Rome, Latium, Italy
Italian-qualified lawyer with 24 years of experience in commercial law, of which 14 years in private practice followed by 10 years in-house. Private practice experience gained within leading international law firms, includes advising on cross-border contracts, insolvency, data privacy and security, as well as acting as a litigator registered with the Rome Bar Association, handling complex litigation and arbitration matters for Italian and international companies across a range of sectors. In-house legal counsel since 2016, formerly as Chief Legal Officer for Central America for a major Italian construction company with worldwide operations, providing legal support to subsidiaries in Panama (where I was based for 20 months), El Salvador and Colombia as well as for other international projects. As of January 2020, based in Rome as Chief Legal Officer of Cerba HealthCare Italia, the biggest Italian provider of clinical testing, part of the international group Cerba HealthCare having laboratories and medical centers operating in 47 countries. Graduate and postgraduate degrees in Law from the University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Italy, and a Master of Laws from Durham University, England.
In charge of the legal department, supervising corporate affairs, extraordinary operations, contracts, legal integration of newly acquired companies, litigation, privacy, labour law, as well as regulatory and administrative law issues; coordinating external legal advisors; providing advice on legal matters to the senior management.
Main activities during a 20-month assignment in Panama and El Salvador: (i) general counseling for the company’s Latin American subsidiaries, (ii) leading litigation and arbitration worth more than $90 million, contributing substantially to the drafting of the relevant deeds, (iii) advising on a complex $30 million real estate purchase and sale agreement, (iv) managing the contracts related to the construction of a school in Panama and a hospital in El Salvador; (v) acting as the Legal Representative of the consortium which was awarded the contract in El Salvador, leading the staff, managing relations with subcontractors and liaising with the client's representatives (the officials of the United Nations Office for Project Services). Main activities in the company’s headquarters in Italy: (i) counseling on international contracts for projects in Kuwait, Norway, Algeria, Romania, Macedonia and Switzerland, (ii) supervising civil and criminal proceedings.
Responsible for civil and commercial litigation and arbitration. Additional areas of practice: corporate and financial services, trusts, data privacy and security, contract law, insolvency law, compliance, internal investigations. Notable activities included: (i) assisting a leading foreign chemical producer on the €500 million acquisition of the resins business of a competitor; (ii) assisting a foreign biopharmaceutical company on the $420 million acquisition of an Italian biopharmaceutical company; (iii) conducting a six-month in-house investigation in a bank, (iv) drafting the defense for a client in a €440 million litigation against the Italian Revenue Agency, pending before the Supreme Court, (v) being the lead counsel of a foreign security & defense company for its daily activities, mainly with respect to corporate issues, contract law and compliance with the Italian legislation on secret information; (vi) being the lead counsel of world-class telecommunications, media & technology foreign company for its daily Italian activities, mainly in the field of marketing, privacy & data security and compliance with the Italian legislation on telecommunications; (vii) assisting a global provider of entertainment services in dissolving its business in Italy.
Areas of practice: civil and commercial litigation and arbitration, insolvency law. Notable activities included: (i) representing a waste management company in a €18 million litigation to obtain payments for services rendered during the 2006-2009 Italian waste crisis; (ii) representing a world leading luxury group in a dispute arising out of the acquisition of a famous fashion company; (iii) assisting a state-owned company in a complex real estate litigation against another state-owned company worth €25 million; (iv) managing the due-diligence process relating to the litigation issues involved in prestigious M&A and restructuring transactions; (v) assisting an international jeweler and watch retailer in its €5 million arbitration proceedings on the purchase of a trade mark; (vi) assistance of a multinational shipping company in a € 4 million arbitration on the adjustment of the consideration for its services; (vii) assisting insolvency administrators in bankruptcy procedures with respect to various industries including media & technology, automotive, food processing, large-scale retail trade.
Areas of practice: civil and commercial litigation, intellectual property, international trade. Notable activities included: (i) assisting a property investment and management company in the purchase, remediation and sale of real estate assets; (ii) drafting distribution, agency and sponsor agreements for a leading manufacturer of marine engines; (iii) representing an international tour operator in a litigation over its word mark.