Lawbility AG began its journey in 2010 with a legal professional language course offering in English (Professional Legal English Language and Practical Skills). Over the years, the vision “train your professional language, demonstrate your lawbility” evolved into a broad range of training and coaching services, which fostered the language and practical skills of hundreds of lawyers, legal professionals as well as aspiring practitioners and students. This was later followed by professional language courses and practical training offerings in French (français juridique) and German (Rechtsdeutsch).
About us
The company history
Since 2012, Lawbility also built the first Swiss-German law school (“prepare for the bar exam, demonstrate your lawbility”). At times, up to 50 coaches were on duty at the vocational school for aspiring lawyers. In 2018, Lawbility sold the law school to a competitor in order to be able to focus on promoting the professional language and on the new legal service offering “Rechtsatelier®”.
«Swiss Law Student Competition Program»
With the vision of preparing the next generation of lawyers for the future, Lawbility launched its student training program in 2012 under the motto “train your lawyer skills, demonstrate your lawbility”. Lawbility has since been a member of the two international student competitions “International Legal Negotiation Competition” and “International Client Consultation Competition” and established the Swiss Competitions program for Swiss law students. Lawbility took the lead in training law students in Switzerland in negotiation, legal advice and negotiation, and in running the competition’s own Swiss competitions. The head of the law studio, Jean-Luc Delli, is a member of the international programs, where he serves as a judge of the international student competition. The Swiss Competitions program is voluntary and free of charge for the participating law students.
Based on this experience, another milestone in the company’s history was created in 2013 with Lawbility Publishing (www.legalenglishexperts.com). In the same year, the first book was published, the bestseller The Legal English Manual, available in bookstores and as an ebook. This was later followed by two more Legal English publications (Course Book Volume One / Two) and the Compendium on Swiss Law. All four publications were published in co-edition with partner publishers in Switzerland, Germany and the United States, where they are also very popular.
In recognition of its professional legal language program, Lawbility won the U.S. Global Legal Skills Award in 2016.
Since opening the Rechtsatelier® in spring 2018, Lawbility has focused on providing legal services and has since successfully supported and advised hundreds of customers. In a novel store concept, the Rechtsatelier® sells legal services over the counter, by phone and online (Swiss.Fokus reported). Our dedicated legal service providers advise and accompany solution-seeking private individuals, entrepreneurs and companies in difficult decisions and different life situations from a legal and entrepreneurial perspective and design value-added solutions with them (legal information, legal advice, legal representation, legal coaching), thus creating measurable added value for our customers. With a holistic approach and out-of-court solutions, our approach and range of services differ from conventional providers.
Publications*
In 2013 (2nd edition 2017), The Legal English Manual was produced under the auspices of Lawbility in co-edition with Helbing Lichtenhahn/Basel, C.H.Beck/Munich and BarWrite® Press/USA. It contains professional legal language, legal English terminology, and examples of use in everyday professional situations and helps lawyers, attorneys, and practitioners in English-speaking professional situations to use their professional skills confidently and competently.
With The Legal English Course Book Volume One / Volume Two, two course books were published in 2018, which Lawbility has developed and used since 2010 as part of its “Professional Legal English & Practical Skills Training”. The practical materials for self-study and interactive classes teach professional professional language and legal terminology in their application in practice situations. They also prepare efficiently and professionally for the Professional Legal English and Practical Skills Exam “PLEPS“.
Finally, in 2018, the Compendium on Swiss Law was published, developed by lawyers and edited by the Head of the Legal Atelier, Jean-Luc Delli. It offers a general overview of relevant areas of law and is an ideal compact introduction to Swiss law. Published by Lawbility Verlag in co-edition with Helbing Lichtenhahn/Basel and C.H.Beck/Munich.
* All author teams are composed of Lawbility coaches as well as nationally and internationally practicing lawyers.
Our team
Jean-Luc Delli
Legal Practitioner and Negotiator with more than one decade of Experience
Jean-Luc Delli is an accomplished Swiss legal practitioner and expert in negotiation, boasting an impressive decade tenure in the legal field. Mr. Delli is the founder and managing director of the innovative Lawbility Ltd and founder and Head of Rechtsatelier®. His work goes beyond traditional legal services. He advises and assists individuals, entrepreneurs, and companies in navigating challenging decisions in various life and business situations. In various projects with clients, he acts in the area of legal coaching, settlement and contract negotiations, mediation, and project management, forging pathways to valuable results by helping our clients claim their rights giving options to solve legal issues by the route of negotiation and alternative dispute resolution without the need for litigation and court proceedings.
Mr. Delli received his Master’s in Law (MLaw) from the University of Fribourg in Switzerland. Early in his career, he held positions at prominent Swiss law firms and a law publisher before opening the Lawbility company in 2010 and in 2018, the Rechtsatelier®.
