LMS Studio Legale

Firm Details:

Partners: Ludovico Anselmi, Matteo Bascelli, Paolo Bonalume, Giuseppe Cardona, Stefano Caserta, Virginie Colaiuta, Felice D’Acquisto, Annalisa Esposito, Giulio Gambini Pierleoni, Giovanni Gomez Paloma, Elena Grigò, Alessandra Gualazzi, Claudio Labruna, Fabio Labruna, Luca Mastromatteo, Prof Renato Nazzini, Francesco P. Ruggeri Laderchi, Francesco Serrano Orlandini, Luca Vicendone

Number of partners: 19

Number of other lawyers: 38

Firm Overview:

LMS is an independent Italian law firm recognised as a top quality boutique for prime domestic and international clients. It combines a multidisciplinary approach with great attention to quality and promptness of the legal service offered. LMS’ lawyers work in interdisciplinary teams offering the client a full-scale assistance in delicate matters. The firm’s practice focuses on M&A and corporate finance transactions, debt restructuring and litigation. Some professionals specialise in competition and EU law, banking and finance, real estate, construction and tax law. LMS offers its clients a high-level technical expertise and deep understanding of the business issues, along with strong motivation and client-oriented approach. LMS relies on established relationships with leading international firms in Europe, North America, Asia and South America, which allow the firm to provide to its clients a global assistance on the most sophisticated cross-border transactions.

Main Areas of Practice:

M&A & Corporate:

M&A and corporate law are the main area of expertise of the majority of LMS’ lawyers. Since the foundation, LMS stood out for its client-oriented approach, the high quality and efficiency of its services. The team has successfully assisted both Italian and foreign clients, industrial and financial investors in M&A transactions in the automotive, manufacturing, retail trade, food, fashion, finance, telecommunications, information technology and energy sectors. It has long-term experience in leveraged buy-out and management buy-out transactions, as well as in industrial mergers, joint ventures, commercial partnerships and minority investments. LMS assists large corporations in relation to compliance and regulatory matters and has the required expertise for handling the most sophisticated corporate finance transactions as well as ordinary matters of corporate and commercial law.

Restructuring & Insolvency:

LMS has a significant experience in debt restructurings and insolvency proceedings, at a national, EU and international level. The firm’s approach is to combine the understanding and knowledge of business of its M&A and corporate lawyers with the specialised skills of its bankruptcy experts and litigators. In restructuring, LMS has assisted from time to time distressed companies, their shareholders, trustees and administrators (in particular, those from other jurisdictions), banks, bondholders and new investors. This broad range of experiences allows LMS to be able to handle such situations with a full-scale vision. LMS has developed an innovative expertise in the application of the EC Regulation on the cross-border insolvency procedures.

Litigation & Arbitration:

The firm has significant experience in all areas of civil, commercial and corporate litigation, both in court and in administered and/or ad hoc arbitrations. LMS assists clients in litigations before the EC Court of Justice and Court of First Instance. LMS provides assistance in different kinds of disputes, including those concerning industrial accidents, extraordinary corporate transactions, liability actions against directors and statutory auditors, disputes concerning contracts or real estate, banking, insurance and finance matters. LMS assists clients both in court and in the management of pre-litigation phase, helping them to adopt effective solutions to reduce risks before a litigation starts.

The members of the team have significant experience in acting as counsel, advocates and arbitrators in arbitration proceedings. They have been involved in proceedings conducted according to the arbitration rules of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC), American Arbitration Association (AAA), China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC), Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC), Milan Chamber of Commerce (“CAM”), European Development Fund (“EDF”), International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), the Qatar International Center for Conciliation and Arbitration (QICCA) and United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL).

Several of the firm’s lawyers are university faculty members and regularly lecture on arbitration and construction law at King’s College London, Queen Mary University and Stuttgart University.

The focus of the practice relates to disputes deriving from the construction, energy, manufacturing, IT and defence industries. LMS also has extensive experience in investment treaty disputes and in relation to proceedings involving EU and global antitrust issues.

