Roberto Barbalich, founder and principal of the practice.
He is a dual qualified lawyer who has been practising between England and Italy since 1990, having worked in London for Withers, Amhurst Brown Colombotti (later merged with Howard Kennedy) and more recently for Penningtons (now Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP). Roberto also worked in Milan for Pirola Pennuto Zei & Associati. He is one of the consulting editors of Trust & Wealth Management, formerly Trusts & Trustees. Roberto is also a member of the British Chamber of Commerce for Italy and of the British Italian Law Association.
Publications: Validità del Tust e Obblighi dei Trustee, article published by Trusts and Wealth Management Journal, Issue n° 4 of July 2022, La Tassazione del Trust nel Regno Unito, article published by Trusts and Wealth Management Journal, Issue 5 September 2020; Trusts in Italy? article published on Britishinitaly.com, 6th February 2019; Trust e amministrazione di sostegno, article published by Trusts and Wealth Management Journal, Issue 5, September 2014; Il trust segreto, article published by Trusts & Trustees, Issue 6, December 2004; Doveri e poteri dei trustees in diritto inglese, article published by Trusts & Trustees, Issue 3, May 2004; Sentenza della Royal Court of Guernsey: I trustees non hanno diritto alle spese legali, article published by Trusts & Trustees, Issue 3, December 2003; Il protector, article published by Trusts & Trustees, Issue 3, May 2003; Il giudice italiano e la Convenzione dell’Aia, article published by Trusts & Trustees, Issue 3, May 2002; Italy, Practical Commercial Law, a handbook published by Longman Group UK Limited in 1991; Buying a property in Italy, article published on Solicitors Journal, 8 November 1991 with review on Solicitors Journal and Single Market News; Succession law in France and Italy, an article co-authored with A Maitland Hudson, published on Solicitors Journal, 20 September 1991, p 1032; The Italian perspective on trusts, article published on Legal Business, Channel Islands, offshore supplement, July/August 1991.
Lectures: Joining L Richardson and S Forsdike of Conveyancing Matters around the World on https://youtu.be/ebXK_Wg-SsI as a guest speaker on Converyancing in Italy on 17th October 2022. Being a lawyer and a banker in the City, an Italian experience, round table at the course of Banking Law of Prof Matteo De Poli, Padua University, Faculty of Law, December 2010; Il Trust in Italia, British Consulate of Florence, Italy, [June] 2001; Doing business in France and Italy, Holiday Inn, Basingstoke, UK, [1999]; Personal liability of directors in case of insolvency under Italian law, British Italian Law Association, London, UK, [1994]; Probate in Italy, Marriott Hotel, Solihull, UK, [1991].
Roberta Stigliano, assistant, qualified in Italy.
She joined our practice on 11 June 2007. Roberta provides both litigation assistance and consultancy services under Italian law. Her areas of expertise are commercial and residential property (including tenancies and property management), domestic as well as international commercial contracts, private client (including cross border successions and asset protection) and guardianship. She also assists in corporate matters. In 2009 she was seconded for a period to a City firm in London under a cooperation scheme.
From 2 May 2004 to 31 March 2007 she worked for Dobson & Pinci Law Office of 24 via Durini, 20122 Milan, dealing with domestic and international aspects of commercial transactions and with commercial property issues. She also provided services as a litigator and assisted clients especially in debt collections.
Between 1 September 2007 and 10 February 2009 she took a master in “Legal and business aspects of acquisitions and corporate finance transactions” at Ca’ Foscari University, Venice, and submitted her final dissertation in corporate law with her tutor Mr Gianluca Sicchiero (a professor and also a practising lawyer). Having graduated in international law in 2002 at Bologna University, Roberta carried out her training from 1 September 2003 and 31 March 2004 at Studio Legale A Furlanetto of 20 Via Pescheria Vecchia, 30174 Mestre (Venice) and prior to that with Studio Legale Avv Flavio De Zorzi, with offices in Mestre and Padua.
Roberta’s language skills coupled with her foreign culture awareness help our practice dealing comfortably with a large number of English speaking clients on a daily basis.
Giuliano Furlanetto, consultant, qualified in Italy.
Giuliano became a qualified lawyer on 14 January 2008. His offices are situated at 11 Via G Mazzini 11, 30026 Portogruaro (Venice). He covers both civil and criminal law. As a civil lawyer he provides to businesses his consultancy in commecial and corporate law, including M&A but he also does litigation including debt collections. He is often involved in disputes relating to personal injury claims arising from road accidents, in which he normally assists local offices of insurance companies. As a criminal lawyer he does advocacy in court dealing with crimes such as drug related offences, fraud and other crimes against property. In 2017 and 2018 he covered the role of court custodian and auction officer in a number of enforcement proceedings in and around Pordenone.
He trained between 2006 at Studio Legale Emanuele Forner of Portogruaro (Venice) and for a period also with our own practice. While on a placement in Milan at Studio Legale Bongiorni between 2001 and 2002, Giuliano had an opportunity to dwell on matters of banking law, as well as of corporate and insolvency laws. On that occasion he was involved in drafting the by laws of an association which aims to protect the interests of small investors in companies listed in the Italian stock exchange.
Between 1 September 2007 and 30 January 2009 he took a master in “Legal and business aspects of acquisitions and corporate finance transactions” at Ca’ Foscari University, Venice. Earlier on, between 1 February and 30 June 2006 Giuliano attended a Business Law course arranged by Midiform of Rome and between 1 July 2001 and 28 February 2002 the “Course for Experts in Businesses Internationalisation” by the Business School of CUOA Foundation of Vicenza.