Michael Kummer
Senior Partner | lic. iur. HSG, LL.M., M.B.L.-HSG | attorney-at-law, notary public
Profile
Michael Kummer studied law at the University of St.Gallen and graduated with a law degree in the beginning of 2005. During his studies, he co-founded a start-up company with core competencies in the area of business intelligence, e-commerce and Internet applications. In 2007 he was admitted to the bar.
In November 2011 he completed his master degree in European and International Business Law at the University of St.Gallen (M.B.L.-HSG). In September 2014 he completed another master degree in International Business Law at the University of Zurich (LL.M.).
Since 2009 he is a mentor at the University of St.Gallen and since 2011 he works as a lecturer at GET Marketing- und Kaderschule in Winterthur. He acts as guest lecturer in the Executive MBA programme ‘Business Law for International Managers’ at the University of St. Gallen (HSG), as part of the Academy of the St. Gallen-Appenzell Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the Volkshochschule Rheintal and continuing education programmes offered by MIT Sicherheit AG.
Practice areas
Michael Kummer acts as a consultant and as a counsel before all state courts as well as in (international) arbitration proceedings. His key business activities are corporate, commercial, contract law, banking and capital markets, FinTech / Blockchain / Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) / Token Generating Events (TGE), mergers & acquisitions, corporate governance, labour law, construction law and inheritance law.
As a notary public, he makes certifications and notarizations on the territory of the Canton of St.Gallen. He is also active as an executor of wills.
He is member of the board of directors of several companies.
Since March 2015, due to his expertise and experience, the SIX Exchange Regulation has recognized Michael Kummer as a qualified representative under Article 43 Listing Rules in the areas equities (including participation certificates and dividend rights certificates), certificates of deposit and collective investments schemes (www.ser-ag.com).
Michael Kummer also assumes mandates as an arbitrator in arbitration proceedings. In September 2016 he was appointed to the list of arbitrators from the St.Galler rules of arbitration (www.sgso.ch).
Languages
- German
- English
- French
Education
- LL.M. (International Business Law), University of Zurich (2014)
- M.B.L-HSG (European and International Business Law), University of St.Gallen (2011)
- Bar admission as attorney-at-law and notary public (2007)
- lic. iur. HSG, University of St.Gallen (2005)
Experience
- Co-owner of Stach Rechtsanwälte AG (since 2022)
- Senior Partner at Stach Rechtsanwälte AG (since 2018)
- Partner at Stach Rechtsanwälte AG (since 2013)
- Lecturer at the GET management school, Winterthur (since 2011)
- Attorney-at-law at Stach Rechtsanwälte AG (since 2007)
- Founder and managing director of a start-up dealing with Business Intelligence, e-Commerce and Internet applications (2001-2007)
Other activities
- Arbitrator on the list of arbitrators of the St.Gallen rules of arbitration (www.sgso.ch) (since 2016)
- Recognized by the SIX as a qualified representative under Article 43 Listing Rules in the areas equities (including participation certificates and dividend rights certificates), certificates of deposit and collective investments schemes (since 2015)
- Ostlink, student club at the University of St.Gallen (member of the advisory board) (since 2016)
Memberships
- Swiss Bar Association
- St.Gallen Bar Association
- Swiss Lawyers Association
- St.Gallen Lawyers Association
- Chamber of Industry and Commerce St.Gallen Appenzell (IHK)
- Pioneer’s Club 1879
- Euro-American Lawyers Group (EALG)
- Hayek Club Zurich
- HSG Alumni
- HSG Law Alumni
- ATILA Association of Turicum International Business Law Alumni
- Club 2000 – patronage association of TSV St.Otmar men’s Handball
Competences
Contact
Focus
The right and duty to refuse compliance with instructions from the mandator in the context of sanctions
In the context of a mandate, the mandatee is required to perform the business entrusted to him in a diligent and faithful manner (Art. 398 para. 2 of the Swiss Code of Obligations, CO). The extent to which a mandatee may or must refuse to perform a mandate where there are grounds to suspect that the mandator is subject to sanctions was recently considered by the Swiss Federal Tribunal.
Sustainable Corporate Governance – The Preliminary Draft NUFG
With the Federal Act on Sustainable Corporate Governance (NUFG), the Federal Council is departing from the practice of amending the Swiss Code of Obligations (CO) on a piecemeal basis. What is today set out in individual sections of accounting law will form the core of a separate act that goes considerably further, providing for liability for damage caused abroad, supervision backed by the power to impose sanctions and a special set of procedural rules. According to the Federal Council’s estimate, some 30 large companies would be subject to the extended due diligence duties – the number affected is considerably higher.
When the debtor reshuffles the deck – undue preference to creditors
Shortly before a company collapses, its finances are reviewed one last time and funds are distributed. It is not uncommon for the remaining funds to be channelled not equally amongst all those who stand to benefit, but rather in a targeted manner – for example, to favoured suppliers, to the bank for which the managing director has provided a personal guarantee, or to a related company. The remaining creditors are often left with a certificate of loss. Swiss law addresses this behaviour on two levels simultaneously: under criminal law through the offence of undue preference to creditors in Article 167 of the Swiss Criminal Code (SCC), and under enforcement law through the avoidance action under Article 285 et seq. of the Swiss Debt Enforcement and Bankruptcy Act (DEBA), known as the ‘Pauliana’. The following article focuses on the criminal law aspect.
