Osborne Clarke

The firm: Osborne Clarke is a fast-growing international legal practice, with more than 800 lawyers working across Europe, Asia and the US. The team offers a high-quality joined-up service for multi-jurisdiction work, focused on getting commercial results for the client. Osborne Clarke’s legal expertise is underpinned by its in-depth knowledge of seven key industry sectors: digital business; energy and utilities; financial services; life sciences and healthcare; real estate and infrastructure; retail; and transport and automotive. For businesses in these sectors, Osborne Clarke not only offers a full range of legal services, but uses its sector knowledge to provide insights that help clients take effective action at the right time.

Osborne Clarke is recognised for its unstuffy culture, which means that clients experience strong relationships and a consistently approachable, easy-to-understand style no matter where they are based.

Osborne Clarke’s four Italian offices, in Milan, Rome, Brescia and Padua, offer clients expert advice on all business issues, including transactions, litigation, employment and tax. The team has a deep understanding of a range of industry sectors, including digital business, energy and utilities, life sciences, retail and transport and automotive. Osborne Clarke is recognised as a leading adviser to the Italian renewable energy sector.

Areas of practice: Osborne Clarke delivers a full range of legal services in the context of clients’ industry sectors, with a particular focus on digital business, energy and utilities, financial services, life sciences and healthcare, real estate and infrastructure, retail, and transport and automotive.

Commercial: the team advises clients on the contracts that underpin their business as well as day-to-day issues, from outsourcing, expanding sales networks, IP, procuring goods and services to checking advertising compliance.

Competition and antitrust: the team covers every aspect of competition law for corporate clients across different industrial sectors. Services include compliance programmes, audits, antitrust proceedings and notifications of concentration to the national authority and the European Commission. It also advises on consumer protection matters, misleading advertising as well as in regulatory issues (particularly in the audiovisual and energy sectors).

Corporate: Osborne Clarke advises at every stage of company development across all corporate issues, from equity and debt fundraisings, to M&A, IPOs and JVs. OC also advises on the establishment of compliant and efficient governance structures.

Dispute resolution: Osborne Clarke’s disputes team resolves complex, high-value disputes across a wide range of jurisdictions. Services include early-stage strategic input, representing clients in court proceedings, international arbitration, mediations and regulatory investigations.

Employment: practical, day-to-day support covers the full range of employment issues from recruitment and employee incentive schemes to dismissal, risk management and reputational issues. The team is an acknowledged leader in defending employers on high-profile litigation claims, TUPE and reorganisation issues.

Financing and lending: Osborne Clarke provides a specialist service for banks, lenders, businesses and sponsors, advising across the range of finance options, from debt financing to equity fundraisings and crowdfunding. The team delivers high-quality risk management in a commercially appropriate way.

Restructuring and insolvency: whether it’s tax debt restructurings, insolvency proceedings or dispute resolution, the team works with banks and businesses in financial difficulty to, where possible, rescue businesses by maximising realisations for stakeholders while also mitigating risk.

Tax: Osborne Clarke’s pan-European team of tax specialists resolves taxation issues and finds tax solutions for transactions and other company and group structuring. Their aim is to make sure that clients only pay their fair share of tax.