New E&I Partner in London
Neil Upton, who has been rated as one of the Top Four energy lawyers in the UK by PLC and is highly regarded by Chambers and Legal 500, is joining SJ Berwin to lead the development of the firm's Energy & Infrastructure team with Elaine Gibson-Bolton.
Neil has previously been Global Head of Power at White and Case and Global Head of Energy at DLA Piper. He will be working alongside recent lateral recruits, partners Rinku Bhadoria and Michelle Thomsen.
Neil has a global practice advising utilities, governments, banks and financial institutions on all aspects of the energy and water business.
Neil Upton said: "I am really looking forward to joining SJ Berwin. It’s a great fit because of the quality of their existing people, the backing of expert corporate, construction, competition, funds and finance lawyers, the strong international platform, and SJ Berwin’s clear commitment to the E&I sector."
Two Corporate Partners in Milan
SJ Berwin expands its Corporate/M&A and Private Equity practice in Italy with the hire of Ettore Scandale from R&P Legal and Davide Proverbio from Norton Rose Studio Legale.
The hires build on the existing Milan-based Corporate team headed by Massimo Chiaia and Emidio Cacciapuoti and will deliver M&A, private equity buyouts, acquisition finance and capital markets advice for the benefit of SJ Berwin’s international and Italian clients including private equity houses, sponsors, financial institutions and investment funds.
Ettore Scandale has 22 years’ experience in corporate finance, 17 years as a partner, with Italian and international law firms in London, Rome and Milan. Ettore has extensive experience in corporate law, including M&A, and in banking and finance law for private equity and venture capital houses, private investment funds, joint ventures, merchant and corporate banks, investment companies, private entrepreneurs and investors.
He has advised a range of high profile clients including, Re.Consult Infrastrutture Group on a € 200 million acquisition from Unicredit of the 20,3% of the corporate capital of Autostrada Brescia-Verona-Vicenza-Padova. He also assisted Investimenti&Territorio, Banque Privée Edmond de Rothschild, Chelsfield, Mediterranea, Royal Bank of Scotland, JZ International, Banca Intesa and Monte de' Paschi.
Davide Proverbio has extensive experience in the Italian Corporate Finance market, having worked for 15 years (13 as a partner) in the Milan offices of large Italian and international law firms, most recently as a private equity partner at Norton Rose.
A well known and respected figure in the regional private equity market, he has recently acted in several of the investments made by Fondo Italiano d’Investimento, the € 1.2 billion Italian fund sponsored by the Italian Treasury and the major Italian banks, in the first-ever Italian proxy contest, promoted by a private equity fund (Atlantis) in the attempt to take over a listed company (CAPE Live), and on numerous investments made by Xenon Private Equity V, one of the most successful Italian mid-market funds. In the past, Davide also acted for Carlyle in numerous matters, including one of the largest buyouts ever in Italy, for Intesa San Paolo in numerous strategic M&A deals, and for E.on in the corporate restructuring of its Italian operations.
Davide is ranked in Chambers 2010 and 2011 editions (Europe and Global) amongst the 50 top Italian lawyers in Private Equity and amongst the 100 top Italian lawyers in Corporate/M&A. Legal 500 2011 recommends Davide for corporate and M&A work.
Emidio Cacciapuoti, partner in SJ Berwin’s Milan office, said: “We are delighted to welcome two rising stars of the Italian corporate finance market to SJ Berwin. We believe their expertise in private equity buyouts, M&A and financing fits very well with our existing practice. Their arrival builds on the firm’s reputation for delivering legal expertise, commercial insight and client service of the highest quality to the private equity and M&A community in Italy and internationally.”
EU & Competition Partner in Brussels
Partner Riccardo Croce joins from Squire Sanders Hammonds and has worked on a very wide range of competition, regulatory, antitrust, trade, litigation and IP related matters, at Italian and international law firms and at the Merger Task Force, DG Competition at the EU Commission.
His practice is focused on advising companies and organisations in emerging regions including China, Latin America and the CIS (particularly Ukraine), and his clients include leading companies and associations in Ukraine, Italy and the US, as well as a royal family in the MENA region.
Riccardo is a member of the Italian, Brussels, American and International Bar Associations, and of the Ukrainian European Business Association.
SJ Berwin’s EU and Competition practice now comprises 11 partners in its offices in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. The firm features regularly in the Global Competition Review's 'GCR 100', a survey of the world's leading competition firms, and has three times won Competition Team of the Year in the Legal Business Awards.
Ramon Garcia-Gallardo, Head of SJ Berwin’s Brussels office, said: “We are very pleased that an EU/Competition lawyer of Riccardo’s experience and quality is joining us. It strengthens our market-leading competition offering in Brussels and across Europe.”
Stephen Kon, European Head of EU and Competition at SJ Berwin, said: “Riccardo is a first rate competition lawyer who will play a major role in the further development and expansion of our market-leading EU and competition practice.”