team

Steve Alder primarily focuses on constitutional and administrative law. He advises and represents public entities (cantons, municipalities, and public law institutions), particularly in matters involving public service law, public procurement, and construction and land-use planning law. He also has experience in advising and representing clients in immigration law.

Steve Alder holds a degree in international relations from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IUHEI). He joined Fontanet & Associés in 2011 for his legal traineeship and has been a partner since 2019.

Serge Benusiglio specializes in commercial law. He is highly active in negotiating and drafting contracts, particularly in international matters, and also represents clients in related litigation.
He advises private clients on all matters related to wealth law, including estate planning, asset structuring, and succession. He also regularly supports foreign nationals with their relocation to Switzerland.
In addition, Serge has developed a niche practice in art law, providing legal counsel to art dealers and gallery owners.
A member of the Geneva Bar, he joined Fontanet & Associés in 2003 after working as legal counsel in the investment funds department of the private bank Edmond de Rothschild.

He holds an LL.B. (Hons.) from the London School of Economics and Political Science (1998) and obtained his Swiss attorney’s license in 2000, following a two-year traineeship at the firm Lachenal, Brechbuhl Cottier Roguet in Geneva.
Serge Benusiglio is also admitted as a Solicitor in England and Wales. He is a member of the Geneva Bar Association, the Swiss Bar Association, the Law Society of England and Wales, and the British-Swiss Chamber of Commerce.

Adrien Borel specializes in business law and commercial litigation. His practice also includes private international law, tax law, and general criminal law. In addition to his professional activities, he served as a military investigating judge in the Swiss Army with the rank of captain and obtained a Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) in criminal judiciary.

He joined Fontanet & Associés in December 2019 after working as an associate at Bonnant & Associés. Adrien Borel was admitted to the bar in 2014.

Méliné Deukmedjian is mainly active in real estate and lease law; she also advises her clients in contractual matters as well as corporate law (in particular real estate companies). She joined Fontanet & Partners as Counsel in 2019 after completing her LL.M. in New-York University School of law.

She previously worked for two years as an associate at Schellenberg Wittmer after completing her internship at Fontanet & Partners. She passed her Bar exam in 2014 after graduating from the University of Geneva.

Christian D’Orlando primarily advises on contract law, focusing on real estate, tenancy law, employment law, and debt enforcement and bankruptcy law. He also serves on the boards of companies in the real estate and financial sectors.

He has been a member of the Geneva Bar since 2001 and holds an LL.M. from the London School of Economics and Political Science (2003). He joined Fontanet & Associés as a partner in 2008.

Bénédict Fontanet is a co-founder of the firm, established in 1985 alongside Guy Fontanet. He advises entrepreneurs, companies, and both Swiss and international groups, and is mainly active in commercial, financial, banking, and administrative law. He is particularly involved in business transfers, restructurings, and complex real estate transactions.

Bénédict Fontanet serves on the boards of several companies operating in finance, real estate, hospitality, and the luxury industry. He was admitted to the bar in 1986 and holds a law degree from the University of Geneva. He has been a registered attorney since 1984.

Alongside his legal career, Bénédict Fontanet was politically active for over 15 years. A former president of the Parti Démocrate Chrétien (now known as "Le Centre"), he also served as a member of the Geneva Grand Council.

Passionate about music, he chairs the Board of Directors of the École de Musique Actuelle (EMA) in Geneva and played an active role in founding the Centre des Musiques Actuelles.

Christine Fontanet is in charge of the administration, human resources and logistics of the practice; she acts as Office Manager since 2005. Admitted to the Bar, she has been working for Fontanet & Associés since 1993.

Christine Fontanet passed the Bar exam in 1995 and graduated in Law from the Geneva University in 1993.

Stéphanie Fontanet is both a lawyer and tax expert. She advises clients on civil law matters, particularly in real estate and contract law, as well as in tax and estate law, and represents them in related disputes. She also regularly assists foreign nationals relocating to Switzerland (permit applications, lump-sum taxation negotiations, tax and estate planning, real estate acquisition, etc.).

