Our Team

Partners:
Richard C. Ritter, Attorney-At-Law, lic. iur., LL.M.
Bernhard Weber, Attorney-At-Law, lic. iur., TEP
Urs Stirnimann, lawyer, lic. iur.
Michel Daillet, Advocate, LL.M.

Of counsel
Dr. Basher Zaghloul, PhD
Dr. Zain Sharar, JD

Associates:
Dr. Jürg Koller, Attorney-At-Law, Dr. iur.
Jean Philippe Tuggener, Attorney-At-Law, lic. iur.
Mayah S. Ongtangco, Attorney-At-Law, lic. iur.
Nisrine Boutros, Attorney-At-Law, lic. iur.
Catalina Ordonez Lagrada, AB, LLB., Legal Consultant
Ahmed Elnaggar, Attorney-At-Law, Legal Consultant, lic. Iur.
Simone E. Strasky, lawyer, lic. iur.

Counsels:
Bruno Bossard, lic. iur., Certif. Tax Acc., Dipl.Tax (Sydney)
Raif Zihnali, Industrial Engineer, Economist
Michael G. Ferris, B.Com., MBA - Finance

Richard C. Ritter, Attorney-At-Law, lic. iur. , LL.M

Richard, who was born in 1963, is a Swiss national. He is the founding partner of the Zurich-based law firm, RITTER ATTORNEYS-AT-LAW; and the Dubai-based law firm INTERNATIONAL LEGAL CONSULTANTS, which is the first Swiss law practice to be established in the U.A.E. Richard divides his time between Switzerland and the Middle East.

Richard graduated from Fribourg University Law School (lic.iur.utr.) in 1989 and from the Georgetown University Law Centre in Washington, D.C (Master of Laws, LL.M.) in 1994. He is admitted to the Zurich Bar. Richard started his career in 1990 in the public sector, in the FEDERAL OFFICE FOR FOREIGN ECONOMIC AFFAIRS in Bern. In 1994 he moved to the USA to pursue further legal studies at the Georgetown University Law Centre in Washington, D.C. Later he joined one of Zurich's largest law firms and was admitted to the Zurich Bar in 1996. In 1997 he started his own law practice in Zurich, RITTER ATTORNEYS-AT-LAW, specialising in commercial law and international finance.

Richard is Chairman of tax consultant BB TREUHAND AG in Baar (Zug), business-consultancy firm C3 CONSULTING AG in Zollikon (Zurich), P&C Global Wealth Managers, Zollikon (Zürich) (Wealth Managers) and is also on the boards of WINTRUST LTD, Zurich (Trust Services) and KREIS FINANCIAL SERVICES AG (Fund Distribution).

Richard speaks fluent German, English and French.
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Bernhard Weber, Attorney-At-Law, lic. iur, TEP

Bernhard was born 1961 in Zug, Switzerland. He graduated from Fribourg University Law School (lic.iur.utr) and in 1992 was admitted to the Bar of the Canton of Zug, Switzerland. He subsequently worked for UBS AG in various functions in Zug, Zurich, Hong Kong and Singapore, most recently as Head Private Banking Singapore.

He joined ILC International Legal Consultants in November 2003 and is founder and partner of ILC International Legal Consultants (Singapore) Pte Ltd., a Swiss foreign Law Firm registered in Singapore with the Attorney General’s Chambers. He is also founder and partner of W&M Aquila Wealth Managers (Asia) Pte Ltd, an asset management company which is an exempt asset manager and licensed as a Financial Advisor by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Bernhard is a permanent resident of Singapore and runs the local operations of ILC as the managing partner. His preferred areas of practice are banking and capital markets law, international financial transactions, transnational ventures with a special focus on Southeast Asia. Having worked for the past twelve years in Private Banking/Wealth Management, he is also familiar with the structuring of offshore assets and fiduciary transactions. Being posted since 1998 in Asia, he is knowledgeable about the regional and local rules and regulations.

Bernhard speaks fluent German, English, and French.
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Urs Stirnimann, lawyer, lic. iur.

