Interim legal and compliance glossary

Short answer: A project lawyer (Projektjurist) is a lawyer who works on a defined project or covers a temporary gap in a legal department or law firm, engaged through staff leasing or freelancing. A fractional General Counsel leads the legal function for an agreed part-time share. Staff leasing (Personalverleih) in Switzerland means that a provider holding a cantonal licence places its employees with a client (Art. 12 AVG); in Germany the same arrangement is called temporary agency work (Arbeitnehmerüberlassung) and requires a permit from the Federal Employment Agency (Section 1 AÜG).

This legal staffing glossary explains the key terms in interim legal and compliance work for organisations in Switzerland and Germany, grouped by topic. Where the law differs, the entry is marked CH or DE. Each term links to the guide or service page with more detail.

Swiss and German terms side by side

Many terms mean the same in both countries but carry different names. The table maps them.

Engagement models and roles

Interim legal and compliance: Temporary support for legal departments, compliance functions and law firms by specialists and leaders, part time or full time, individually or as a team. See our services for companies and law firms.

Project lawyer (contract lawyer): A lawyer engaged for a defined project such as a transaction, a review or a backlog, in companies and law firms. See project lawyers for law firms.

Interim legal counsel: An in-house lawyer who covers a vacancy, absence or peak workload in the legal department and handles ongoing matters. See relieving the legal department.

Interim compliance officer: A compliance professional for a vacancy, project or backlog, including a formal function where the client and regulatory law allow it. See interim compliance.

Interim Head of Legal: Temporary leadership of an existing legal department, for example until a successor starts. See Interim Head of Legal.

Fractional General Counsel (fractional GC): Legal leadership for an agreed part-time share, for companies whose need does not yet justify a full-time role. See fractional General Counsel.

Staff leasing: The English term for Personalverleih (CH) and Arbeitnehmerüberlassung (DE). The specialist is employed by the provider, integrated into the client's organisation and takes professional instructions from the client. See staff leasing.

Freelancing: Self-employed specialists deliver an agreed mandate independently, without being integrated like employees. See freelancing.

Secondment: A law firm or company temporarily sends its own staff to a client or group company. See freelancing, staff leasing or secondment.

Taskforce: A temporary team with a team lead for a high-volume project such as KYC remediation or contract migration. See building a taskforce.

Parental and maternity leave cover: Cover during maternity protection and parental leave (DE) or maternity leave (CH, 14 weeks under Art. 329f of the Code of Obligations). See parental leave cover.

ALSP (alternative legal service provider): A provider of legal services outside the traditional law firm model, for example for people, processes or technology. See provider types.

Permanent placement: Recruitment of a specialist for a permanent role with the client; unlike staff leasing, the client becomes the employer. See interim, law firm or permanent hire.

Staff leasing and temporary agency work

Personalverleih (CH staff leasing): A provider commercially places its employees with a client company. It requires a cantonal licence and, for leasing abroad, an additional SECO licence; leasing from abroad into Switzerland is not permitted (Art. 12 AVG). See staff leasing of lawyers in Switzerland and Germany.

Arbeitnehmerüberlassung (DE temporary agency work): An agency places employees with a hirer, into whose organisation they are integrated and whose instructions they follow. It requires a permit from the Federal Employment Agency (Section 1(1) AÜG). See temporary agency work for lawyers in Germany and Switzerland.

Arbeitskräfteüberlassung (AT): The Austrian term; labour leasing is a regulated trade (Section 94 no. 72 GewO). The client is called the Beschäftiger and is liable as guarantor for pay and social security contributions (Section 14 AÜG AT). A short section on Austria is included in the main article on staff leasing of lawyers in Switzerland and Germany.

Provider (Verleiher): The employer of the leased person. CH: a provider is whoever transfers substantial authority to give instructions to a client company (Art. 26 AVV).

Client company (CH Einsatzbetrieb) / hirer (DE Entleiher): The client where the specialist works. DE: the works council must be involved before the person starts (Section 14(3) AÜG), and the hirer is liable for the agency's social security contributions as a directly liable guarantor (Section 28e(2) SGB IV).

Leasing contract: The contract between provider and client. CH: in writing, stating the licensing authority's address and the costs (Art. 22 AVG). DE: text form, expressly designated as temporary agency work, with the person identified before the assignment (Section 1(1) sentences 5–6, Section 12 AÜG).

Staff leasing licence (CH): A licence is needed for commercial leasing: more than 10 leasing contracts in 12 months with intent to profit, or annual turnover of at least CHF 100,000 (Art. 29 AVV). The bond is CHF 50,000, plus CHF 50,000 for leasing abroad (Art. 6 GebV-AVG).

AÜG permit (DE): The Federal Employment Agency's permit is first granted for one year and can be granted without time limit after three years (Section 2 AÜG). Providers based outside the EU/EEA, such as in Switzerland, cannot obtain one (Section 3(2) AÜG).

