Withers hires luxury law team from Baker McKenzie

Withers hires luxury law team from Baker McKenzie

Carlo Alberto Demichelis has joined the UK firm as its 12th partner based in Italy

To boost the number of partners at the UK's top 30 firm, Withers, a partner was hired from Baker McKenzie in Milan. This brings the firm's Italian partner headcount to 12.

An associate and two paralegals are joining Carlo Alberto Demichelis at Withers from Baker McKenzie, the firm spokesperson said. According to his LinkedIn profile, he spent five years at Bakers, where he managed the firm's Italian IP advisory group in Italy and Rome.

His responsibilities at Withers will include brand protection and intellectual property advisory for Italy

Specifically, Demicihelis handles IP issues for companies active in luxury sectors, including those in manufacturing, fashion, automotive, banking, food and beverage, and design. Furthermore, he has served as vice president of INDICAM for nearly 15 years, an Italian organization founded to support companies with anti-counterfeiting and IP protection efforts.

Demichelis and his team are a "great addition" to Withers' "thriving team" in Italy, said Jacopo Liguori, head of Withers' IP practice in Italy.

He noted that Carlo Alberto's focus on major brands complements our own work with fashion and luxury car brands as well as other major family-owned brands over the world. "We are delighted to add his knowledge and experience to our team."

Demichelis emphasized the importance of offering clients protection of their products and innovations on an international scale, saying, "I am confident my clients will benefit from Withers' IP practice, which offers a comprehensive range of services."

For almost 25 years, Withers has worked in Italy, specializing in private client and family work and having regional locations in Milan and Padua, in the North East Veneto in Italy.

With the addition of several partner-level hires in Milan, it significantly expanded its Italian workforce last year. An impressive six-lawyer tax team was hired from independent Italian firm Gianni & Origin last October, led by tax heavyweight Stefano Grilli, and in January 2021 Osborne Clarke sports law specialists Pierfilippo Capello and Andrea Bozza joined to establish one of the country's largest sporting practices.

Additionally, it was able to expand its international art and trusts and estates practices as a result of hiring two partner-level hires from Lee & Thompson & Day Pitney in London and New York in December.

Its US network grew significantly in 2021 as it opened two offices in Texas and one in Boston with the help of a handful of partner hires from Burns & Levinson and a single hire from Dallas business law firm Winstead PC. One of the more significant additions last year was the hiring of top Hollywood divorce attorney Samantha Klein, who joined from Wasser Cooperman & Mandles to launch a US family practice last August.