Law firm Clyde & Co is entering the Italian market with the hire of insurance partner Leonardo Giani and the opening of an office in Milan.

The addition of a Milan office will further expand the firm’s offering in Europe, in this case its insurance practice, which includes claims and coverage services, dispute resolution, corporate insurance and regulatory advice. 

This will be Clyde & Co’s seventh office in its Europe region, joining Dublin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Madrid, Munich and Paris.

Leonardo joins from Simmons & Simmons, where he headed the firm’s litigation and insurance practice in Italy. He has 20 years’ experience handling contentious and non-contentious matters, including assisting financial institutions in high profile and complex cross-border and domestic disputes, either in court or in arbitration. 

He focuses on directors and officers insurance, general liability, professional indemnity, public officials’ liability, environmental claims, product liability and recall, property insurance, cyber insurance and warranty and indemnity insurance.

Carolena Gordon, Clyde & Co’s senior partner, commented: “Opening in Italy has been a long-term ambition for the firm. Not only will the new office support the growth of our global insurance group and provide clients with the benefit of our services in this important jurisdiction, but it will also provide an excellent platform for further growth in our other core sectors and for the expansion of our European commercial disputes offering.”

Henning Schaloske, partner at Clyde & Co and chair of its European Board, added: “Italy has one of the largest insurance markets in Europe and is home to a number of our most important clients. Leonardo has an excellent reputation both in the Italian market and with our clients in the rest of Europe, including in the UK. His expertise will provide a strong foundation for our Milan office to grow in support of the insurance market and our other practice areas too.”