The roots of Lenz & Staehelin go back almost a century. The Zurich firm was founded by Conrad Staehelin in 1917, while the Geneva office was formed in 1951 by Raoul Lenz.

After World War II Conrad Staehelin’s son, Willy Staehelin realized that Switzerland would make an ideal hub for American investment. He was soon able to interest prominent American investors in Zurich. In the 1960s, Willy Staehelin had what was at the time the revolutionary idea of joining forces with other and younger partners. During the 1970s and 1980s, Staehelin, Hafter, Jagmetti, Lutz & Partner, as the firm was now called, continued to serve a predominantly American, British, German and Italian clientele.

The situation in Geneva was very similar. Raoul Lenz was deliberately gearing his business to an international clientele. Lenz’s firm did so well that he soon hired a substantial staff. He too was quick to see the benefits of a larger partnership. Thus Lenz, Schluep, Briner & de Coulon developed along similar lines to the Zurich firm, representing foreign clients as well as global banks and private banks – and with them old established Geneva families.

By the end of the 1980s, the Geneva partners realized that they ran the risk of falling behind if they were not present in Zurich. While Lenz, Schluep, Briner & de Coulon was by far the biggest firm in Geneva, Staehelin, Hafter, Jagmetti, Lutz & Partner was competing with around half a dozen other firms of similar size in Zurich. The two firms initiated talks, and soon realized that they were a very good match in key respects. This permitted a swift merger under the new name Lenz & Staehelin. On January 1, 1991, the firm in its present form was born.

In 1990 the office in Lausanne was inaugurated, with one resident partner who advanced the activities of the firm at this city, particularly in the fields of litigation and commercial law. In 2007, it was decided to expand these activities and to enhance Lenz & Staehelin’s presence in Lausanne at modern new offices.