Sponsored Q&A: AndPartners

1. What is the core philosophy or guiding principle of your law firm?

We have six keywords governing the overall philosophy of our firm:

a. SUSTAINABILITY: What makes a business sustainable? In our opinion, respect and regard toward all the resources that contribute to it: the firm’s professionals, whose growth and appreciation we foster; the work environment, made up of environmentally sustainable materials; the taxpayer, with whom we want to build a trust-based relationship; the institutions, with whom we want to have transparent discussions.

b. NETWORKING: Dialogue and discussion are the basis of our ‘networking’. Earnest, transparent, and solid personal relationships to work well, fully respecting know-how and rules. We work as a team creating positive synergies to foster the growth of our profession, of the national, European, and worldwide context.

c. INNOVATION: We are on a path of continuous evolution. Keeping an open mind is the way to innovate and improve our personal and professional relationships. We keep up with technology to improve our work and our clients’.

d. GROWTH: 360-degree growth and understanding: growth for the client and for the economy around us, professional growth by focusing on continuing education and on appreciating our professionals.

e. ESG: Environmental social governance: we deal with internal relationships by appreciating from time to time whoever has the right skills for the best possible result; we support our clients’ propensity towards ESG criteria; we respect the environment with environmentally sustainable choices; we devote part of our time to socially useful endeavours.

f. COMMITMENT: It’s obvious for a tax and law firm to strive for utmost commitment. We’ve chosen this principle to remind us of this, to clearly see that commitment does not just consist in doing our job well, but in doing so by ensuring that all our inspiring principles are still valid.

2. How does your firm prioritise client satisfaction and delivering excellent legal services?

We care a lot about client satisfaction. For each matter, we create a specific team selecting only the professionals with
in-depth experience on the specific case in order to provide tax and legal advice at the highest levels of quality. It does not matter whether the professionals on the case are located in Rome or in Milan. We focus on skills.

Furthermore, in our pipeline we have a project to establish the AndAcademy. On one hand, it is aimed at ensuring our professionals are always abreast of new developments, and will turn the AndAcademy into an excellence in the tax and legal world. On the other hand, the AndAcademy will bring a new approach to teaching and continuing professional education. That stated, we are not yet in a position to share too many details about it, since the project is still in its development phase.

3. What values or ethics does your firm uphold in its approach to practising law?

Respect. In our opinion, this is the most relevant value we always need to keep in mind. In practising law, this principle can be approached as:

a. fair play with the authorities, courts, counterparties and colleagues;

b. appreciating the efforts of the staff and of the younger colleagues;

c. valuing the professionals’ talents (in, for instance, writing articles for tax law reviews and giving speeches at conferences).

4. How does your firm foster a collaborative and supportive environment among its attorneys and staff?

Our offices are designed to welcome professionals and staff in a warm and constructive environment. Everyone’s desks are set up in comfortable rooms and with the space needed to work and be focused. There are also many common areas designed for team work when necessary and to have moments of relaxation.

Our offices aim for maximum sustainability. This is represented, for example, by the fact that all the furniture is made with recycled wood; all our stationery (notepads, ballpoint pens, etc) are made by inmates at the Bollate jail.

There are food and snacks available for professionals and staff meals.

In the Rome office, meals are handled by a top-level chef, while in the Milan office we have a catering service providing food and beverage. This is also a way to bring the group together and avoid having disorganised and poorly integrated groups at lunch.

On the other hand, all professionals are equipped to work from home. Full and free choice is left to everyone as to how
to proceed.

5. Can you provide examples of how your firm has made a positive impact on the community or society at large through its legal work?

Our vision is not to focus the community’s/society’s attention on what we do. What we do is obvious, we are tax experts and tax lawyers well recognised for our expertise. We are more interested, indeed, on focusing the stakeholders’ attention on HOW we work, on showcasing and spreading our philosophy and ESG values via LinkedIn, Instagram, our website, and through everything we do in general.

6. What areas of tax law does your firm specialise in, and how extensive is your experience in handling cases related to those areas?

The most relevant industries and business areas in which we are involved are energy, real estate, finance (including fintech), pharma, luxury and HNWI/UHNWI. Our most in-depth experience is in energy and real estate matters. We provide assistance to leading operators in those sectors, including institutional and non-resident investors who recognise our firm as a hub of excellence in Italy.

7. How do you stay up-to-date with the latest changes and developments in tax laws and regulations to ensure accurate and effective tax planning for your clients?

Professional training is a primary element of our work. Our professionals then interact with each other in recurring meetings on the most important innovations in practice, jurisprudence, and legislation. We have set up an early morning meeting jokingly referred to as ‘coffee and tax’. Furthermore, professionals often write technical articles and participate as speakers at various conferences (this is strongly encouraged by all partners).

Some are also members of inter-ministerial commissions, or belong to the relevant professional associations (lawyers and accountants) and to the most important associations in the energy, real estate, and CFO sectors.

8. Can you provide examples of successful tax strategies or solutions that your firm has implemented for clients in the past?

Lot of occasions. Some examples:

a. for a Spanish investment fund, we advised to create a holding company in Italy in order to benefit from the consolidation regime among all the Italian SPVs;

b. we have successfully managed some of the most important tax disputes in Italy on transfer pricing, dealings with tax havens, derivative financial instruments;

c. we are assisting certain individuals who came to Italy benefiting from the ‘inpatriate regime’ or from the ‘resident not-domiciled regime’ (special tax regimes providing for advantageous schemes).

9. What approach does your firm take when representing clients in tax disputes or audits? How do you ensure the best possible outcome for your clients in such situations?

Our firm always approaches the public administration with great respect but firmness in defending the interests of its clients. We always try to find a fair solution with the customer’s mandate clearly in mind. If this is not possible, the litigation team approaches the Tax Courts with great professionalism, finding all the fundamental arguments to represent the client.

We have professionals able to defend cases before all courts (Tax Court of first and second instance, Supreme Court of Cassation, Constitutional Court, EU Court of Justice and ECHR).

Furthermore, our approach is to empower the entire team involved to be responsible for the matter and accountable toward the client. This applies especially to younger professionals, who can grow up faster if they feel very committed and accountable on the case.

10. How do you prioritise minimising tax liabilities while ensuring compliance with applicable laws and regulations? Can you describe your firm’s approach to tax planning and optimisation for individuals and businesses?

An important spirit of fairness drives our firm and professional activity.

This leads us to approach tax planning and optimisation for individuals and businesses with great responsibility, always finding solutions in full compliance with the rules.

This leads us to provide our clients with assistance that does not jeopardise their tax position and reputation, with a fully independent approach.