Italian firm Gattai Minoli Agostinelli & Partners has announced the launch of a representative office in London.
The firm has relocated corporate and real estate partner Cataldo Piccarreta to London to lead the new base in Mayfair. Associates Matilde Vergallo and Maria Pia Palma will support Piccarretta, joining from rival Italian firms CBA and Legance respectively.
The move comes three years after Gattai Minoli’s launch in Milan. Former Dewey & LeBoeuf Italian managing partner Bruno Gattai took a team of 35 lawyers from Grimaldi Studio Legale to found the firm.
The group originally joined Grimaldi in May 2012 following Dewey’s collapse.
Piccarretta spent a year in London in 2004 and 2005 while a lawyer at legacy Dewey Ballantine.
Gattai said the decision to launch in London was “coherent” with the firm’s strategy of becoming a reference point for foreign investors looking at the Italian market.
Since its launch Gattai Minoli has made a number of significant lateral hires, including a six-strong finance team from Latham & Watkins in 2014.
The firm is the latest in a string of Italian players to open a representative office in London. Most recently Macchi di Cellere Gangemi launched in late 2015, while in May 2014 Grimaldi hired Ashurst corporate partner Fabio Pizzocheri to lead its City base.
Other Italian firms in the UK capital include Bonelli Erede Pappalardo, Chiomenti Studio Legale, Gianni Origoni Grippo Cappelli & Partners, Legance and NTCM.
