As the establishment of an association involves little paperwork and no registration or fees, it is an important legal form in Switzerland[1] and often used by groups such as sport and social clubs.
[3] The association can also be used as a legal form for a business organization consisting of a number of independent offices, each of which has limited liability vis-à-vis the others.
For instance, non-US offices of accounting firms in a Verein structure are not bound by Securities and Exchange Commission subpoenas from the United States.
Most associations now expressly note their status on web sites, e-mails and letterhead in order to prevent future arguments based on agency.
Since 2009, Swiss vereins have been used in several mergers of large multinational law firms, as they allow regional profit pools and their related tax, accounting and partner compensation systems to remain separate while allowing strategy, branding, information technology and other core functions to be shared between the constituent partnerships.
[5] In many cases, this works like a corporate structure, where the Swiss verein is the holding company and the member firms are the subsidiaries, making the centralization, profit and fund management more efficient.
However, some law firm vereins such as DLA Piper have minimal financial integration and primarily serve as referral relationships.