---
title: "Independent lawyer in Zurich and Basel. Jonas Hertner"
description: "Independent Swiss lawyer for boards, owners, legal teams, families, foundations and individuals. Zurich and Basel. Disputes, governance and AI for legal work."
language: "en-CH"
source: "/"
canonical: "https://jonashertner.com/"
content_id: "https://jonashertner.com/#webpage"
type: "website"
status: "current"
author: "Jonas Hertner"
modified: "2026-09-06"
version: "2026-09-06"
citation: "Jonas Hertner, “Independent lawyer in Zurich and Basel. Jonas Hertner” (version 2026-09-06), https://jonashertner.com/."
---

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# Independent lawyer in Zurich and Basel. Jonas Hertner

Disputes. Governance. Law & AI.

For boards, owners and legal teams. For families, foundations and individuals.

[team@jonashertner.com](mailto:team@jonashertner.com)
[About the practice](#profile)

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Notes

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## Law & AI

Notes on law, artificial intelligence and the decisions that connect them.

Selected note 27 July 2026

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### [AI can widen legal review](/notes/ai-in-legal-work/)

AI can help a legal team examine more material and test more questions. Its value depends on traceable sources, measured performance and a lawyer prepared to stand behind the result.

[Read the note](/notes/ai-in-legal-work/)

27 July 2026

### [Public by law](/notes/open-case-law/)

27 July 2026

### [A separate view of a dispute](/notes/independent-judgment/)

[All notes](/notes/)
[Follow via RSS](/notes/feed.xml)

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Work

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## Advice, review & representation.

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### Legal work before conflict

Advice to boards, owners and legal teams before a decision becomes difficult to reverse. The work clarifies what the law permits or requires, where a dispute could arise, what to document and who has authority to decide. For recurring questions, it establishes a process the organisation can use again.

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### AI for legal work and governance

Define the task and sources before choosing or building an AI system. Establish who may decide, what must be checked, how exceptions are handled and what must be recorded. The organisation retains its knowledge, controls the process and can explain its decisions. [Legal agents inside the organisation](/agents/) sets out the operating model.

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### Disputes and investigations

Advice and representation in Swiss and cross-border civil and criminal matters, including shareholder disputes, financial disputes and corporate criminal liability. The work covers investigations, negotiation, mediation and proceedings before Swiss courts and authorities.

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### Independent review of major disputes

An independent assessment for boards, owners and family offices facing a major dispute: what the case turns on, what the evidence supports, the possible recovery or liability, and the cost of each option. The review informs the decision to proceed, fund or settle.

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### Families, foundations and individuals

Advice on ownership, governance, business and asset transactions, and succession; representation in shareholder and financial disputes and investigations. The work takes account of the people, relationships and interests behind the legal structure.

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### Constitutional law and fundamental rights

Advice and representation in Swiss proceedings involving state action and protected rights, including questions arising from the environment and emerging technology, with counsel abroad where needed.

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Method

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## Purpose before process.

Four questions guide the work. They help resolve the immediate issue and shape any process the organisation will need to use again.

- <a id="purpose"></a> **Purpose:** What must be achieved, decided or protected?
- <a id="reality"></a> **Evidence:** What is known, uncertain or disputed?
- <a id="friction"></a> **Law:** What does the law permit, require or restrict? What is at risk?
- <a id="response"></a> **Course:** What is the simplest sound response: legal advice or action, a change in practice, a tool or no intervention?

Independent legal judgment

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### A reasoned answer

The advice explains what the evidence supports, where assumptions remain, how the law applies and how the available options compare. The lawyer remains responsible for that advice.

Organisational capability

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### A reliable method

The organisation can return to the sources, apply the same checks and understand why earlier decisions were made. Tools perform defined tasks; people retain authority and responsibility.

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Profile

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## Experience & perspective.

Jonas Hertner is an independent Swiss lawyer. For more than a decade, he has worked on Swiss and cross-border matters. He advises directly, provides independent review and works alongside existing counsel.