In addition to his entrepreneurial spirit at the Lawbility Ltd and to serving clients at the Rechtsatelier®, Mr. Delli also lectures at the Business School of the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW) and is a Professional Legal English Language and Practical Skills Trainer and Coach for professional lawyers and law firms. He is also the publisher of the Lawbility Legal English publications and editor of the “Kompendium zum schweizerischen Recht”, that was published by Lawbility, Helbing Lichtenhahn and C.H.Beck in 2018. As an expert in legal advice and negotiation, he plays an active role in international legal education and in the International Client Consultation Competition for Law Students (ICCC). He is also member of the board and actively involved in the International Negotiation Competition for Law Students (INC).
Jean-Luc Delli succeeds in developing solutions that make sense from the client’s perspective, are comprehensive and valuable from a business perspective. He has a broad spectrum of legal and entrepreneurial experience in various functions. In addition to his expertise in providing legal advice and in legal representation in negotiation situations, he specializes in legal coaching for clients. His extensive background and commitment to legal excellence make him an asset to the legal community and our clients.
Dr. Nataša Hadžimanović
Empowering Clients with Legal Expertise
Dr. Nataša Hadžimanović, a seasoned legal practitioner with over 20 years of experience. As a consulting attorney (not registered in the bar register) and as a legal coach, she serves our clients at the Rechtsatelier® in various areas of law, specializing in domestic and international litigation and arbitration. Additionally, as an academic lawyer, she provides legal research as well as legal opinions and memorandums. In addition to her work at the Rechtsatelier®, Ms. Hadžimanović is a current lecturer at the University of Zurich. Fluent in German, English, Spanish, French, and Serbo-Croatian, she particularly excels with her language skills for our international clientele.
Her legal journey began at the University of Zurich, culminating in her attainment in 1998 of a Master’s degree in Law (lic. iur.), achieving magna cum laude honors. Subsequently, in 2006, Nataša Hadžimanović obtained a Dr. iur. (PhD) degree from the University of Zurich, also with magna cum laude honors. In 2021, she completed the Privatdozentin qualification. This academic journey reflects a high level of achievement and specialization in the field of law. Moreover, Dr. Hadžimanović passed the bar exam of the Canton of Zurich and served many years in legal practice. During her tenure at various law firms in Zurich and Geneva, she acquired comprehensive legal skills, notably in contract drafting, mediation, and litigation. Among other activities, Dr. Hadžimanović provided research and legal opinion for German state courts on foreign law in cross-border disputes, providing strategic counsel for cross-border business activities, specializing in arbitration and litigation clauses, and assisting clients with cross-border contractual issues.
With her diverse legal background and extensive experience, Dr. Hadžimanović succeeds in advising Rechtsatelier® clients in national and international arbitration, legal project management, and domestic and international litigation, providing tailored expertise to meet their legal needs. According to the goals of our clients, Nataša Hadžimanović drafts contracts, prepares expert opinions and advises clients on conflict prevention and resolution. At the client’s request, she works multilingually and as a legal advisor, legal coach or as a legal representative.
In September 2022, Nataša Hadžimanović published her habilitation „Grundfragen des Mobiliarkreditsicherungsrechts – Eine rechtsvergleichende Arbeit insbesondere zu systemischen Fragen des Sachenrechts“ with Stämpfli Publishing House.
Dairo E. Pascual Méndez
Tailored Legal Support and Administrative Assistance
Dairo E. Pascual Méndez is a distinguished legal practitioner with Latin American roots specializing in providing comprehensive legal assistance for our clients. At the Rechtsatelier®, Mr. Pascual focuses on guardianship, retirement and succession planning, and broader elder law concerns. He also excels in legal project management, contract management, and tailored administrative assistance for clients. His language proficiency spans across English and Spanish, with a strong command of German.
Mr. Pascual holds a Law Degree with honors from the University Marta Abreu de las Villas, Santa Clara, Cuba (2003), as well as a Diploma of Advanced Studies in Economics and Business Management from the University of Cadiz, Spain (2007). Since then, he has accumulated a varied experience in the field of law where he has practiced as a professional judge (Cuba), academic researcher (UCA, Spain with research at the Max-Planck for private and comparative international law based in Hamburg, Germany), as well as independent legal consultant (Switzerland).
With over two decades of legal experience, his expertise allows Mr. Pascual to offer personalized legal solutions to address critical aspects of seniors’ lives. He also assists clients with legal project management, contract management, and administrative assistance tailored to their individual needs.
Olivia Andira
Office manager
Olivia Andira has many years of experience in client communication, marketing and project management. At the Rechtsatelier she supports our legal service providers in organizational and administrative activities.
Sarah Hotz
Content manager
Sarah Hotz completed her teacher training in Germany with a second state examination. She has been working as a German teacher for several years, at Lawbility she is a coach for the Legal German program. She also has a commercial education and further training in marketing and sales. Sarah Hotz has been with the Rechtsatelier since its foundation and assists in administration and communication.
