Shearman & Sterling has boosted it European tax offering by entering into a ‘best friends’ cooperation agreement with tier one Italian tax practice Tremonti Vitali Romagnoli Piccardi e Associati.
The firms have previously worked together on high profile transactions for corporates and financial institutions and will remain fully independent but will now jointly pitch for work from both Italian and international clients.
Shearman currently has two offices in Italy, opening in Rome in 2002 on a capital markets platform and then in Milan in 2009 with a focus on M&A, financing and restructurings.
Domenico Fanuele, managing partner of Shearman & Sterling in Italy, said: ‘This alliance will form a platform to combine Shearman & Sterling’s extensive legal expertise, in Italy and internationally, with Tremonti Vitali Romagnoli Piccardi e Associati’s top-notch Italian tax capabilities.’
Tremonti Vitali was founded by Giulio Tremonti in the early 1980s and is ranked as a tier one firm Italian tax firm in The Legal 500. Other international firms to feature highly in the Legal 500 table, which is dominated at the upper levels by local firms, include Clifford Chance, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and McDermott Will & Emery.
Tremonti Vitali managing partner, Enrico Vitali, said: ‘The experience and professionalism of our colleagues at Shearman & Sterling and the complementarity of our practices were the decisive factors in determining our strategic cooperation, which positions us to further develop and enhance our respective businesses.’
david.stevenson@legalease.co.uk
