ITALY
VITTORIO EMANUELE II GALLERY, MILAN
Anastasia Hancock reports
ITALY has been one of the most successful of all the major European legal centres at protecting its own domestic market from the dominance of international firms. A quick look at the league tables reveal
that the strong independent players, Bonelli Erede
Pappalardo, Chiomenti Studio Legale, Gianni, Origoni,
Grippo & Partners, tend to feature more heavily than
their international rivals.
But then again, the Italian firms are known for their
dedication to their home soil. It is only recently that
Italian players have been increasingly planting their
flags abroad, other than in the biggest financial hubs,
with NCTM Studio Legale Associato looking to
Shanghai and Gianni Origoni Grippo & Partners to Abu
Dhabi in the past year alone.
‘The picture in Italy has changed dramatically since
the 90s when there was an influx of large UK and US
firms entering the market’ says Andrea Carta Mantiglia,
Partner at Bonelli Erede Pappalardo, ‘now it is the
domestic firms which hold the pre-eminent position’.
Many describe this particular market as much more
relationship driven, which can make it difficult for a
new entrant to open an office with a Greenfield
approach. ‘The Italian market has always been peculiar,
vis à vis other European countries, where the global
firms were able to conquer the market. The Italian market has traditionally shown a strong preference for
independent law firms, which have eventually managed to firmly hold the largest market shares’ explains
Gianni Origoni Grippo & Partners’ senior partner
Francesco Gianni.
Deal making has naturally become much more complicated as the markets evolve. Industries such as real
estate, for example, have come so far that financial
