Andrea Meier

Andrea Meier practises arbitration and litigation and is recognised as a leader in her field. She has acted as arbitration counsel or arbitrator in more than 90 arbitrations under various national laws and arbitration rules (ICC, Swiss Arbitration Centre, DIS, VIAC, WIPO, UNCITRAL, CAS, ad-hoc, etc.). A particular focus of Andrea Meier’s work is the construction sector. For many years, she has represented parties in disputes relating to large industrial and infrastructure projects, most recently regarding the development of an offshore gas field and a large production plant. Recent cases also include post-M&A and joint venture disputes, and disputes in the pharmaceutical and mobility sectors.

Moreover, Andrea Meier regularly represents clients from the financial industry before state courts and arbitral tribunals and advises them on cross-border matters regarding foreign court proceedings (banking secrecy, Article 271 Swiss Criminal Code). She has extensive experience in handling a wide array of disputes between banks and customers, banks and service providers and inter-bank disputes.

Chambers Global, Chambers Europe and Who’s Who Legal recognise Andrea Meier as a global arbitration leader. In 2018, Who’s Who Legal’s Future Leaders edition ranked her as the most highly regarded arbitration partner in Europe aged 45 or under. Clients and peers describe her as a “commercially minded lawyer who is always willing to listen to the client’s viewpoint first” (Chambers Global 2020) and a “tough counsel” (Who’s Who Legal Arbitration 2020). Commentators have also stated that she is “elegant in removing the hostilities, good in leading the tribunals” and “open to the commercial side and the business realities” (Chambers Europe and Global 2018). Clients describe her as “diligent, precise and on top of things. Extremely good to work with as well: proactive, always on time, always on budget” (Chambers Europe and Global 2017). In the litigation field, she has been named a “Thought Leader Litigation” (Who’s Who Legal) constantly since 2020.

Andrea Meier holds leading functions in key professional organisations. She is Vice President of ASA (Swiss Arbitration Association) and a member of ASA’s Executive Committee, a former ASA below 40 co-chair, a member of the Arbitration Court of the Swiss Arbitration Centre, a member of the Centre’s Special Committee, a member of the Appointing Committee of the DIS (German Arbitration Institute), and a former arbitrator of the CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport). She regularly publishes in the field of international arbitration and is a frequent speaker at international arbitration conferences in Switzerland and abroad. Most recently, she was co-organizer and speaker at the 2022 ASA Arbitration Conference on “Sanctions and Their Impact on International Arbitration”.

Andrea Meier joined Walder Wyss as a partner in 2020. Previously, she was a partner in a renowned boutique law firm for dispute resolution and from 2003 to 2010 an associate and senior associate in a leading major law firm. Andrea Meier holds a law degree and a doctorate degree from the University of Zurich (lic. iur. 1999, Dr. iur. 2007) and a post-graduate degree from Harvard Law School (2005).