Urs, who was born in 1954, is a Swiss national. He studied economics and law at the University of Zurich, where he graduated as lic. iur. in 1983.

Urs started his professional life as legal adviser for international organisations in the Middle East and Latin America. In 1987, he joined Credit Suisse, where he worked as investment adviser in Zurich, Bahrain and Geneva. 1995 he was selected by the VP Bank Group to establish a Bank and Trust company in the Caribbean. It became the most successful bank in the British Virgin Islands. Besides banking services it also arranged the creation and administration of mutual funds, captive insurances and trusts. Urs was appointed board member of several international companies, where his broad background was of great assistance. He was also founder member and president of the BVI Bank Association. Later he became CEO of VP Bank (Switzerland) Ltd., which is specialised, in private banking services for high-net-worth individuals.

In 2004, Urs became a partner of International Legal Consultants (U.A.E.) and took permanent residency in Dubai. He runs the local operations of ILC as the resident manager. Urs knows the region well, since he worked eight years in different countries of the Middle East.

Urs speaks fluent German, English, Spanish and French.
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Michel Daillet, Advocate, LL.M

Michel was born in 1971 in Paris, France. He graduated first from Essec Business School in 1993 and from Sorbonne’s law faculty in 1995.

He subsequently worked in London for a French law firm and obtained an LL.M. in banking and financial law from King’s College, London.

He was admitted to the Paris bar in 1997.

After working in Debevoise and Plimpton in Paris and a French corporate law firm in Avignon, he created his own firm in the South of France in 2000, where he mainly dealt with civil law, corporate law and litigation.

Michel joined the ILC group in 2006 to become the managing partner of ILC’s Doha office, International Legal Consultants L.L.C.

International Legal Consultants L.L.C. was licensed in November 2006 by Qatar’s financial services free zone, the Qatar Financial Centre, to carry out the provision of legal services and other services such as corporate formation and trust operations.

International Legal Consultants L.L.C.’s areas of activity extend to corporate law, financial and banking law and international commerce generally.

Michel speaks fluent French, English and German.
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Jürg Koller, Attorney-At-Law, Dr. iur.

Jürg, who was born in 1969, is a Swiss national. He graduated from Fribourg University Law School and has received a doctorate degree in 2003. He is admitted to the Bar of the Canton of Zug.

Jürg started his career in 1997 at the University of Fribourg as an academic assistant in the fields of Civil and Commercial Law. In 2000 he was employed as a trainee at one of the largest law firms in Zug and was admitted to the Zug Bar in early 2002. Thereafter, he worked with a law firm in Zug before joining RITTER ATTORNEYS-AT-LAW in summer 2003. He runs the office in Baar as Attorney-At-Law and Notary Public.

Jürg is serving individuals and corporate clients mainly in the field of international and national Corporate Law, Commercial Law, Civil and Contractual Law, International Private Law and Litigation.

Jürg is fluent in German, English and French
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Jean – Philippe Tuggener, lic.iur.

Jean – Philippe (J.P.) was born in 1967 in Zurich and is Swiss national. He grew up in Thailand and studied law at the university of Bern/Switzerland. Since his graduation he worked as a lawyer in law firms in Cambodia and Thailand, where he advised corporate and private clients. As a lawyer for UBS Investment Bank in Zurich, he took care of debt restructuring issues for Asian issuers and advised the bank on capital market matters. After joining Credit Suisse in Zurich, where he was taking care of financial transactions for Private Banking clients, J.P. was transferred to Singapore in 2004, where until joining ILC in November 2007, he was responsible for all products in Credit Suisse’s private bank.

With a sound knowledge of the Asian region and of financial products, J.P. advises clients on several legal matters, primarily on banking, finance and corporate law.

J.P. speaks fluent English, German, French and Thai
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Mayah S. Ongtangco,

Mayah was born in the Philippines in 1975. She graduated from the College of Law of the University of the Philippines in 2003. She was admitted to the Philippine bar in 2004. She dealt with banking and corporate law prior to joining ILC in 2008.  She currently handles the firm's banking and corporate law files.

