AI Issue 4 2017

36 Acquisition International - April 2017 Ones to Watch in Intellectual Property, Italy award winner Studio Legale Sutti (SLS) details the adventurous journey they have taken since their inception in 1953 to the present day. tudio Legale Sutti was founded in 1953 by Dr. Angelo Sutti, Knight of the Italian Republic, as an Italian law firm with a strong focus on company commercial law, intellectual property and competition law. From the outset, the firm’s intention was to offer its legal services to businesses and entrepreneurs. In the late 1970’s, the firm began an uninterrupted growth cycle, eventually becoming one of the largest Italian law multi-professional practices. In the mid 1980’s, SLS’s practice became increasingly involved in the international arena, and began interviewing foreign candidates in the firm’s recruitment operations. This also led the firm to establish its two representation offices abroad in 1992, namely in London and Tokyo. This ensured that the firm’s services were offered to the local markets, and it enabled them to participate actively in the life of a number of foreign chambers of commerce and trade associations in Italy. The domestic operation of SLS, already included two regional offices serving Northern Italy, respectively situated in the area of Bergamo and Brescia (in Trescore Balneario), as well as in Pavia and in the southern Milanese province (in Abbiategrasso). This was significantly reinforced in 1993 - when the firm merged with Monti & Partners - another well-known Milan-based law firm active since 1927 in international investments and trade matters as well as banking and financial law. Company: Studio Legale Sutti Name: Simona Cazzaniga Email: [email protected] Web: www.sutti.com Address: Via Montenapoleone 8 Milano 20121, Italy Phone: +39 02 762041 Intellectually Stimulating S 1703AI94 At this point, we moved our head office to the current prestigious premises in Milan, via Montenapoleone 8. In addition, new Italian offices were established in the same period, respectively in Rome; Monza and Genoa, where SLS was honoured to be joined by the esteemed partners and associates of the firm Studio Pennisi. Meanwhile, SLS had become both a multidisciplinary and an international firm, having welcomed patent attorneys and tax advisors (‘commercialisti’) to its ranks and established the single largest practice of South-Eastern Europe (in terms of human resources, territorial coverage and turnover). In particular, further to the firm’s mergers with local leading players, we started operating our own offices in Bulgaria, Yugoslavia (now Serbia), Romania, Croatia. In this respect, we were increasingly representing a point of reference concerning investment and trade in that part of the world. In terms of my own background, I was born in Abbiategrasso, in 1962. I graduated at Università degli Studi di Milano in 1985, with a thesis in Copyright Law. Since 2015, I have been teaching intellectual property at Politecnico di Milano and since 2016, at Università Statale di Milano as well. In addition to my respected academic and research activities, I have worked at Studio LegaleSutti in Milan where I became partner during my 30’s, and this is where I headed up the firm’s intellectual property law and competition department. Intellectually Stimulating