The firm’s arbitration specialists are qualified in more than one jurisdiction and have excellent knowledge of the substantive and procedural different rules applicable in Common Law and Civil Law jurisdictions, including those where the Shari’a laws apply. LMS lawyers are qualified to practise in England and Wales, France, Italy and the United States.

Banking & Finance:

LMS’ banking and finance professionals have a significant expertise assisting clients (both borrowers and lenders) in financings related to M&A and leveraged buy-out transactions according to both domestic and international standards, as well as in analysing the issues related to any kind of financing transactions, including tender offers financings, acquisitions of non-performing loans, securitisations (including synthetic ones), complex debt restructurings.

Antitrust, Regulatory & EU Law:

LMS advises clients operating in different sectors in antitrust proceedings before the European Commission and the Italian competition authority. Its area of expertise focuses on merger control, cartels, abuse of dominance and analysis of vertical and horizontal restrictions of competition and representation of clients before the competent competition authorities.With extensive experience, lawyers are able to provide assistance and advice in antitrust litigations both before ordinary courts and in domestic and international arbitrations.

Tax:

LMS provides tax advice in relation to various domestic and international transactions. LMS team is able to offer specialised assistance in the different phases of investment transactions, from the tax planning, through the due diligence and drafting of contractual documents, to the closing. LMS’ professionals have developed a significant experience in transfer pricing and assist leading multinational corporations during the course of tax audits, in negotiating tax settlements, in litigations and complex Mutual Administrative and arbitration Procedures (MAP) as well as in the preparation and negotiation of bilateral Advanced Price Agreements.

Criminal Law:

The Firm assists companies and individuals in domestic and transnational criminal proceedings before all Courts ensuring an high level of defence from the preliminary investigation to the enforcement.

LMS's criminal lawyers work closely within multidisciplinary teams in order to provide the clients with legal assistance in all aspects of criminal case, whether the client is in the position as defendant, victim, civil party or as the person with civil liability for damages. LMS offers complete assistance to companies, including legal advice on criminal risk analysis in business activities as well as through the drafting updating and implementation of Organization, Management and Control Models, in the view of crime prevention.

Compliance 231:

The advisory activity of LMS in corporate compliance has the main purpose of preventing or mitigating the liability of the company in case of commission of one of the crimes provided by Legislative Decree no. 231/2001.

Real Estate:

LMS’ lawyers have gained considerable experience in the area of real estate transactions and construction law. LMS handles the entire property ‘life-cycle’, from the initial building and acquisition, to the development and management, leasing, joint-venturing and financing, to the final exit, through an interdisciplinary approach.

Other Practice Areas:

LMS has the expertise to assist clients in any of the main areas of corporate and business law. LMS’ lawyers and specialised consultants assist clients in labour law matters involved in M&A transactions, structuring and negotiation of contracts with the management, preparation of incentive schemes, layoff and company procedures. LMS has gained a significant expertise in directors’ liability and the relevant insurance coverage (D&O policies) and assists companies and managers both in the coverage phase and in the pre-litigation or litigation phases.

Clients:

Clients include large domestic and international corporates, private equity firms and financial sponsors, commercial banks and insurance companies, investment banks, governmental agencies and stock exchanges.

International Work:

LMS is very active internationally and assists clients on crossborder acquisitions, international offerings and other multijurisdictional deals benefiting from long lasting relationships with primary domestic and international firms.

Offices:

Milan, Corso Magenta, 84 - 20123 Tel. 0039 02 881861 Fax 0039 02 88186233; [email protected]

Rome, Via Carlo Linneo, 8 - 00197 Rome Tel. 0039 06 696491 Fax 0039 02 88186233; [email protected]

Turin, Via Davide Bertolotti, 2 - 10121 Tel. 011 56227081 Fax 0039 02 88186233; [email protected]

London, 4 New Street Square, New Fetter Lane, EC4A 3BF Tel. 0044(0) 2033975660 Fax 0044(0) 2033975669, [email protected]