MILAN – 11 Jan. 2022 – Greenberg Traurig Santa Maria has strengthened its Litigation Practice with the addition of Mariafrancesca De Leo who joins as a shareholder. De Leo moved from Eversheds Sutherland, where she was a partner responsible for the Italian Financial Services Disputes and Investigations team.
De Leo has more than 20 years of experience helping clients at international law firms, having practiced in London and Milan. She focuses her practice on financial services litigation and regulatory enforcement procedures. She has experience in conducting internal investigations, particularly in relation to market abuse cases, systems, and control violations, misselling, fraud, and corruption. De Leo also leads corporate and commercial litigation for clients in several sectors, including energy, diversified industrials, and technology.
“During 2021, Greenberg Traurig added approximately 100 attorneys in our five offices in Europe. Whether in Milan, Warsaw, Berlin, London, or Amsterdam, or in our 35 other offices in the U.S., Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East, we work as one united global firm, we empower local leaders, we are fiscally responsible, and we have a unique culture with a superior platform. This means that we can attract top-level legal talent in areas and markets key to our clients,” Greenberg Traurig Executive Chairman Richard A. Rosenbaum said. “We are already leaders in Milan in many areas. Mariafrancesca’s arrival further expands that position of strength, particularly in Litigation. In 2021, we added litigators globally, including a high-profile team in London, which created an expanded UK litigation, regulatory, and white collar hub.”
“The addition of Mariafrancesca as a partner in Milan will further consolidate the firm’s expertise in banking and new-technology litigation. Her experience integrates perfectly with the current Milan-based team which is consistently recognized for excellence in national, international, and European law litigation,” Greenberg Traurig Santa Maria Co-Managing Partner Luigi Santa Maria said. The Litigation Department in Milan comprises one dozen professionals, including two partners, two of counsel, and two counsel.
“Greenberg Traurig Santa Maria offers my practice and clients an expanded global platform that is critical in today’s fast-paced financial services litigation, particularly in the area of innovation. I also look forward to contributing further to the growth of the practice here,” De Leo said.
De Leo’s experience includes handling one of the biggest litigation matters in Italy, both in terms of value at stake and complexity of the disputed issues. In this matter, she carried out the internal investigations and then represented a leading international bank in a dispute brought by the former major shareholder of an Italian institution. She has also represented a European bank in several proceedings brought by retail investors before Italian courts or Consonb’s ACF; assisted an AIM-listed English company in an FCA/AIM investigation concerning market abuse; an Italian asset manager in advice relating to compliance with an Insurance Distribution Directive; and an English multinational in an internal investigation concerning the use of suppliers by previous management in relation to a potential allegation of corruption.
De Leo received a B.A. in Law from the University of Trieste. She has been recognised by several publications including The Legal 500 EMEA. In 2020, De Leo was selected to participate in the executive training program organized by ValoreD, “InTheBoardroom”, that prepares female professionals for positions on boards of directors, thus promoting board diversity.