International law firm Fieldfisher has established a new Milan operation which will provide transfer pricing advice, the firm announced yesterday, April 10.
It will initially comprise five partners, six directors and 15 lawyers, bringing the total headcount to 26 people. In addition to TP, the office will provide clients with support on M&A, dispute resolution, IP and corporate tax matters.
The partners were all recruited from Fieldfisher’s former Italian partner firm, Studio Associato Servizi Professionali Integrati (SasPi). Fieldfisher revealed in November last year that it had ended its seven-year ‘verein’ arrangement with SasPi, meaning that the new Milan office is a fully financially integrated part of the firm.
Law firms typically use a ‘Swiss verein’ structure to unite multiple international, but legally separate, offices under one name and brand.
The Milan office will be led by Alessandro Mulinacci as country managing partner, supported by partners Diego Rigatti, Ettore Bonaccorsi, Michele Ghiringhelli and Giuseppe Limido.
Ghiringhelli, who has previously worked at EY, will act as head of TP in Milan.
He told ITR that his practice will ensure that clients get the right compensation for their intercompany transactions.
"We will be advising clients on each step during cross-border business restructurings and will offer valuation services related to business, IP and other assets", Ghiringhelli added.
Limido, meanwhile, is a corporate tax partner with over 25 years’ experience in consulting national and multinational enterprises on tax planning, tax audits and more.
“With our new business operations on the ground, we want to take our focus on Italy further, making it an integral part of our European platform,” said Robert Shooter, Fieldfisher’s managing partner.
He added: “This will be hugely advantageous to our Italian clients, who will benefit from our integrated cross-practice and cross-border capabilities and a collaborative approach we bring to our client services.”
Mulinacci commented that the new office will help combine local expertise with Fieldfisher's global reach “to offer a truly comprehensive service to our existing Italian clients and those entering the Italian market”.