GOOSSENS, Thomas - CV

Thomas Goossens
(October 2, 1974)
Background
Since 2012:
Partner and co-head of the banking & finance practice group of BCCC in Geneva
2005:
Joined BCCC Attorneys-at-Law LLC
LL.M. in Commercial & Corporate Law, King's College London
2003-2004:
Schellenberg Wittmer Attorneys-at-law, Geneva
2001-2002:
Andersen Legal, Zurich (resp. Ernst & young Legal, after the take-over of Arthur
Andersen Switzerland’s activities)
2001:
Admitted to the Geneva Bar (2001), authorized to practice as an attorney-at-law all
over Switzerland
1998:
Bachelor's Law degree, University of Fribourg
Practice areas
Expertise in the fields of banking and financial law, investment funds, commodities trading and
corporate law whether for the provision of legal advice or for the judicial representation of clients.
Regularly advises banks, securities dealers and other financial intermediaries in connection to:
regulatory approval, cross-border activities, rules of conduct, retrocessions, fit and proper test,
prevention against money laundering and terrorist financing, banking secrecy, etc. Assistance to
promoters, asset managers and/or distributors of Swiss and foreign investment funds, on regulatory
matters in relation to their Swiss activities such as regulatory approval, monitoring and follow-up,
implementation of redemption restrictions (gating, side pockets, etc.), winding-up, etc. Large
expertise of the implementation by Swiss financial institutions of international regulatory
standards (such as MiFID, FATCA, AIFMD, etc.).
Legal advice to financial institutions and trading companies in relation to their commodities' trading
and/or financing activities (bills of lading, letters of credit, financing agreements, securities,
transport, etc.).
Solid expertise in advising entrepreneurs, companies and their stakeholders on all corporate matters:
choice and set-up of the company structure, corporate governance, disputes between stakeholders,
social and financial rights, upstream/sidestream guarantees, benefit plans, restricted transferability,
management liability, restructuring, liquidation, etc. Further advises start-ups, entrepreneurs,
investors, buyers, sellers and financial sponsors in all kinds of corporate finance deals, mergers and
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acquisitions, private equity (including venture capital, MBOs and LBOs), refinancing (via debt and/or
equity), and project financing transactions.
In all fields of specialization, regular assistance of clients in the drafting and the negotiation of
contracts. Representation before civil, criminal and administrative courts at cantonal and federal
levels as well as before national and international courts of arbitration.
Professional affiliations
Vice-President of the Banking Commission of Union Internationale des Avocats (UIA)
Other affiliations : Swiss Fund Association, Swiss Private Equity & Corporate Finance Association
(SECA), Swiss Bar Association (FSA), Geneva Bar Association (OdA), Centre du droit de l'entreprise
(CEDIDAC), Société genevoise de droit et de législation, Association genevoise de droit des affaires
(AGDA)
Languages
French, English, German, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish
Publications
Recent evolution of the Swiss legal market, Legal Business, March 2013
Loi sur les services financiers - Les points qui doivent encore être clarifiés, L'Agefi, 13 March 2013
Les défis des banques face aux nouvelles exigences de la FINMA, Le Temps, 3 December 2012
Rétrocessions: les banques mises au pied du mur par la FINMA, WealthGram, December 2012
LPCC: essai transformé pour l’asset management, Indices, L’Agefi, November 2012
Rétrocessions: état des lieux du droit suisse et de la jurisprudence, Wealth Gram, August 2012
Les rétrocessions bientôt prohibées en droit suisse, Indices, L’Agefi, May 2012
Gestionnaires de fonds: les exigences de la FINMA, L’Agefi, 26 March 2012
Les gérants indépendants face à une vraie révolution, Indices n°10, L’Agefi, p. 6, December 2011
Distribution au public de placements collectifs étrangers: La FINMA désavouée par le Tribunal fédéral,
Indices n°5, L’Agefi, Fonds de placement, p. 14, May 2011
L’Allemagne tente d’effrayer encore ses contribuables, interview in Le Temps, 16 July 2010
Overzicht van de bestrijding van witwassen in Zwitserland, Informatieblad 2008-2009, n° 1, p.13171320
Accès au marché européen pour le secteur financier suisse: du rêve à la réalité, Le Temps,
16 November 2011
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Les prestataires de services financiers suisses face à la Convention de Lugano révisée, GesKR 2/2011,
p. 217-227
MIFID or not MIFID? La FINMA relance le débat, Indices, L’Agefi, p. 12, February 2011
National Report on financial regulation, 54th UIA Congress, Istanbul, 30 October - 3 November 2010
Vraie ou fausse révolution des comptes gérés, Indices n°10, L’Agefi, p. 17, October 2010
Le potentiel de l’AIFM est réel pour la Suisse, L’Agefi, 21 May 2010
Hedge funds: les avancées de la directive AIFM, Indices n°3, L’Agefi, Wealth management, p.12,
March 2010
Un nouveau défi pour la Suisse: les gérants de hedge funds, Le Temps, p. 18, 12 February 2010
La FINMA plus souple sur les Side Pockets? Indices n°1, L’Agefi, Fonds de placement, p. 18, January
2010
Side Pockets, la FINMA seule contre tous? Indices n°7, L’Agefi, July 2009
L’affaire Madoff a mis en lumière des obligations légales moindres en Suisse qu’au Luxembourg, Le
Temps, 2 March 2009
L'organisation du conseil d’administration, la transparence et la gestion des conflits d’intérêts selon le
projet de révision, publication CEDIDAC 76, Lausanne 2008, pp. 27 - 61
Speaking engagements
Corporate Governance - The Role of Directors in a New Environment, Conference Union
Internationale des Avocats (UIA), Paris, 12-13 April 2013
Entrepreneurs and investors: is love possible? Conference Lift13, Geneva, 7 February 2013
Bank Debt Restructuring in Switzerland, Conference Union Internationale des Avocats (UIA)
« Entreprises en difficulté et restructuration bancaire », Verona, 24-26 January 2013
Interview in L’Agefi regarding the Federal Council’s « white money » strategy, « Saine base de
travail », 21 December 2012
Record fine against UBS in the Libor scandal, RTS, 20 décembre 2012
What is a « declared » client ? How can Swiss bankers make the necessary verifications ? Conference
Academy & Finance, Geneva, 13 December 2012
Swiss expert in the panel addressing the legal and practical aspects of substitution provisions and
direct agreement in project finance, Annual Congress of Union Internationale des Avocats (UIA),
Dresde, 31 October-4 November 2012
Overview and challenges of the Swiss financial regulation, Conference 2012 of the Transnational Tax
Network (TTN), Geneva, 24 September 2012
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Financing of infrastructure projects (Project Finance), Seminar of Union Internationale des Avocats
(UIA), Barcelona, 16-17 September 2011
Share call and put options: advantages and pitfalls, 54th UIA Congress, Istanbul, 30 October-3
November 2010
Lawyers’ duties in case of tax advice, Radio Suisse Romande, 16 July 2010
Impact of the judicial searches at Credit Suisse in Germany, "Forum", Radio Suisse Romande,
16 July 2010
Madoff case: Collectivisation of judicial claims through the creation of a dedicated SPV, Groupement
Suisse des Conseils enGestion Indépendants, G.S.C.G.I., Réunion sur le thème: Actions et procédures
liées aux Feeder Funds Madoff non-EU, Geneva, 8 April 2009
Money Laundering Legislation in Switzerland, Conference of the Flemish Section of the Brussels Bar,
Brussels, June 2008
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