NEW YORK, NY – LAWFUEL – The Law News Network – March 9, 2005 – Greenberg Traurig, the 1350-lawyer firm whose 24-office platform presents the eighth largest number of lawyers and the most extensive coverage of metropolitan areas
in the United States, has taken another step in its international
expansion. In addition to its key European locations in Amsterdam, The
Netherlands, and Zurich, Switzerland, today the firm is pleased to
announce that it has formed a strategic alliance with Italian law firm
Studio Santa Maria, a prominent 40-lawyer firm based in Milan with
offices also in Rome, with significant international experience,
including in the U.S. The firms will service clients that retain both
firms as a unified team right from the start.
In order to maximize the synergies and the delivery of this
unique level of breadth and depth of services to clients in the U.S.,
Italy and beyond, Luigi Santa Maria has joined the firm as Foreign
Counsel, bringing his extensive skills and experience in multiple
cultures and legal systems into play for both firms. Also joining the
firm as associates are Mario Santa Maria , Christian Moretti and Serena
Boscia Montalbano, all based in the firm’s 270-lawyer New York office,
where they will work closely with corporate shareholder Lorenzo
Borgogni, who joined the firm last year from Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen &
Katz, in operating the firm’s “Italian Desk.” Messrs. Borgogni, Santa
Maria and Moretti all are graduates of Columbia Law School; Mrs. Boscia
Montalbano is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin Law
School; and all are admitted to practice in Italy and New York. The
Italian Desk, which will be staffed initially with six dual-qualified
US-based attorneys, makes available to Italian clients doing business in
the United States as well as U.S. clients doing business in Italy a
group of highly skilled and experienced attorneys, trained and admitted
to practice in both legal systems, who will be able to tap into close to
1400 lawyers.
The combination of Greenberg Traurig’s strong US position,
as well as its quality, breadth, depth and business focus, with the
preeminence and relationships of Studio Santa Maria in Italy, will offer
the clients of both firms service, counsel and access that will be
unmatched in these markets.
“This alliance furthers Greenberg Traurig’s global strategy
of avoiding mega-mergers and instead selectively joining with top-tier
lawyers and firms that have synergy with our unique culture and
worldwide brand,” said Richard A. Rosenbaum, Greenberg Traurig’s
National Operating Shareholder responsible for European development and
the Managing Shareholder of its New York office. “Highly sophisticated
lawyers and clients around the world are looking for firms that offer a
unique platform, having capabilities beyond a few major markets and
practice areas and providing vast, diverse and effective resources in a
business-focused, unbureaucractic way-Greenberg Traurig is that unique
platform.”
“Throughout the history of our law firm, we have developed a
reputation for quality, integrity and delivering real business value to
our clients, some of whom are among the most important players in Italy
today”, said Professor Alberto Santa Maria, the founder and managing
partner of Studio Santa Maria. “In Greenberg Traurig, we have found a
firm that is equally committed to those core values while at the same
providing a fantastic platform of services and a collaborative culture
which will no doubt result in very significant business opportunities
for our clients and lawyers alike.”
About Studio Santa Maria
Studio Santa Maria was established in 1970 by Professor Alberto Santa
Maria, who teaches international law at the School of Law of the
University of Milan and is widely regarded as one of Italy’s preeminent
attorneys. The firm is based in Milan, with a secondary office in Rome.
Staffed with over 40 attorneys, Studio Santa Maria offers one of the
most sophisticated international practices among Italian-based law
firms. The firm has consistently advised the Italian government and a
wide range of blue-chip clients in relation to all aspects of EU law,
including antitrust, state aid, trade law and dumping. The firm has
recently won a landmark decision for Wind, Italy’s second largest
telecommunications operator, when Italy’s antitrust authority fined
market leader Telecom Italia EUR152 million for abuse of dominant
position, the highest fine ever imposed in the regulator’s history.
Studio Santa Maria maintains the same level of excellence and reputation
in its corporate practice, which covers privatizations, friendly and
hostile acquisitions, leveraged and management buyouts, corporate
governance and corporate restructurings, as well as capital markets.
The firm acts as a regular outside counsel to some of Italy’s largest
banks and financial institutions. In 2004, the firm acted as issuer’s
counsel in one of Italy’s largest securitization transactions. The
firm’s tax department, headed by an internationally renowned tax expert,
handles highly sophisticated and complex international and domestic tax
matters for a wide range of clients. All of Studio Santa Maria’s
attorneys are fluent in English and many have additional language
skills. Most have graduated summa cum laude from Italian law schools
and have received Master’s of Laws or other advanced degrees from
academic institutions outside of Italy, including the United States.
For additional information, visit the firm’s web site at
www.santalex.com.
About Greenberg Traurig LLP
Greenberg Traurig LLP is an international, full-service law firm with
more than 1,350 attorneys and governmental professionals in 24 offices
in the United States and Europe. The firm is ranked No. 8 as reported in
The National Law Journal’s listing of the largest law firms in the U.S.
Greenberg Traurig offices: Albany, NY; Amsterdam, The Netherlands;
Atlanta, GA; Boca Raton, FL; Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX;
Denver, CO; Fort Lauderdale, FL; Los Angeles, CA; Miami, FL; Morristown,
NJ; New York, NY; Orange County, CA; Orlando, FL; Philadelphia, PA;
Phoenix, AZ; Silicon Valley, CA; Tallahassee, FL; Tysons Corner, VA;
Washington, D.C.; West Palm Beach, FL; Wilmington, DE; and Zurich,
Switzerland. For additional information, visit the firm’s Web site at
www.gtlaw.com.
