The law of citizenship is different for each country and typically has changed many times in the last 100 years. It is often underestimated, what chances lie in older citizenship laws.
I have also made the experience that many of my clients make false assumptions. E.g., that they have not renewed a citizenship they had as a child, and therefore, lost it. Which is typically wrong, as citizenships do not simply expire.