Stéphane Lagonico

Stephane Lagonico is an attorney and a partner of the law firm Bonnard Lawson. Mr Lagonico co-heads Private Clients Services at Bonnard Lawson and is a highly recognized professional in his field. His every day activities concern trusts, estate and tax consequences, relocation of individuals and other estate planning measures. Mr Lagonico has been working for 28 years in Swiss, international and European laws, including three years in Washington DC.

Mr Lagonico’s preferred domain of service is to assist individuals and families with an international ambit (various nationalities and/or residences, assets located in different countries) who wish to plan or execute an estate and assess tax implications. He advises entrepreneurs, heirs, artists, art collectors, trustees, financial offices and wealth planners. As a member of STEP, the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and a founder and first Chairman of its Lausanne Chapter, Mr Lagonico is experienced in dealing with wills, trusts, foundations, private equity, life insurances and trust protectorship. He regularly advises on voluntary disclosure procedures, in particular in Switzerland and the US and is often called upon by international institutions, families and art collectors in the structuring of their art collection.

Mr Lagonico advises also his clients in their projects to relocate their residence, obtain work permits in Switzerland and in foreign countries, to acquire or relinquish a nationality, to buy or sell real estate, in Switzerland or abroad, and relies on a well-established network of legal, tax, banking and accounting practitioners.

Mr Lagonico practices banking law and international sanctions. He is an active member of the financial services industry, as present or past director of trust companies in Switzerland and abroad. He has been during 20 years a supervised financial intermediary according to the Swiss Anti-money laundering law and is currently serving as a member of the banking law Commission of the Vaud Bar Association. He is an occasional speaker on trusts and estates.

Mr Lagonico is listed by Legal 500 and was named TOP100 private client lawyer by Citiwealth after consistently appearing on their reference listing since 2012. In 2023, he was referred by Spears 500. Thanks to his work, Bonnard Lawson was presented in 2023 with the award of “Best Cross-Border Legal Advisory Firm 2023-Switzerland” by Wealth and Finance International. According to testimonials given to Legal 500, the private client practice of Bonnard Lawson has an exceptionally high reputation in Switzerland and abroad. The team have first-hand knowledge of the needs of high-net-worth individuals and pursue the interests of their clients with particular foresight. The service is always tailor-made. The real strength of the firm lies in these cross-border matters.

Before joining Bonnard Lawson, Mr Lagonico worked during three years in the United States, for two top tier American law firms, in their Washington D.C. international departments; he was a visiting professor of law at Georgetown University. He belonged to a group of lawyers who pioneered the removal of the first country out of the blacklist of the Financial Action Task Force. Mr Lagonico previously studied and worked during two years in Brussels, for a major American law firm and at the European Union Commission.

Mr Lagonico developed the first Shanghai office of Bonnard Lawson. He is also member of the board of several associations and foundations of charitable and public interest. He is Honorary President of the Prix de Lausanne; an Ambassador of the Swiss Red Cross for the International Development and Cooperation; a founding member and first Chair of STEP Lausanne and advisor to the Solar Impulse Foundation. During his past time, he practices ski mountaineering and is a rescue scuba diver.