Independent Mediators

PracticesInternational ArbitrationLitigationCorporate and CommercialPrivate Clients

IndustriesIndustrial Products and EquipmentIT&TMTRailways, Aviation and LogisticsConstructionPharmaceuticals and Life Sciences

Andrew G. Paton, an Australian national admitted to practice in Australia, England & Wales and Italy, joined the firm as a partner in 2009.

Throughout his legal career, Andrew has worked extensively in both common law and civil law jurisdictions. He brings his broad international experience to bear in three main areas: (i) international M&A, joint ventures and trade; (ii) international arbitration and cross-border litigation; (iii) international succession and private client work.

Before joining De Berti Jacchia Franchini Forlani, Andrew was Of counsel with the magic-circle law firm Allen & Overy and a founding partner of the boutique Italian law firm, Barenghi & Paton.

Andrew assists major international companies from common law backgrounds with their business projects and investments in Italy. He also assists Italian clients in their international and local business.

He has far reaching experience in negotiating and drafting international agreements in diverse industry sectors, including those of his long-standing corporate clients in the following areas: automated fare collection for city transit systems (Australia), renewable energy (Taiwan), industrial manufacturers (Italy) including white goods (Italy, China, New Zealand), petrochemical plants (EU), pharmaceutical and medical products (Italy, Taiwan), tourism and holiday resorts (UK), property investment (Australia), market research technology and analysis (USA), health research and diagnostic tools (Italy).

Andrew has been described in Legal 500 and in IAM 1000 as “one of the most in-demand technology transaction lawyers in Rome”.

In the area of international dispute resolution, Andrew has acted as lead counsel and co-counsel in complex cross-border matters before both arbitral tribunals and courts, achieving noteworthy successes including in complex jurisdictional challenges. He has developed skills in coordinating international teams of lawyers, witnesses and experts (engineers, forensic accountants) from different legal cultures, in both arbitration and court proceedings, several of which running in parallel.

More recently, Andrew has acted as a member of arbitration tribunals and as sole arbitrator in cross-border commercial disputes under the rules of several of the major international arbitration institutions.

In his private client practice, his work has been centred on international successions involving assets located in Italy. He deals on a regular basis with estate planning, will drafting in international estates, issues of applicable law, estate administration in different countries and related litigation.

Andrew is one of the founders of ArbIt (the leading Italian forum on international arbitration) and a member of the editorial board of Rivista dell’Arbitrato.

He is also a member of the following leading international legal and arbitration associations in Italy and abroad:

ICC Commission on Arbitration (member for Australia) Fellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, London (FCIArb) Fellow, Australian Council for International Commercial Arbitration (ACICA) Associazione Italiana dell’Arbitrato (AIA) International Bar Association (IBA) International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA) Law Council of Australia, International Law Section.

Andrew is a frequent speaker at arbitration law conferences and has published commentaries on Italian developments in arbitration, succession and other international legal subjects.

English, Italian, French

Admitted as solicitor of Supreme Court of New South Wales, AustraliaAdmitted as solicitor of Supreme Court of England and WalesAdmitted to the Italian Bar

Bachelor of Arts, University of Sydney, AustraliaBachelor of Laws, University of Sydney, AustraliaItalian law degree equivalency exams, University of Rome La Sapienza, ItalyFellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, London