Founded in the late 1970s by the socialist Christiane Brunner, this avant-garde study exclusively defended victims and vulnerable parties. After several decades of activism, it quietly disappeared in 2025 under circumstances that remain unclear.
It was an institution in the Geneva legal landscape. After more than 45 years of activity, the Defense Collective ceased its activities last year, putting an end to a pioneering initiative in the legal profession.
Created in the late seventies by Christiane Brunner, a figure in feminism and unionism, the study had a clear ambition: to offer an alternative to the traditional model of law firms. With affordable fees, the Defense Collective aimed to defend those who could not afford the standard market rates.
Workers, unionized or not, victims of sexual and domestic violence, migrant women, and divorcées were all addressed by the study, often beneficiaries of legal assistance.
To guarantee these reduced fees, the lawyers of the Collective accepted to earn the same salary, not exceeding 4000 to 5000 francs at the time, regardless of the number of cases and the money coming into the study. Among the figures that marked the life of the Collective, we can mention the socialists Liliane Maury-Pasquier and Marco Ziegler, all within a very horizontal structure.
A formative place that evolved jurisprudence
Several generations of lawyers succeeded within the Defense Collective, including young interns at the beginning of their careers, attracted precisely by its progressive values. Several former employees described it as a very formative, committed place that, by defending progressive causes, also contributed to evolving case law on these issues.
This militant ideology, although not very lucrative, lasted for several decades, carried by lawyers sharing the same convictions.
A discreet end and unanswered questions
The reasons for the closure of the Collective remain unclear. The three associates who decided to end it last year refused to answer RTS’s questions, stating they “do not understand the public interest in the subject.”
According to RTS information, several factors were reportedly cited at the time of dissolution: financial problems, lack of motivation among lawyers, a difficult work environment, and management issues, points that former associates also refused to comment on.
The four secretaries of the study were fired, including two close to retirement age. As for the associates, two of them have since opened a new study in Geneva, where they continue to serve feminist struggles and defend victims of sexist and sexual violence.
Source: Charlotte Frossard/ther
