Firm further expands Restructuring and Insolvency, Compliance, and Distressed Transactions Practices across its five-office European platform and beyond
MILAN – 03 April 2023 – Global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP added Bruno Cova as European co-chair of its Restructuring & Insolvency and Compliance groups. Cova joins as shareholder and is based in Milan.
London-based Shareholder John Houghton, who joined the firm in September 2021 and previously served as the head of restructuring at the London office of Latham & Watkins, along with Berlin-based Shareholder Claudia Hard, will join Cova as Co-Chairs of the European Restructuring & Insolvency Practice.
“During these times of disruptive economic and geopolitical change around the globe, this is a rare and timely opportunity to welcome someone with Bruno's unique combination of top-tier reputation, decades of experience with complex companies and situations, talent, and character, and who so well fits the collaborative Greenberg Traurig culture. With about 500 lawyers in Europe and fast-growing capabilities in our 34 U.S. markets, the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia, Bruno and team further enhance multiple global practices, from Restructuring & Insolvency, to Compliance, Litigation, and Investigations, to M&A, Private Equity, and Real Estate,” Greenberg Traurig Executive Chairman Richard A. Rosenbaum said.
Cova joins Greenberg Traurig from Willkie Farr's Italian affiliate, Delfino & Associati, where he was a member of that firm’s executive committee. He was formerly the head of Paul Hastings' Milan office, where he practiced for 14 years. He is a renowned lawyer with a very diverse career, having worked in the public sector as officer in the Italian Navy, chief compliance officer of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and chief counsel to Parmalat's Administrator; as general counsel for Eni E&P and Fiat; and as a private practitioner in London and Milan. This broad experience allows Cova to provide his clients with a mix of skills that go well beyond technical legal advice. For this reason, he is often called to advise in "bet-the-company" or delicate situations, such as restructuring matters, corporate governance issues, and how to address alleged wrongdoing.
Cova focuses his practice on complex transactions such as cross-border acquisitions and restructuring of distressed companies. He also regularly advises international corporations and financial institutions in dealing with corporate governance and legal risks issues, devising internal controls or contractual mechanisms to minimize those risks, investigating legal and compliance problems, and defending clients before regulatory authorities or in the context of criminal investigations.
Cova joins with a team of two professionals including Juljan Puna as counsel and Massimo Contesso as senior associate.
"The addition of Bruno is another step forward in supporting the growth of the European team and of the Milan office, relying on the qualities of high-caliber professionals who will further strengthen our practice and its position as a leading advisor for complex transactions and projects worldwide,” said Greenberg Traurig Milan Co-Managing Shareholders Mario Santa Maria and Luigi Santa Maria.
“I am delighted to join such a dynamic firm,” Cova said. “I am looking forward to working with colleagues of the quality and commitment of Greenberg Traurig’s lawyers in Milan and around the world.”
Puna regularly advises domestic and international entities, both private and public, in innovative and sophisticated M&A and restructuring transactions, as well as corporate governance matters and compliance with golden power legislation. He also has significant experience in real estate, having advised international and domestic clients in first-of-kind transactions in the Italian market. Clients seeking advice from Puna often operate in the financial, real estate, automotive, energy, and insurance sectors. His practice includes virtually all stages of transactions, as well as day-to-day general corporate and regulatory needs of clients.
Contesso focuses on white collar crimes as well as national and international civil and commercial litigation. Besides focusing on matters relating to compliance and corporations’ administrative liability, Contesso collaborates in conducting internal investigations for domestic and international clients, evaluating whistleblowers’ complaints, and anti-bribery and anti-corruption assessments.
Greenberg Traurig Santa Maria is the result of the combination of Greenberg Traurig, LLP with its long-term ally, Santa Maria Studio Legale Associato - a renowned legal boutique, founded in 1970 by Alberto Santa Maria in Milan. Greenberg Traurig Santa Maria is the fifth GT office in Europe and the 40th office in the world and comprises more than 50 lawyers. Web: https://www.gtlaw.com/en/locations/milan LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/greenberg-traurig-santa-maria/
About Greenberg Traurig: Greenberg Traurig, LLP has more than 2650 attorneys in 44 locations in the United States, Europe and the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia. The firm is a 2022 BTI “Highly Recommended Law Firm” for superior client service and is consistently among the top firms on the Am Law Global 100 and NLJ 250. Greenberg Traurig is Mansfield Rule 5.0 Certified Plus by The Diversity Lab. The firm is recognized for powering its U.S. offices with 100% renewable energy as certified by the Center for Resource Solutions Green-e® Energy program and is a member of the U.S. EPA’s Green Power Partnership Program. The firm is known for its philanthropic giving, innovation, diversity, and pro bono. Web: www.gtlaw.com.
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