She joined the firm in 2013 after being admitted to the bar and became a partner in 2017. She completed her legal traineeship at the law firm Poncet Turrettini and studied at the Faculty of Law of the University of Geneva. She holds an LL.M. in Tax Law from the University of Geneva. Stéphanie Fontanet was elected Deputy Judge at the Geneva Civil Court in December 2018 and has been a member of the Bar Examination Commission since 2019.

Marie-Hélène Jeandin is mainly active in the fields of minors’ criminal law, family law, contract law and procedure (civil, administrative and criminal). She focuses as well on humanitarian law. Marie-Hélène Jeandin joined Fontanet & Associés as an associate in 2019 after completing her internship in a local law firm. She was a member of the Young Bar Committee and of the Geneva Bar Association, as a trainee secretary.

She passed her bar exam in 2019 after studying at the University of Geneva, where she successively obtained her bachelor’s and master’s degrees. During her master’s degree, she completed an exchange semester at the University of Zurich.

Nicolas Jeandin is specialized in civil procedure with a particular focus on debt collection and bankruptcy law, restructuring and negotiable instruments. His activities also encompass domestic and international arbitration as well as inheritance law. He is an ordinary Professor at the University of Geneva for civil procedure and debt collection and also teaches at the Ecole d’avocature (Geneva Bar School). He regularly lectures throughout Switzerland in his areas of specialization. Further, Nicolas Jeandin is Deputy Judge at the Civil Chamber of the Court of Justice of Geneva and is authorized to practice before ecclesiastical courts.

He is the author of numerous publications in the fields of private law, civil procedure, restructuring and arbitration. He has been a member of the Geneva Bar since 1984, obtained the Bar exam in 1986 and received a doctorate in Law in 1993. Nicolas Jeandin studied at Geneva University where he also obtained a degree in economics in 1984.

asmin Paes Batista mainly practices civil law, in particular contract law, corporate law, and employment law. Her practice also extends to administrative law, especially immigration law, as well as civil and administrative procedure. She joined Fontanet & Associés in 2022 to complete her legal traineeship and has been working as an associate since obtaining her bar admission in 2024.

Yasmin Paes Batista completed her studies at the Faculty of Law of the University of Geneva, where she earned both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, including an exchange semester at Humboldt University in Berlin. Following her Master’s, she interned at the Civil Division of the Geneva Court of Justice and at Court VI of the Federal Administrative Court in St. Gallen.Y

Olivier Péclard specializes in business and tax law, as well as international mutual legal assistance and international arbitration. He joined Fontanet & Associés in December 2019, having previously been a partner at Bonnant & Associés since its founding in 1996.

Earlier in his career, he worked for a major U.S. law firm after being admitted to the New York Bar in 1987 and earning an LL.M. from Duke University in 1986. Olivier Péclard was admitted to the Geneva Bar in 1983.

Alisa Ramelet-Telqiu focuses primarily on civil and criminal litigation, including enforcement, debt collection and bankruptcy law, as well as contract law.
She joined the firm as an associate in 2015 after gaining experience in two other Geneva-based law firms, and became a partner in 2024.

A member of the Geneva Bar, she has held her attorney’s license since 2012, ranking second in her cohort.
She completed her legal studies at the Faculties of Law of the Universities of Geneva and Basel, earning a bilingual Master’s degree with magna cum laude honors in 2009.
In November 2024, she was appointed Associate Judge at the Supervisory Authority for Debt Collection and Bankruptcy Offices.

Tiffany Sutter is mainly active in the field of civil procedure, in particular family law, contract law and bankruptcy law. She also acts in criminal and administrative proceedings (in particular foreigners’ law and public procurement). She joined Fontanet & Associés in 2020 to complete her legal internship, and then as an associate since she obtained her law degree in 2022.

Tiffany Sutter studied at the Faculty of Law of the University of Geneva, where she obtained her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. During her master’s degree, she did two semesters of exchange at the University of Zurich.