We work internationally, mostly across Switzerland, the UK and the EU, in English, French and Russian. We look at your company, your family and the jurisdictions involved together, then tell you plainly which route works and what it will cost.Contracts, structuring and disputes, handled by the partners themselves.
Cross-border
one team runs the whole matter
EN · FR · RU
three working languages
Switzerland + UK
and international jurisdictions
Partner-led
the partners do the work themselves
Z&S Advisory is an international legal and business advisory firm run by two partners. We work with company owners and private clients whose affairs cross borders: Switzerland, the UK, the rest of Europe and further afield. We look for the route that holds up in practice: a contract clause that really protects you, or a structure a bank's compliance team can follow. When a matter needs a solicitor, a barrister or another authorised professional, we introduce you to one and stay involved on your side.
Managing partner
Nikita heads the legal department of FINCORPO.COM & Legal Services SA, a corporate services firm in Geneva. He is completing an LL.M. in International Business Law at the University of Fribourg. His work covers corporate structuring in Switzerland, the UK and other jurisdictions, commercial contracts, and the practical side of moving a business or a family from one country to another. He works in Russian, English and French.
Read Nikita Zaitsev's full profile
Partner
Andrey works on corporate matters, dispute strategy and regulatory compliance for international businesses and private clients. His part of the job is to test a structure or a claim before the client commits to it. He looks at what could go wrong and what it would cost, and asks whether it is worth doing at all. Like Nikita, he works in Russian, English and French.
Many advisers start from the country they know. We start from what you will need in three years' time, then choose the country, the vehicle and the contract to fit.
Swiss, English and international questions sit with the same partners. You don't have to pass messages between advisers in different cities.
Every piece of work comes with a written fee. You decide with the number in front of you.
If a structure would cost more than it saves, or a claim is not worth pursuing, you will hear it from us early.
We ask what you are trying to achieve and what it is worth to you. Only then do we look for the route, including options an adviser who knows a single jurisdiction would not consider.
You receive the fee in writing before we start. If the scope changes, we tell you first and agree the new figure.
The partner you speak to on the first call is the one who does the work. Every engagement runs under a written agreement.
Access to your documents is limited to the partners and the service providers we genuinely need. Everything you send us is handled to UK GDPR standards.
Structure, contracts and disputes for companies working across borders.
Founders and owners of international SMEs, holding companies and family businesses. We draft and review your contracts, set up and restructure companies in the UK, Switzerland and elsewhere, and deal with disputes before they reach a courtroom. From the first call, you talk to a partner.
Discuss a business matter
Personal matters across countries, handled discreetly.
Individuals and families with assets, residence or business interests in several countries. Relocating to the UK or Switzerland, choosing a university abroad for your children, holding personal assets through the right structure, succession planning with licensed specialists we work with, and disputes you would rather settle quietly. Your matter stays with the partners and is kept confidential.
Speak privatelyWe are not solicitors or barristers and are not regulated by any legal regulator; where court representation is needed, we work alongside independent authorised professionals.
Your company is based elsewhere and you want to run it from the UK or Switzerland. We work out what to set up, what to keep and in what order, banking and substance included.
When several companies and shareholders are involved, often in different countries, ownership gets hard to follow. We design a holding that banks, auditors and tax authorities can read, and that you can explain in two sentences.
Before anyone issues a claim, we assess where you stand, write the letters that move things forward and negotiate. If it has to go to court or arbitration, we bring in authorised litigators and stay on the strategy.
An agreement in English, French or Russian, often governed by a law you don't know well. We tell you what it really commits you to and what to change before you sign.
You own property, shares and accounts in different countries. With licensed specialists where needed, we organise the ownership so that it is compliant and can be passed on in good order.
A Swiss company, a European distributor, a first client in Geneva. We put the vehicle and the contracts in place so you can start trading without unpleasant surprises later.
Tell us what is happening, in any of our three languages
We clarify the goal and say whether we can help
We read the documents and map the risks
You get a recommendation and a written fee
We carry it through to the end
£0
A first conversation about your situation. We tell you whether we can help, which route looks right and roughly what it would cost. No obligation.
Book a free first call£500
+ VAT where applicable
One specific question, looked at properly. We go through your documents, weigh the risks and give you practical recommendations you can act on.
Book a consultationfrom £2,000/month
+ VAT where applicable
A partner who knows your business: contract drafting and review, corporate and compliance questions as they come up, priority response.
Discuss a retainerIndividual pricing
For a defined piece of work such as a restructuring, a relocation or a new holding structure: agreed scope, a quote before we start and coordination through to completion.
Request a quoteNo. Z&S Advisory is a legal and business advisory firm. We are not solicitors or barristers and are not regulated by any legal regulator, so we do not conduct litigation or appear in court. When a matter needs that, we introduce you to independent authorised professionals and keep working with them on your side.
Our base is England and Switzerland. For structuring and company formation we also work with established onshore and offshore jurisdictions, through licensed local firms where local law requires it. If a jurisdiction is outside what we can handle well, we will say so.
We can arrange it. The formation itself is done by a licensed Geneva incorporating agent we work with. We coordinate the process, from the name check to entry in the commercial register, and help you think through the structure around the company.
Yes. The initial consultation costs nothing and carries no obligation. We use it to understand the situation and tell you whether, and how, we can help.
A one-off consultation is £500. A retainer starts from £2,000 a month, and projects are quoted individually. Prices exclude VAT. Where VAT applies, we add it at the current rate and show it in the written fee you receive before any work starts.
English, French and Russian. Documents, calls and correspondence can be in any of them, and we switch between languages when the parties come from different countries.
Yes. We help students and families decide what to study and in which country, draw up a shortlist of universities and plan the application. We cannot promise a place: that decision belongs to the university. For visas we refer you to a qualified immigration adviser.
Only the partners and the service providers we need to run the work have access to your information. We follow UK GDPR and pass nothing to anyone else without your agreement, unless the law requires it. Our Privacy Notice has the detail.
Yes, when there is a genuine business or family reason for one. Every structure we work on has real substance and meets CRS and FATCA reporting, economic substance and anti-money laundering rules. We do not set up structures meant to conceal who owns what or to avoid tax that is legitimately due.
Tell us about it. The first call is free.
The first call is free and commits you to nothing. Write in English, French or Russian.
