Florian Mohs

Florian Mohs is a partner of Pestalozzi’s Litigation & Arbitration Group and head of the Arbitration Group in Zurich. He acts as counsel in international commercial arbitrations and in court proceedings in Switzerland. Florian handles a wide range of commercial and corporate disputes, having broad experience in advising trading companies in commodities disputes, industrial companies in engineering and construction disputes, and pharmaceutical companies in licensing matters.

Florian Mohs’ practice focuses on international commercial dispute resolution by arbitration and litigation. Florian represents clients as counsel in international commercial arbitrations, both institutional and ad hoc, as well as in court proceedings in Switzerland. His court practice also covers matters such as setting aside proceedings against Swiss arbitral awards, attachment of assets to enforce foreign arbitral awards or court judgments, and the contentious aspects of bankruptcy and composition proceedings.

Florian handles a wide range of commercial and corporate disputes. He has broad experience advising in the area of international trade, particularly relating to commodities trading in minerals, metals and energy sources, and business insight gained from his secondment to a major international commodities trader. He also has experience in dealing with construction matters, ranging from the installation of machinery to infrastructure projects, pharmaceuticals disputes, including licensing issues, and aspects of banking and finance, including trade finance.

Florian is an expert on the United Nations Convention for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). He is a contributor to the leading commentary in the field and speaks and publishes regularly on the CISG, as well as on litigation and arbitration topics. Before joining Pestalozzi, Florian worked as a research and teaching assistant to Professor Dr. I. Schwenzer, LL.M. at the University of Basel, where his work focussed on the CISG. He has remained connected to the University of Basel as a lecturer for several years.

Florian is trained in both civil and common law jurisdictions and holds law degrees from Switzerland (Dr. iur., summa cum laude, University of Basel, 2005), New Zealand (LL.M., with distinction, Victoria University of Wellington, 2006), and Germany (First State Exam, Baden-Württemberg, 2002, concluding his legal studies at the Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg). Florian was admitted to the Swiss Bar in 2008.

Florian Mohs is named as a future leader in arbitration by GAR/WWL (he “combines exceptional legal skills with outstanding practical know-how” according to sources who consider him “the best in Switzerland”), and he received the 2018 Client Choice Award (Lexology/ILO) for Arbitration/ADR in Switzerland