Veteran Italian labour law specialist Luca Failla has launched a new employment law boutique - Failla&Partners - in Milan.

Assuming the role of managing partner, Failla – co-founder of Italian labour law firm LabLaw – is joined by a team of five senior former LabLaw colleagues, including Elisabetta Cassaneti, Marcello Buzzini, Claudia Marasciuolo, Lorenzo Marano and Paola Salazar. 

The team will focus on all areas of Italian employment and labour law, including acquisitions and agency agreements, contracts, disciplinary issues, executive benefits, industrial relations and restructurings, among other matters.

Failla said: “Italy is known for its extreme complexity in terms of the management of employment relationships, both for the multitude of nuances in the regulations – not always clear or easy to interpret – and for the potential negative consequences, potentially touching both economic aspects and public image, which companies may risk if the wrong decision, or decision not in line with employment and labour law regulations, is taken.”

Failla has spent the last two years at Deloitte Legal Italy as head of employment and benefits, having previously co-founded LabLaw in 2006. He and fellow LabLaw co-founder and managing partner Francesco Rotondi led their firm into an alliance with Deloitte in September 2020. However, this September LabLaw switched to KPMG at which point Failla split with Deloitte to form his own boutique.  

Cassaneti had been with LabLaw between 2006 and 2018, before joining independent Italian firm New Labour Studio Legale, alongside Marasciuolo. Buzzini followed Failla to Deloitte, where he was a senior manager. Marano also followed Failla to Deloitte, while Salazar is a former LabLaw colleague.

Failla added: “Both national and international companies and international law firms prefer to work with Italian boutique law firms which are specialised in employment law – where they can find the professionals which are exclusively dedicated to the subject matter offering exacting knowledge, efficiency, the highest level quality and professionalism which are essential for solving the relevant and complex workplace issues they face on a daily basis.”


Elsewhere in Europe, employment law specialists Littler Mendelson last month entered the Swiss market through the acquisition of Zurich practice LEL Lawyers, which is headed by former Walder Wyss lawyer Ueli Sommer. That followed the launch of Littler’s Copenhagen office in September after hiring a team of four lawyers from Danish boutique Skau Reipurth.

French firm Gide Loyrette Nouel last month opened an employee shareholding practice following the arrival of seven lawyers from Shearman & Sterling in Paris.