Michel Jaccard is the founder of id est avocats. For the past 25 years, he has been involved in corporate finance and M&A deals in Switzerland and abroad, acting for entrepreneurs and owners, venture capital and private equity firms, industrial buyers and financial sponsors. He also advises purpose driven, impact and hybrid companies on governance and sustainability issues (ESG).

Along his corporate expertise, Michel helps SMEs, financial institutions, industrial leaders and global brands navigate the world of innovation, technologies, data protection and cybersecurity, and regularly assists in the negotiation or the resolution of disputes in complex business projects requiring an understanding of advanced technologies (development, outsourcing, hosting, migration, XaaS and platforms, R&D and JV).

Michel holds a JD and PhD from the University of Lausanne and an LLM from Columbia Law School (Stone Scholar, Fulbright grantee). He is a certified CEDR and ITDR mediator and legal expert, is admitted to practice in Switzerland and New York, and has been highly recommended in Corporate/M&A, Technology, Media/Telecoms and Intellectual Property by leading guides such as Chambers, Legal500, Best Lawyers and Who’s Who Legal.

He has frequently acted as jury member, mentor or coach in startup competitions (Venturekick, MassChallenge, >>Venture>>, FIT, Prix Strategis, Seedstars, …) and is a lecturer in the Master in Sustainable Management and Technology (SMT) managed by the Entreprise for Society Center (E4S) of the University of Lausanne, IMD and EPFL.