UBS Lawyer Schmid Takes Job at Swiss Law Firm
Notable Attorneys
Bernhard Schmid, the head of UBS AG’s legal department, left Switzerland’s biggest bank by assets to become a partner at a Zurich law firm founded by a former banker.
Schmid joined Kuoni Attorneys at Law on Feb. 1 to help the company increase its work advising banks, founding partner Wolfram Kuoni said by telephone yesterday. Schmid, who is Swiss, was one of three lawyers to share former General Counsel Peter Kurer’s workload when Kurer became chairman of the bank in 2008.
UBS paid a $780 million fine and disclosed the names of 255 account holders in February 2009 to avoid criminal prosecution in the U.S. on a charge that it helped thousands of wealthy Americans evade taxes. The bank hired Markus Diethelm from Swiss Reinsurance Co. to replace Kurer as general counsel in 2008.
Schmid is “wonderful for a firm like mine to tap into the banking market. He has an outstanding track-record,” Kuoni said in a telephone interview yesterday, adding that he wants to expand the practice’s work advising banks “one tier below” UBS and Credit Suisse Group AG, Switzerland’s biggest bank by market value.
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USCIS Issues Clarifying Guidance on NAFTA TN Status Eligibility for Economists
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it is clarifying policy guidance (PDF, 71 KB) on the specific work activities its officers should consider when determining whether an individual qualifies for TN nonimmigrant status as an economist.
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) TN nonimmigrant status allows qualified Canadian and Mexican citizens to temporarily enter the U.S. to engage in specific professional activities, including the occupation of economist. The agreement, however, does not define the term economist, resulting in inconsistent decisions on whether certain analysts and financial professionals qualify for TN status as economists.
TN nonimmigrant status is intended to allow a limited number of professionals and specialists to work temporarily in certain specifically identified occupations in the United States. This updated guidance provides USCIS officers with a specific definition of one such category – economists – allowing them to adjudicate applications in a way that complies with the intent of the agreement. This policy update clarifies that professional economists requesting TN status must engage primarily in activities consistent with the profession of an economist. Individuals who work primarily in other occupations related to the field of economics — such as financial analysts, marketing analysts, and market research analysts — are not eligible for classification as a TN economist.