Mayah is fluent in English, Filipino and Bicolano.

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Nisrine Boutros, lic.iur.

Nisrine who was born is in Lebanon in 1982. She obtained a canon law degree from La Sagesse University in 2003, and a civil law degree from the Lebanese University in 2007. She joined ILC’s Doha office in 2008. Since joining, she has been involved in several noticeable files, notably for the Ministry of Economy; she mainly assists clients in corporate and commercial matters.

Nisrine is fluent in Arabic, French and English.
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Catalina Ordonez Lagrada, AB, LLB., Legal Consultant

A full scholar during her law school days at Arellano University School of Law (AUSL), Catalina Lagrada for six years has been part of the esteemed institution, the Arellano Law Foundation in the Philippines from 2002 to early 2008 where she worked under the auspice of Institute for Special Studies, devoted to the field of international law, particularly international trade law. The treatment of her duties molded her craft in the areas of laws, policy, communication and special projects where she also provided links locally and abroad. Catalina finished as well Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, minor in Psychology and obtained additional units in Bachelor of Science in Education. Inclined in the academe, Catalina has also been for five years, one of the boards of editors of the official law and policy journal of the University, which intensified her knowledge in writing. By the side, she was a correspondent of the law magazine. Her training was further enhanced when she rendered service to the Department of Trade and Industries’ Philippine Secretary to the President for the World Trade Organization and Asia Free Trade Advisory. Moreover on the other hand, she gained experience from working at Offshore Logistics Co. in Thailand which gave her an early practical orientation of trading and industry both offshore and onshore. Apart from her legal indulgence, she has also actively participated in civic and non-civic organizations from 1990 to 2007 in the Philippines which further enhanced her flexibility to various kinds of situations. A Manila-bred and total work enthusiast, she has a heart for clientele and service oriented corporate world. Deepening her aim for envisioned standard, she is currently a Legal Consultant at ILC where she provides legal advice, assists clients in variety of company law tasks, specifically company formation. She is also responsible for compliance review of companies.
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Ahmed Elnaggar, Attorney-At-Law, lic. iur.

Ahmed, Egyptian national, born in 1982. He graduated from Faculty of Law, Cairo University in 2006, and admitted to the Egyptian Bar in Cairo in May 2007. In January 2007, he had his rigid training as a Soldier from joining the Air Defense Command – Chemical Weapons Branch and finished in a higher rank by the beginning of March 2008. Ahmed started his career in 2002 during his studying years as he joined “CIPE” Center for International Private Enterprise – a nonprofit organization related to the American Commercial Chamber. He belonged to a team handling the Entrepreneurship program and a website teaching college and high school students how to start private projects and how to deal with the stock market. He started just as part of the team in 2002 and was a team leader at the end of 2004. In 2004-2006, it was his second career step by getting connected to “18-28 Magazine” a youth pocket magazine in Cairo and Alexandria, where he was a Partner and a Senior Editor. This gave him sufficient experience and wide connections in Egypt with Media Celebrities and the Advertising field. In the quest for experience, he joined Said Elnaggar for Legal Consultations as a Trainee after graduation till March 2008 while he was serving in the Army at the same time. In June 2008, he took a further career leap when he decided to move to Dubai and joined the Swiss International Legal Consultants as an Attorney at Law and Legal Consultant. He practices in the field of corporation and Real Estate laws in conjunction with establishing companies in Dubai, Free Zone and Offshore companies with a high knowledge of governmental laws.

Ahmed is Fluent in Arabic and English.
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Simone E. Strasky, lawyer, lic. iur.

Simone was born in 1978 and is a Swiss national. She graduated from the University of Berne Law School in 2005 (lic. iur.) with a focus on commercial and corporate law and a minor in Marketing and Politics.

Simone was working for a law firm specialized in Intellectual Property and Media Law in Berne. Subsequently, she joined one of the most renowned law publishers in Switzerland, headquartered in Zurich, as an Editor. After moving to Dubai, she was taking care of the Marketing & PR of a Swiss Publishing Company, also advising them in legal issues, before joining ILC International Legal Consultants as a Legal Consultant in 2009.

