Instant confirmationMe Usman Toseef
Bern · Family law
CHF 10.–/h
No reviews yet
Lawyer in Biel/Bienne
In Switzerland’s largest bilingual town, find verified lawyers and legal advisers who work in German, in French or in both.
- No practitioner registered in the canton
Biel/Bienne lies in the Biel/Bienne administrative district, in the canton of Bern.
Biel/Bienne lies in the Biel/Bienne administrative district, in the canton of Bern.
The local picture
Biel/Bienne
Biel/Bienne is officially bilingual: German and French have equal standing, both at the town and at the cantonal authorities of the Biel/Bienne administrative district. The competent first-instance court is the Regionalgericht Berner Jura-Seeland / Tribunal régional du Jura bernois-Seeland, which also covers the Seeland and the Bernese Jura. It decides civil and criminal cases and – as there is no separate employment tribunal – employment disputes too. Tenancy disputes start before the Schlichtungsbehörde Berner Jura-Seeland / Autorité de conciliation du Jura bernois-Seeland.
In Biel/Bienne, proceedings can be held in German or in French. That makes it all the more important to have a practitioner who speaks your language and understands documents written in the other. Each profile on ora. shows the languages, areas of law and fee. Every lawyer is checked against the cantonal bar register; you book at the law firm or by video, and you pay the practitioner directly.
Practitioners
Lawyers in Biel/Bienne
No practitioner is registered in the canton of Bern yet. Those below meet clients by video call, anywhere in Switzerland.
Nearest first: offices in Biel/Bienne, then the district and the canton, then those who meet by video call in your language.
See all practitionersBy video call, anywhere in Switzerland3 practitioners
Instant confirmation- Instant confirmation
Paola Arcidiacono
Bern · Commercial law
CHF 140.–/h
No reviews yet
- Instant confirmation
Yann Bevilacqua
Genève · Commercial law
CHF 350.–/h
No reviews yet
Justice in Biel/Bienne
Which authority for which dispute?
Before you consult, it helps to know who decides. These are the competent authorities for Biel/Bienne, each with its official website.
Source: Federal Statistical Office (FSO), swisstopo
- Tenancy
- Work
- Family
- Criminal
- Legal aid
Source: Federal Statistical Office (FSO), swisstopo
Tenancy
Tenancy: four regional conciliation boards
A dispute over rent, defects or a notice to quit starts, in principle, before the conciliation board of your region: Bern-Mittelland, Emmental-Oberaargau, Oberland or Berner Jura-Seeland. The board where the flat is located is competent. It hears both sides and proposes an agreement. If conciliation fails, it authorises you to take the case to the regional court. A lawyer can help with the request and the deadlines.
- Official website
Competent authority
Schlichtungsbehörde Berner Jura-Seeland / Autorité de conciliation du Jura bernois-Seeland
Serves: Bernese Jura administrative district, Biel/Bienne administrative district, Seeland administrative district
Related situations
Work
Employment: no separate tribunal
Unlike some cantons, Bern has no separate employment tribunal. Disputes arising from employment – dismissal, unpaid wages, overtime, work references – go to the four regional courts, usually after an attempt at conciliation. What counts is the court region: Thun and Interlaken, for example, fall under the Regionalgericht Oberland, Langenthal and Burgdorf under the Regionalgericht Emmental-Oberaargau. A practitioner checks your documents and deadlines first.
- Official website
Competent authority
Regionalgericht Berner Jura-Seeland / Tribunal régional du Jura bernois-Seeland
Serves: Bernese Jura administrative district, Biel/Bienne administrative district, Seeland administrative district
Related situations
Family
Family: the regional court of your region
Separation, divorce, custody and child maintenance are decided at first instance by the regional court – Bern-Mittelland, Emmental-Oberaargau, Oberland or Berner Jura-Seeland. In the Bernese Jura administrative district, proceedings are held in French; in the Biel/Bienne district, in German or French. A first consultation clarifies your options, the documents you need and the chances of an agreement before any proceedings begin.
- Official website
Competent authority
Regionalgericht Berner Jura-Seeland / Tribunal régional du Jura bernois-Seeland
Serves: Bernese Jura administrative district, Biel/Bienne administrative district, Seeland administrative district
Related situations
Criminal
Criminal law: prosecutor first, then the regional court
Criminal complaint, summons to an interview or summary penalty order: the investigation is led by the Staatsanwaltschaft des Kantons Bern, the cantonal public prosecutor. If charges are brought, the regional court concerned tries the case at first instance. You can object to a summary penalty order, but the deadline is short. You may bring a lawyer to every interview – so get in touch early.