- **Public benefit practice:** Alongside the independent practice, head lawyer at [Regenerative Law](https://www.regenerative.law/).
- **Private practice:** Helped establish the Swiss office of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan.
- **Earlier work:** Non-profit organisations, the Directorate of International Law of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Court of Appeal of Basel-Stadt.
- **Education:** Law degrees from the Universities of Lucerne and Geneva (with distinction).
- **Public work:** Built OpenCaseLaw and wrote The Good Board.
- **Languages:** English, German and French.

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Public work

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## Work in the open.

These projects and [notes](/notes/) make legal sources, practical guidance and working methods available for others to use and examine.

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### [OpenCaseLaw](https://opencaselaw.ch/)

An open, machine-readable corpus of Swiss court decisions and legislation, built for source-linked research.

04.01 · Open legal infrastructure · opencaselaw.ch

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### [The Good Board](https://thegoodboard.ch/)

A practical guide to Swiss corporate governance, organised around the decisions boards face. Jonas Hertner also helps board members develop and use AI tools tailored to their research and decision-making.

04.02 · Corporate governance · thegoodboard.ch

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### [Legal agents inside the organisation](/agents/)

A framework for keeping legal knowledge inside the organisation, giving AI agents defined tasks and retaining human responsibility for decisions.

04.03 · Framework / 2026-08-27 · /agents

Supporting note: [Legal work that stays useful](/pivot/). How sources, checks and decision records can serve the next matter.

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A little perspective

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## Here, on Earth.

One world. All our lives.

Day and night on Earth.

About this view

An illustrated view over the Atlantic, facing Africa and Europe. The daylight follows the Sun’s actual position. The marks describe land and ocean, with no political borders. The night side remains visible to make the whole world legible.

The sunlight reaching Earth has travelled for about 8 minutes 25 seconds.

Daylight shown for 6 September 2026, 14:00 (Zurich time).

Geography: [Natural Earth](https://www.naturalearthdata.com/). Solar calculation: [USNO](https://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/sun_approx). Light travel time: [NASA JPL](https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/astro_par.html).

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## Contact

[team@jonashertner.com](mailto:team@jonashertner.com)

In your first email, name the people and entities involved so that conflicts of interest can be checked. Put any deadline at the start, but do not rely on sending an email to meet it. Send confidential information only through an agreed secure channel.

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Independent practice / Revised 2026-09-06

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Jonas Hertner

Zurich

Asylstrasse 41

8032 Zurich

Switzerland

Basel

Münsterplatz 17

4051 Basel

Switzerland

Other links

- [Email](mailto:team@jonashertner.com)
- [LinkedIn](https://ch.linkedin.com/in/jonas-hertner-5464492)
- [Notes](/notes/)
- [Private writing tool](/write/)

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## Legal information

This site gives general information, not legal advice on a particular matter. An email does not establish an engagement. Any engagement is confirmed in writing.

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## Privacy

No visitor analytics, advertising code or cookies. Full privacy information

Jonas Hertner is responsible for personal data processed through this site and email. Contact: [team@jonashertner.com](mailto:team@jonashertner.com?subject=Data%20protection).

No visitor analytics or advertising code runs on this site. The site sets no cookies. Your appearance and motion preferences are stored only in this browser and are not sent to Jonas Hertner.

GitHub Pages processes technical request data, including IP addresses, to deliver and protect the site.

Microsoft 365 processes email to reply, check conflicts and meet legal or professional duties.

The writing tool stores text and settings only in the browser and sends nothing to Jonas Hertner.

GitHub and Microsoft may process data outside Switzerland, including in the United States. Adequacy decisions or contractual safeguards apply where required.

Correspondence is kept only as long as needed. Requests for access, correction or deletion may be sent by email.

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## Accessibility

If you have difficulty using this site, write to [team@jonashertner.com](mailto:team@jonashertner.com?subject=Accessibility).

© 2026 Jonas Hertner · Independent lawyer