05 / Common questions
What counsel ask first.
How quickly can you respond to a new matter?
Initial confidential call within 48 hours. Engagement letter usually within 5 working days of intake. Accelerated matters can start the same week if the conflict declaration clears.
How do you handle conflicts of interest?
Every intake includes a structured conflict declaration step listing parties, counsel and adverse parties. I check against my active engagements and a documented prior-mandates list before accepting. If a conflict exists I decline and explain.
What does an engagement cost?
Parteigutachten bill on a time-and-materials basis at CHF day or hourly rates, with a cap agreed up front. Technology due diligence is a fixed fee, scoped at 3-10 working days. Werkvertrags-Gutachten are typically a pauschal fixed fee, split between procurer and supplier. Specific numbers shared on the intake call.
Confidentiality and data handling?
Default NDA before any case material is shared. Source code reviewed only in environments under your or your client's control. No client material on third-party AI services without written consent. Working notes destroyed on engagement close, except as required by professional retention rules.
Will you appear at hearings?
Yes. Oral readiness for the Gutachten is part of the engagement. I attend hearings, steering committees and arbitration sessions in DE or EN, in CH and DE typically, occasionally further afield by arrangement.
What if my matter falls outside your domain expertise?
I say so on the first call. Where it makes sense I refer to other ITDR-listed experts or specialist co-experts and stay involved in the technical-review chain only if useful.
Do you accept opposing-party engagements after a prior mandate?
Prior parties stay on a documented seven-year list, checked at every intake. Where that check turns up any reasonable conflict, I decline. In practice that rules out most opposing-party work.