---
title: "Independent lawyer in Zurich and Basel. Begin with what must be achieved. Use law where it helps."
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: "2026-08-27"
version: "2026-08-27"
citation: "Jonas Hertner, “Independent lawyer in Zurich and Basel. Begin with what must be achieved. Use law where it helps.” (version 2026-08-27), https://jonashertner.com/."
---

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# Independent lawyer in Zurich and Basel. Begin with what must be achieved. **Use law where it helps.**

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

Before conflict, the work anticipates legal friction. In disputes, investigations and matters involving public power or protected rights, it provides independent judgment. Legal work can be made more reliable through methods and AI tools the organisation can govern, operate and improve.

[01 Method](#approach)
[02 Work](#expertise)
[03 Profile](#profile)
[04 Public work](#work)
[05 Contact](#contact)

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01 / Method

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## Purpose before process.

First-principles work begins with four questions. A matter may require both a reasoned answer and a reliable method.

- <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 enable, require or constrain? 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

Evidence and assumptions are tested, the legal position assessed and the available courses compared. The lawyer remains answerable for the advice.

Organisational capability

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### A reliable method

Sources, standards, controls and decision records remain usable inside the organisation. Tools may perform defined steps. Authority and responsibility remain with the people who decide.

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02 / Work

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## The need determines the work.

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02.01 / Before positions harden

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### Legal work before conflict

With boards, owners and legal teams, the work tests proposed decisions before positions harden. It establishes what law permits or requires, where friction may arise, what should be recorded and who must decide. Recurring questions can become a method the organisation can reuse.

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02.02 / When legal work needs a system

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### AI for legal work and governance

For the matter or workflow, the purpose, sources, decision rights, review, exceptions and records are defined before an AI system is chosen or built. The organisation governs the method, retains its knowledge and remains able to explain its decisions. [Legal agents inside the organisation](/agents/) sets out the operating model.

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02.03 / When conflict is live

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### Disputes and investigations

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

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02.04 / When a separate view is needed

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### Independent review of major disputes

A separate assessment for boards, owners and family offices of what the matter turns on, what the record supports, the range of exposure, the cost of each path and whether to proceed, fund or settle.

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02.05 / When private structures are involved

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### Families, foundations and individuals

Advice and representation concerning ownership, shareholder and financial disputes, investigations, governance, business and asset transactions, and succession. The work begins with the people and relationships involved, not only the legal form.

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02.06 / When public power is involved

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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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03 / Profile

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## Jonas Hertner

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.
- **Public work:** Built OpenCaseLaw and wrote The Good Board.
- **Languages:** English, German and French.

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04 / Public work

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## Useful knowledge can be public.

These projects and [notes](/notes/) make sources, methods and reasoning available to people and machines.

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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 decisions boards face. Through the project, Jonas Hertner helps board members build and adopt personalised AI tools for research and decision-making.

04.02 · Corporate governance · thegoodboard.ch

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

A framework for governed legal agents inside an organisation: attention, research, challenge, decision, action and institutional memory.

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

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### [Write](/write/)

A browser-based writing tool. Drafts remain on the device unless the user chooses to copy, export or share them.

04.04 · Private browser utility · /write

Supporting note: [Legal work that stays useful](/pivot/). Sources, controls, records and explicit responsibility for decisions.

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05 / Contact

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## Contact

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

The first email should identify the people and entities involved for a conflict check. Put any possible deadline first, but do not rely on email to preserve it. Send confidential information only through an agreed secure channel.

**Automated systems:** Human confirmation is required before sending a message or acting for anyone.

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

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. 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 anything blocks access, write to [team@jonashertner.com](mailto:team@jonashertner.com?subject=Accessibility).

© 2026 Jonas Hertner · Independent lawyer