Maximum leasing period: DE: no more than 18 consecutive months with the same hirer; earlier assignments count if the gap was three months or less (Section 1(1b) AÜG). CH: the AVG sets no statutory maximum assignment period.

Equal pay (equal treatment principle): DE: agency workers receive the essential working conditions, including pay, of comparable permanent staff (Section 8(1) AÜG). A collective agreement may deviate on pay for no more than 9 months, or up to 15 months with a sector supplement agreement (Section 8(4) AÜG). CH: pay rules follow collective agreements, in particular a generally binding agreement for the client's sector (Art. 20 AVG).

Revolving-door clause (DE): A collective deviation from equal pay does not apply to people who left the hirer or a group company in the previous 6 months (Section 8(3) AÜG).

Declaration of retention (DE Festhaltenserklärung): A declaration by which an agency worker keeps the contract with the agency despite an invalid placement. It must be made in writing within one month and first presented in person at an employment agency (Section 9(2), (3) AÜG).

Chain leasing: Onward leasing of a person who has already been leased. Prohibited in DE (Section 1(1) sentence 3 AÜG); in CH sub-leasing is generally not permitted (Art. 26 AVV).

GAV Personalverleih (CH): The generally binding collective labour agreement for the staffing sector, valid until 31 December 2027. Salaries above the maximum insured earnings under accident insurance (2026: CHF 148,200 a year) are excluded, so for senior legal and compliance profiles its application must be checked case by case.

Temp-to-perm (conversion to permanent employment): The specialist moves from the assignment into a permanent role with the client. A move into the team (temp-to-perm) is possible; the terms are agreed in advance.

Freelancing, status and professional rules

False self-employment: An engagement agreed as self-employed is in fact employment. DE: indicators are instructions and integration (Section 7(1) SGB IV). CH: the compensation office decides on the economic reality and can reclaim contributions for up to 5 years (Art. 16 AHVG). See avoiding false self-employment.

Status determination procedure (DE): On application, the German Pension Insurance (DRV Bund) decides whether work is employment or self-employment, also before work begins (Section 7a SGB IV). Under the current text, the forecast and group determination rules expire at the end of 30 June 2027.

Self-employed status (CH): The AHV compensation office assesses each activity separately, for example by trading under one's own name, bearing economic risk and working for several clients (AHV/IV leaflet 2.02). VAT registration is required once annual turnover reaches CHF 100,000 (Art. 10 VAT Act).

Syndikusrechtsanwalt (DE admitted in-house lawyer): An employed lawyer who acts as a lawyer for a non-law-firm employer and is admitted under Section 46a BRAO. For lawyers leased to a law firm through temporary agency work, the Federal Court of Justice refused admission (judgment of 20 March 2023, AnwZ (Brfg) 12/21).

In-house lawyer (CH Unternehmensjurist): A lawyer employed by a company. Anyone employed by an employer that is not itself on the register cannot be entered on the cantonal bar register (Art. 8(1)(d) BGFA).

Professional secrecy: CH: registered attorneys are bound by professional secrecy (Art. 13 BGFA, Art. 321 Criminal Code); whether in-house lawyers are covered is disputed. Since 1 January 2025, Art. 167a of the Civil Procedure Code protects legal department documents in civil proceedings if the department is headed by a person admitted to the bar. See confidentiality and access.

A1 certificate: Confirms which social security system applies to cross-border work. A posting is possible for up to 24 months; cross-border commuters stay insured in the employer's state if they telework less than 50% in their state of residence (Swiss Federal Social Insurance Office). Cross-border assignments are covered in staff leasing of lawyers in Switzerland and Germany.

Legal operations and project work

Legal operations: Running the legal department through processes, metrics, budget and tools. See legal operations.

CLM (contract lifecycle management): Software and process covering contracts from request through negotiation and signature to deadlines and archiving. See CLM implementation.

Contract review: Reviewing and negotiating contracts against company standards, often with a playbook and escalation levels. See contract review.

Playbook: A negotiation guide setting out the standard position, acceptable fallbacks and escalation limits for each clause. See clearing a backlog.

Due diligence: A structured review of a target company before a transaction, covering for example contracts, corporate law and liability risks. See project lawyers for M&A.

Corporate housekeeping: Tidying up group structures, register entries, powers of attorney and board resolutions, often after an acquisition. See corporate housekeeping.

Compliance, AML and KYC

Compliance management system (CMS): The risk assessment, rules, processes, training and controls an organisation uses to prevent and detect breaches. See building a CMS.

KYC (know your customer): Identifying customers and beneficial owners and monitoring the business relationship. CH: customer records must be reviewed periodically since 1 January 2023 (Art. 7(1bis) of the Swiss Anti-Money Laundering Act, GwG). See AML and KYC remediation.

