Allen & Overy

(A&O) has lost its Turin office after its final partner in the city Carlo Pavesio left the firm to set up his own boutique.

The new firm, Pavesio & Associati, opens for business in January next year, as first reported on www.thelawyer. com (25 October). It will have a formal alliance with A&O despite being financially independent.

Pavesio will remain in A&O’s office in Turin and will keep all 15 lawyers. He will still be invited to partnership meetings and will have access to all of A&O’s global resources.

Pavesio told The Lawyer: “It’s quite an extraordinary move for both sides. The decision has been taken so as to allow the Turin office greater flexibility.”

Although A&O’s Turin office was never able to achieve its aim of shaking Italian independent Grande Stevens’ hold on Fiat, Pavesio advises an impressive roster of clients, including financial institutions such as Finmeccanica, Sanpaolo IMI and Toro Assicurazioni.

Keeping in touch with Pavesio means A&O loses little in terms of client relationships.

A&O senior partner Guy Beringer said in a statement: “I’m particularly pleased that we could devise a structure that allows the Turin office to continue to build on its successful practice.”

Pavesio said he would announce several partner and senior associate-level lateral hires before the end of the year to kick off his new firm. He launches with 15 lawyers and 15 staff.

His practice will focus on corporate and litigation matters and Pavesio said he will handle more day-to-day work for clients than he had done at A&O.

Pavesio became A&O’s sole partner in Turin after Guido Brosio announced his retirement in June this year.

Pavesio has been a partner at A&O since 1998, joining when the firm launched in Italy through its merger with Brosio Casati & Associati.

A&O had begun to grow in Italy this summer after a raft of departures suffered since corporate star Roberto Casati left to join US firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton in 2004.

This year the firm made up three partners in Milan and Rome, more than any other international firm in Italy.