Rapidly expanding law firm DWF has snatched a team from the Milan office of independent Italian firm Pavia e Ansaldo as the business continues to expand its international presence. Sixteen people, including four partners and twelve lawyers, will join DWF, with corporate finance specialist Michele Cicchetti taking on the role of managing partner of DWF Italy, and tax lawyer Tancredi Marino and M&A/private equity lawyer Luca Cuomo as founding partners. In addition, real estate lawyer Daniele Zanni will also be joining the team as a partner.

Sector focus

The team, which has acted for clients including EFG, UBS, Vontobel, DMG MORI, Dr. Helmut Rothenberger Holding, VAM Investments, Vegagest SGR, Cattolica Immobiliare S.p.A. and PGIM Real Estate, has advised on corporate, finance, tax and litigation advice on matters arising from domestic and international M & A and private equity activity. As well as advising clients across the insurance and real estate sectors, the team has experience of high-value banking and financial services work and across the energy sector, particularly in the renewables, solar, wind and hydro industries.  DWF is building up its sector focus and the latest deal will allow the firm to build on its current energy expertise in Germany to offer clients a broader European offering.

More value

Andrew Leaitherland,managing partner and CEO of DWF, said: 'Our growth agenda is driven by how we can best deliver more value for clients, so the decision to expand into a new jurisdiction is very much based on whether our clients will benefit from the greater reach and new service line capability in that particular region. We have seen really positive results from our German and French practices in a relatively short amount of time, and we’re confident that our new Milan office will strengthen our offering in continental Europe, particularly across the private equity, energy and financial services sectors, and allow us to continue the momentum we’ve built so far.'

Entrepreneurial approach

Michele Cicchetti, managing partner of DWF Italy, said: 'DWF’s platform offers a really exciting opportunity for growth, and our areas of work and our client bases are truly complementary. Along with our closer UK and European neighbours in DWF’s German and French offices, we envisage working very closely with colleagues internationally, tapping into the expertise that’s offered across the whole DWF group. The business’s Milan office will also include three counsels, Guglielmo Fabbricatore, for corporate finance and regulatory, Francesco Provenzano, for tax, and Roberto Usai, for litigation and arbitration. This completes our senior team of lawyers, who have worked together for many years. We firmly believe in high quality, hard work, dynamics, respect and modesty, and all of these values serve as standards for our entrepreneurial approach.'

Expansion

The announcement follows a sustained period of expansion for DWF. The international legal business recently strengthened its presence in the Asia-Pacific region with openings in Melbourne and Singapore, and now has seven non-European offices across five territories, and fourteen outside of the UK and Ireland overall.