Simone specializes in commercial and corporate law including intellectual property and media law. She advises clients who like to establish a presence in the United Arab Emirates.

Simone is fluent in German, English and French.

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Bruno Bossard, lic. iur., Certif. Tax Acc., Dipl.Tax (Sydney)

Bruno, born in 1962, is a Swiss national and an international tax specialist, based in Baar (Zug). Bruno has considerable experience in the complex areas of both international and domestic tax law, and the relationship between the two of them. He acts as Tax Counsel to RITTER ATTORNEYS-AT-LAW and ILC.

Bruno is a graduate of Fribourg University law school and a certified tax consultant. He has also studied law at the University of Exeter law school and completed post-graduate studies in advanced taxation at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. Bruno received his grounding in finance at UBS AG from 1987 to 1990 before entering the management consultancy world, where he was active in taxation, trust, company secretarial and legal work for individuals and corporations.

From 1993 to 1999 Bruno worked in the tax department of KPMG FIDES in Zurich, ending as Senior Manager. He spent 1997 in KPMG Sydney whilst undertaking his postgraduate studies. In 1999 Bruno established his own tax advisory practice, STEUERBERATUNG BOSSHARD and an advisory company, BB TREUHAND AG, in Baar (Zug).

Bruno speaks fluent German, English and French.
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Raif Zihnali, Industrial Engineer, Economist

Raif, who was born in 1955, is a British national. He graduated from the Aegean University and has received a degree in Industrial Engineering.

Raif started his career in 1985 in London where he has been an introducer of financial transactions to the banking community, with over twenty years of experience in mainly in the field of trade and project financing. In 2002 he joined International Legal Consultants.

Raif is a Trade & Finance Analyst serving individual and corporate clients mainly in the field of trade and project financing.

Raif is fluent in English and Turkish.
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Michael G. Ferris, B.Com., MBA - Finance

Michael, who was born in 1969, is an Indian national. He graduated from the University of Leicester and has received a Master of Business Administration (Finance) degree. He is currently a candidate in the CFA Program.

Michael started his career in 1993 as an accountant. In 2000 he joined International Legal Consultants.

Michael is a permanent resident of Dubai and runs the local offices of ILC as Manager serving individual and corporate clients mainly in the field of company formations, research, feasibility studies and administering company accounts and matters related to the jurisdiction. Being a resident for the last ten years in the United Arab Emirates, he is knowledgeable about the local rules and regulations.

Michael is fluent in English.
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Dr. Basher Zaghloul, PhD

Dr. Basher Zaghloul, an Egyptian national, is a Professor of criminal law and criminal procedures at the University of Cairo and the University of Qatar. He graduated from the College of Law of the University of Cairo and holds a PhD in criminal law delivered by the University of Paris.

The recipient of several academic and professional awards, Dr. Basher regularly publishes articles in specialized publications and is a speaker at international conferences about diverse criminal issues ranging from white-collar crime to human trafficking. He is a member of several professional associations, including the Institute of International Affairs of Cairo University and the Criminal Law Society of Egypt. Dr. Basher is admitted at the bar of Cairo.

Dr. Basher assists ILC in criminal law matters in Qatar, particularly the penal aspects of corporate and commercial laws: money-laundering, misuse of corporate assets, etc.

Dr. Basher is fluent in Arabic, English and French.
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Dr. Zain Sharar, JD

Dr. Zain, an Australian national, is a Professor of corporate and business law at the University of Qatar. He obtained an SJD from the Bond University (Australia) in 2007, focusing on corporate laws and international trade, and holds a JD delivered in 2008 by the Bond University. Dr. Zain has taught Company Law and Corporate Governance at a number of Australian Universities. He is a member of the Australian Employee Ownership Association (AEOA), The Australian Institute of Management (AIM), and the International Commission of Jurists.

Dr. Zain regularly provides advice to board members of numerous Public Companies, and assumes the functions of non-executive director and company secretary in several companies. He assist ILC in matters of corporate law.

Dr. Zain is fluent in Arabic and English.