EDD (enhanced due diligence): Deeper checks where risk is higher, for example on the source of funds or the purpose of a transaction. CH: special clarifications under Art. 6 GwG.

KYC remediation: A project that brings incomplete or outdated customer files up to the required standard. See planning KYC remediation.

Periodic review: Risk-based updating of existing customer relationships; frequency and scope depend on the risk (Art. 7(1bis) GwG). See planning KYC remediation and periodic reviews.

Transaction monitoring: Systematic monitoring of transactions for anomalies; hits (alerts) are reviewed, documented and reported where necessary. See clearing an alert backlog.

Suspicious activity report: A report of suspected money laundering. CH: to MROS where there is a well-founded suspicion (Art. 9 GwG). DE: to the FIU as soon as facts indicate money laundering or terrorist financing (section 43(1) GwG).

MLRO (DE Geldwäschebeauftragter, CH Geldwäschereifachstelle): DE: obliged entities appoint an anti-money laundering officer at management level and a deputy (Section 7 GwG); outsourcing is possible after prior notification. CH: financial intermediaries designate an AML unit, which may be external only under conditions (Art. 24, 25(4) AMLO-FINMA). See interim MLRO or AML team.

Transparency register (CH): In operation since 1 October 2026; legal entities report their beneficial owners under staggered first-filing deadlines (TJPG). See Swiss AML revision and transparency register.

AMLR and AMLA: The EU Anti-Money Laundering Regulation (AMLR) applies from 10 July 2027 (Art. 90 AMLR). The EU authority AMLA in Frankfurt is to supervise up to 40 financial institutions directly from 2028. See AMLR and AMLA.

Sanctions compliance: Screening business partners and transactions against sanctions lists. Switzerland does not adopt EU sanctions automatically but decides on each package under the Embargo Act. See sanctions compliance.

Whistleblower protection: DE: an internal reporting channel is required from, as a rule, 50 employees (Section 12 HinSchG), with acknowledgement within 7 days (Section 17 HinSchG). CH: there is no general whistleblowing act for the private sector. See whistleblowing.

Internal control system (ICS): Controls that safeguard processes and financial reporting. CH: in an ordinary audit, the auditor checks whether an ICS exists (Art. 728a CO). See building an ICS.

Data protection, cyber security and AI

GDPR and revised FADP: The GDPR applies in the EU; the revised Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (revDSG) has applied since 1 September 2023. Breaches are reported within 72 hours under the GDPR and, under the FADP, "as soon as possible" if the risk is high (Art. 33 GDPR, Art. 24 FADP). See GDPR and FADP compared.

Data protection officer (DE) / data protection adviser (CH): DE: mandatory where, as a rule, at least 20 people are constantly engaged in automated processing (Section 38 BDSG); an external DPO is permitted (Art. 37(6) GDPR). CH: voluntary (Art. 10 FADP). See covering a DPO vacancy.

Data processing on behalf (processor): A service provider processes personal data on behalf of and on the instructions of the controller, based on a contract with mandatory content (Art. 28(3) GDPR) or, in Switzerland, a contract or the law (Art. 9(1) FADP). See data privacy and IT law.

Data protection impact assessment (DPIA): Required where a high risk is likely (Art. 35 GDPR, Art. 22 FADP). CH: the data protection adviser can be consulted instead of the Federal Data Protection Commissioner (Art. 23(4) FADP).

DORA: The EU regulation on digital operational resilience in the financial sector, applicable since 17 January 2025; it includes a register of information on ICT third-party providers (Art. 28(3) DORA). See DORA workstreams.

Operational resilience (CH): FINMA Circular 2023/1 has applied to banks since 1 January 2024; its transition periods ended on 1 January 2026. See FINMA Circular 2023/1.

NIS2: The EU cyber security directive. DE: implemented in the BSI Act since 6 December 2025, with registration and staged reporting duties (24 hours, 72 hours, one month). CH: operators of critical infrastructure have reported cyber attacks to the Federal Office for Cyber Security within 24 hours since 1 April 2025 (Information Security Act). See NIS2 and Swiss cyber reporting.

AI Act and AI governance: The EU AI Act applies in stages: prohibitions and AI literacy since 2 February 2025, high-risk obligations for Annex III systems from 2 December 2027. AI governance means roles, an inventory and controls for AI use within the organisation. See AI Act deadlines and capacity.

Regulatory change management: The process for identifying, assessing, implementing and evidencing new regulatory requirements. See regulatory change management.

Next step

Alpinum Solutions provides legal and compliance professionals through staff leasing and freelancing in Switzerland, Germany and Austria. If a term points to a need in your organisation, discuss the model and role with us.

• Interim legal support for companies and law firms
• Staff leasing of lawyers in Switzerland and Germany
• Freelancing, staff leasing or secondment compared
• Discuss your requirement

Last updated: 30 October 2026.