Ropes & Gray has ramped up its European expansion with the launch of a new office in Milan, hiring a private equity team from Latham in a bid to capture a share of the increasing investment flowing into the country from buyout houses.
The trio of new partners will be split across Ropes’ London and Milan offices but all join from Latham & Watkins in Italy. Cataldo Piccarreta, who spent eight years’ in Latham’s Milan office will co-head Ropes’ European private equity practice and the Milan office from London. Meanwhile, partner Giorgia Lugli and associate Luca Maranetto are moving across to Ropes in Milan, with Maranetto making partner as part of the move.
The Italy launch comes after Ropes opened an office in Paris in March, with the hire of a three-partner team from Clifford Chance, its first on the European mainland.
Commenting on Ropes’ launch, the managing partner of one leading Italian independent said rumours had started in the summer, as the US firm sought to meet growing demand for local expertise. ‘Traditionally, American firms have been reluctant to open in Italy compared to other European countries,’ they added.
But, in 2024, Italy was the fastest growing of the top five markets in Europe, overtaking the Netherlands and doubling in size compared to 2023.
Confirming the firm’s motivation, Ropes co-lead of European private equity, John Newton, said: ‘When you look at who is acquiring and investing in Europe, it’s consistently a handful of global funds. You’ve got to be very aware of how they’re expanding and constantly trying to match it. If you look at Cataldo client history, it very clearly matches up with existing clients of Ropes & Gray.’
In 2023, Piccarreta, a Legal 500 Hall of Fame lawyer for private equity in Italy, led the team that advised on the acquisition of Italian pharmaceutical manufacturer F.I.S. by longstanding Ropes client Bain Capital. Piccarreta has also acted for EQT, another fund with which Ropes has deep ties.
‘The UK, French and Italian markets are seeing significant volumes of investment from major US and European funds,’ Newton said. ‘Now that we have offices in London, Paris, and Milan, we offer a highly credible platform for supporting clients across Europe.’
David Blittner, Ropes’ global head of private capital transactions, explained that the decision to enter Italy was driven by analysis of jurisdictions with increased capital flow combined with the right teams becoming available.
‘If you look at the way capital is flowing in Europe, there is a significant amount of capital going into Italy. It’s a jurisdiction that makes a lot of sense based on the capital and the investments being made. With London, Paris and Milan, we’ve got a very, very credible offering to cover our clients on a pan-European basis. We can say we are set up the same way that you’re set up.’
Blittner added that the firm will look to add ‘complementary’ hires opportunistically but did not confirm specific practices. ‘The team will have what is required to service our clients in a complete way,’ he added.
‘The [Italian] market has shown significant growth over the past couple of years,’ a Milan-based partner at a US firm said. ‘There’s tax incentives but it’s also private equity players realising that it makes sense to have a presence in individual jurisdictions if they want to be more active throughout Europe. The law firms are following suit and going where the clients are.’
The last 18 months have seen a number of firms establishing or consolidating their position in Milan. Last year, Fieldfisher opened an independent office in Milan after cutting ties with its Italian partner firm, while Bird & Bird recruited two finance partners from Hogan Lovells, which in turn recruited from Orrick and White & Case.
‘There’s been a lot of movement within local firms and international firms are now doing the same,’ the Milan-based partner said. ‘Obviously, additional players in the market increases the level of competition, but mostly we look at this as a good sign.’
Latham, which opened its Milan office in 2008, has around 10 partners left following the exits, including local managing partner Stefano Sciolla, who also specialises in private equity. Sciolla has been in Milan for 15 years and is the global vice-chair of Latham’s M&A and private equity practice.
The office, which has served major private equity clients such as CVC Capital Partners, Apollo and The Carlyle Group, has three private equity partners left, including Sciolla, according to the firm’s website.
