WFW forges ahead with Italian growth as Milan office opens

Watson Farley & Williams (WFW) is expanding its Italian presence with the launch of a new office in Milan.

WFW has been on the ground in Italy since the launch of its 10-strong Rome office in 2002. The Milan office will focus on private equity and infrastructure funds.

Managing?partner Michael Greville said the Milan venture was a bid to take advantage of the wider recruitment market that exists in the city as compared with Rome, as well as a move to expand the firm's "Italian footprint".

"International firms are all in Milan, or Milan and Rome, only we're just in Rome," he told The Lawyer. "Rome is the capital and is where the regulatory work is, but financing, infrastructure funds, private equity and banks, who are all part of our client base, [are in Milan]."

The office will be run by corporate partner and head of the Rome office Eugenio Tranchino and will include four associates.