Herbert Smith Freehills employs team of five to bolster its Italian practice

Herbert Smith Freehills employs team of five to bolster its Italian practice

UK-based international law firm Herbert Smith Freehills has hired a team of five lawyers from its London rival Simmons & Simmons to establish its Italian private equity and capital markets practices in Milan.

Led by partner Augusto Santoro, who specialises in M&A, corporate law, private equity, and equity capital markets, the team includes counsel Bernadetta Troisi, senior associates Michela Merella and Guglielmo Ferrari, and associate Cesare Saputo. The hires have added depth to the firm's broader corporate and M&A practice in Milan, which marks a further step towards building a full-service corporate offering in the Italian market.

The addition of this team of lawyers is a significant increase in headcount for Herbert Smith Freehills' Milan office, which is the firm's only location in Italy. The office currently has 17 lawyers, including four partners, who practice in areas such as IP, corporate crime and investigations, competition, regulation and trade, and M&A.

Santoro is joining Herbert Smith Freehills after 18 years at Simmons & Simmons, where he was made a partner in 2016 and led the ECM team in Milan.

He has a diverse corporate practice that includes M&A, divestitures, corporate governance, and public company representation. Santoro's clients include Italian and international companies in the pharmaceutical and healthcare, TMT, financial services, and luxury sectors.

Laura Orlando, managing partner of Herbert Smith Freehills in Milan, termed Santoro as a well-known and highly respected M&A practitioner in the Italian market.

"With a solid track record and broad experience across M&A, private equity and ECM transactions in a variety of sectors, Augusto and team complement our existing corporate offering, and will work alongside our partner Francesca Morra who is a market leader in the energy and infra space," Laura Orlando said.

A Simmons & Simmons spokesperson has confirmed that Santoro has "retired" from the partnership. "We thank him for his contribution to the firm and wish him well for the future," the Simmons spokesperson said.