- Official website
Competent authority
Staatsanwaltschaft des Kantons Bern
Serves: the whole canton
Related situations
Legal aid
Legal aid: apply to the court
If you cannot afford proceedings and your case is not without prospects, you can apply for legal aid. The application goes to the court where the case is pending or is to be brought – in the canton of Bern, usually the regional court. Legal aid can waive court costs and include the appointment of a lawyer. A practitioner can tell you whether your situation qualifies.
- Official website
Competent authority
Legal aid (application to the competent court)
Serves: the whole canton
Areas of law
Areas covered in Biel/Bienne
One panel for each area in which verified practitioners work in the canton of Bern. Other areas remain available by video call.
No practitioner in the canton of Bern yet
Nobody in the canton is registered for these areas yet. Practitioners from elsewhere can meet you by video call.
- Family law
- Employment law
- Commercial law
- Contract law
- Property law
- Landlord and tenant law
- Criminal law
- Immigration law
- Succession law
- Intellectual property law
- Insurance law
- Tax law
- Debt enforcement law
- Administrative law
- Data protection law
- Arbitration
Common situations
The questions that come up most
Six common situations in the areas where most practitioners work in the canton of Bern.
Pricing on ora.
Two lines, never one total
Each practitioner sets their own fees and shows them on their profile before you book. You pay ora., which collects on the practitioner’s behalf; ora. charges its service fee on a separate line.
- Practitioner's feeSet by the practitioner, paid out to the practitioner
- ora. service fee (non-refundable)A separate line, paid to ora.
- You choose an appointment
- You pay ora., which collects for the practitioner
- The work takes place
- If you disagree, ora. mediates
Cantonal registers checked by hand
- Geneva
- Vaud
- Neuchâtel
- Fribourg
- Valais
- Jura
We keep the name of the register and the date of every check.
Frequently asked questions
Your questions in Biel/Bienne
Local answers, checked against official sources. A practitioner can look at your situation in detail.
See all questionsIn which language are proceedings held in Biel/Bienne?
In the Biel/Bienne administrative district, German and French are both official languages, and the Regionalgericht Berner Jura-Seeland conducts proceedings in both. What matters most for you is that your lawyer speaks your language and can draft submissions in the language of the proceedings. On ora. you filter by language and see in each profile whether a practitioner works in both.
What does legal advice cost in Biel/Bienne?
Each practitioner sets their own fee, and you see it in their profile before booking – live on this page for the lawyers and legal advisers near you. ora.’s service fee is shown separately. You pay the practitioner directly.
Which authority handles a tenancy dispute in Biel/Bienne?
The first step is the Schlichtungsbehörde Berner Jura-Seeland / Autorité de conciliation du Jura bernois-Seeland. It deals with rent increases, defects, service-charge statements and notices to quit, and tries to bring the parties to an agreement. If that fails, it issues authorisation to proceed, and the case then goes to the Regionalgericht Berner Jura-Seeland. A tenancy lawyer helps you draft the request and gather the documents.
Do Nidau, Brügg or Lyss fall under the same court as Biel?
Nidau, Brügg, Ipsach and Evilard belong to the Biel/Bienne administrative district; Lyss and Aarberg to the Seeland district. Both fall under the Regionalgericht Berner Jura-Seeland, and for tenancy matters under the same regional conciliation board – as do municipalities in the Bernese Jura such as Saint-Imier or Tramelan. A Biel law firm therefore knows the authorities of the whole region.
The public prosecutor has summoned me – what should I do?
Criminal investigations in Biel/Bienne are led by the Staatsanwaltschaft des Kantons Bern (public prosecutor); if charges are brought, the Regionalgericht Berner Jura-Seeland tries the case. Whether you are the accused or the injured party, you may bring a lawyer to the interview. Get in touch before the date so the lawyer can explain your rights and prepare the interview with you. The deadline to object to a summary penalty order is short.
Next step
Find your practitioner in Biel/Bienne
Choose an area of law: the directory opens on the practitioners who work near you.
- Video consultation
- Online booking