How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crises, and how does your legal strategy align with the broader business strategy to ensure the organisation’s resilience? 

Recent global political transformations are generating significant complexity and instability, particularly in how investors perceive risk and allocate capital. This growing uncertainty is reshaping the investment landscape, especially in highly regulated sectors such as renewable energy, and is directly affecting the nature and pace of the transactions we manage. In this context, legal departments are increasingly drawn into complex, sensitive transactions that demand both strategic depth and execution speed. The ability of legal teams to maintain accuracy and quality under pressure is critical: the balance between speed and legal rigour is no longer just a technical challenge. For this reason, the legal function must embrace a proactive leadership role, not only managing legal risk but also helping the entire organisation stay focused on competence, strategic priorities, and long-term sustainability. We have a responsibility to ensure that urgency does not become the standard. This requires consistency, decisiveness, and the ability to lead by example, ensuring that attention remains anchored to what truly matters. In parallel, the integration of technology, including artificial intelligence, within legal teams is now essential. It allows us to meet evolving business demands efficiently, without compromising the integrity of the legal product.

What are the major cases or transactions you have been involved in recently?

Over the past 12 months, I have led several high-impact transactions. These include seven ongoing M&A transactions for the disposal of renewable energy and BESS projects across four countries in Europe and the UK, involving different technologies such as photovoltaic, onshore wind, and BESS; three completed sales of projects in Italy, including photovoltaic and agrivoltaic projects; and securing part of the pipeline of renewable energy projects that have achieved ready-to-build status.

In all of these cases, the legal team played a central role not only in execution, but also in structuring, negotiating, resolving regulatory challenges arising from recent changes or gaps, and aligning the transactions with broader corporate objectives.

In your opinion, what are the main trends that are salient in your country currently (these can be legal, political, economy or business-based)?

Two structural trends are currently shaping the regulatory and business environment for renewable energy in Italy and are increasingly visible across all countries where Starlight operates, including the UK, Greece, Canada, and Romania. The first is regulatory inflation and legal uncertainty. For instance, in Italy the new Testo Unico delle Energie Rinnovabili (TUFER) needs to be complemented by certain regional regulations, which are often delayed. In addition, there is a lack of coherent regulation in the field of the so-called ‘Suitable Areas.’ While the goal of creating a unified regulatory framework is positive, its implementation, based on constitutional principles of cooperation with regional authorities, remains incomplete. Furthermore, some regions interpret the implementation of national rules with a ‘NIMBY’ approach, increasing uncertainty and preventing market development. The resulting legal fragmentation undermines the principle of legal certainty, making it challenging for investors and operators to move forward with confidence. 

The second trend concerns the growing uncertainty around access to the electricity grid. In my 2023 contribution to Legal 500, I highlighted the risks of grid saturation caused by speculative connection requests. Today, those concerns are materialising. Upcoming regulation is expected to introduce stricter and more competitive access rules, which will likely lead to a filtering of the market, especially impacting small or undercapitalised developers. It is expected that, particularly during the initial phase of implementing the new rules, the provisions will generate greater uncertainty, although the aim of the incoming reform is broadly positive. This trend is not isolated to Italy but is consistent across all jurisdictions where Starlight is active.