As my client, you will have control over the scope and content of my work. During an initial telephone call, I will happily discuss the various options available to you and which one makes the most sense for you.
I will analyse the legal background for you and make recommendations on how to proceed. It goes without saying that I will also support you in finding amicable out-of-court solutions.
Often, there is no alternative but to let the court decide on a conflict. In these cases, I represent your interests before the Swiss courts and authorities.
As a trained mediator, I will support you in a structured process to find a joint, co-operative solution to the conflict. The aim is to develop a forward-looking, viable solution in a joint dialogue on an independent basis.
As a collaborative lawyer, I support you as your lawyer in a CLP procedure. In this procedure, all parties to the conflict involve a specially trained collaborative lawyer. Together, an out-of-court and viable solution is worked out.
On behalf of or for foreign courts or lawyers, I prepare independent expert opinions on a defined cross-border issue.
Many of my current customers are subject to private international law, mostly international family law. These include:
My expertise is based on many years of practical work and a solid academic framework thanks to my doctoral thesis in private international law with Prof. Dr. Frank Vischer as well my publications in legal commentaries and papers. For many years I represented Switzerland as an expert at the Hague Conference on Private International Law. I am supported by a global network of specialized lawyers globally, and I am a member of the International Academy of Family Lawyers.
Family law with legal separations and legal divorce is another specialisation of mine. Over 35 years of experience in consulting and litigation work set me apart when it comes to complex and comprehensive asset allocations among spouses (shareholdings, real estate, custody accounts, etc.). I often use my supplementary business education (MBA) when dealing with legal corporate constructs.
Furthermore, I advise spouses on their marriage and inheritance contracts.
I advise family businesses and SMEs in business matters, particularly regarding corporate law (legal structures, shareholder agreements). If necessary and after prior review, I may join Board of Directors. Besides my experience in negotiations, I am backed by my MBA and relevant publications in company law and in international commercial law.
Dr. iur. Catherine Westenberg
Attorney at Law and mediator SAV, MBA
Enrolled in the city of Basel’s Bar Register of Attorneys.
Languages: German, English, French
For 35 years I have been practising as a lawyer in North-western Switzerland and have acquired profound expertise in international and national law. I work as a consultant for my clients, litigate before Swiss courts and authorities, and offer mediations and other procedures for settling disputes out of court.
2023
Owner of Westenberg Advokatur & Mediation, Basel, Switzerland
2019 – 2023
Partner at Liatowitsch & Partner, Basel, Switzerland
2010 – 2019
Owner of the law firm WestenbergPartner, Basel/Liestal
1990 – 2010
Partner at various law firms in Switzerland
1986 – 1989
Various internships as a lawyer in court, at various law offices and at the cantonal tax authority
2013
Collaborative Lawyer, clp Schweiz
2005/2006
Mediator training at IEF Zürich (recognized as SAV mediator in 2007)
1998
Master of Business Administration (MBA), City University, Seattle
1991
Obtained Ph.D, Dr. iur. University of Basel (Thesis: Citizenship in Swiss private international law)
1989
Bar exam (Canton of Basel-Country), Admission to the bar
1986
lic.iur. University of Basel, Faculty of Law
2020
Commented on Articles 20/21/22 and 24 IPRG [Swiss Federal Act on Private International Law]; Basel comment on Swiss private law, international private law; published by Grolimund/Loacker/Schnyder, Basel, 4th edition 2020
2016
Internationale güterrechtliche Verhältnisse aus Schweizer Sicht [International marital assets from the Swiss perspective], in FamPra 2016, pg. 123 ff. (together with Gabrielle Bodenschatz)
2012
Commented on articles 20/21/22 and 24 IPRG [Swiss Federal Act on Private International Law]; Basel commentary on Swiss private international law, Private international law; Published by Honsell/Vogt/Schnyder/Berti, Basel, Switzerland, 3rd edition 2012
2007
Commented on articles 20/21/22 and 24 IPRG [Swiss Federal Act on Private International Law]; Basel commentary on Swiss private international law, Private international law; Published by Honsell/Vogt/Schnyder/Berti, Basel, Switzerland, 2nd edition 2007
2005
Unlauterer Wettbewerb [Unfair competition] (together with David Vasella), in: Handbuch des Internationalen Wirtschaftsrechts [manual of international business law]; Otto Schmidt publishing company, Cologne, Germany, 2001
2001
Aktienrecht [Company law]: by Büren / Walter Stoffel / Anton K. Schnyder / Catherine Christen-Westenberg; Schulthess publishing company, Zurich, Switzerland, 2001
1996
Commented on articles 20/21/22 and 24 IPRG [Swiss Federal Act on Private International Law]; Basel commentary on Swiss private international law, Private international law, published by /Vogt/Schnyder/Berti, Basel, Switzerland, 1st edition 1996
1992
Staatsangehörigkeit im schweizerischen Internationalen Privatrecht [citizenship in Swiss private international law]; Schweizer Studien zum internationalen Recht [Swiss studies on private international law)], Schulthess publishing house, Zurich, Switzerland, 1992
2020
Ausländische Liegenschaften im internationalen Güter- und Erbrecht [Foreign properties in international matrimonial regimes and inheritance law]: Schulthess Forum Ehegüterrecht [matrimonial property law], Zurich and Bern, Switzerland
2018
Eine Schweizer Sicht zur Mediation und zu ADR im Kindesschutz und Familienrecht im grenzüberschreitenden Kontext [A Swiss perspective on mediation and on ADR in child protection and family law in an international context]: Deutsch-Englischsprachige Richtertagung [German/English-language meeting of magistrates], Vienna, Austria
2017
Anerkenn- und vollstreckbare Entscheidungen nach Haager Übereinkommen über die zivilrechtlichen Aspekte von internationalen Kindsentführungen (HKÜ) [recognized and enforceable decisions according to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction]: Bundesamt für Justiz [Federal Office of Justice], Bern, Netzwerk von Fachpersonen BG-KKE [network of specialists, Swiss Federal Act on International Child Abduction and the Hague Conventions on the Protection of Childs and Adults]
2017
Internationale güterrechtliche Verhältnisse aus Schweizer Sicht: Fachgruppe Güter- und Erbrecht der Advokatenkammer Basel [international marital property from the Swiss perspective: Specialist group for marital property and inheritance law of the Basel Bar Association] (together with Gabrielle Bodenschatz)
Westenberg Advokatur & Mediation
Innere Margarethenstrasse 5 (5th floor)
P.O. box 138
CH-4010 Basel, Switzerland
Tel. +41 61 336 90 30
By tram
Tram lines 6, 10, and 16 to the stop at Heuwaage
Tram lines 1, 2, 8 and 16 up to the stop at Markthalle
Both tramway stops are only a 3-minute walk away from out office.
By train
The office can be reached by foot from the main SBB train station in 5 minutes.
By car
The public Elisabethen car park is located in the immediate vicinity.