About

IDeA FIMIT is one of Italy’s leading asset management companies with a specialism in real estate funds, and crucial to the businesses line of products and their offering of services to clients is the legal department headed by Roberto Schiavelli, general counsel and board of directors secretary. Schiavelli explains the legal department in the company as being ‘constantly in touch and in interaction with the senior management and, of course, managing director of the company, mainly in connection with new deals and transactions, supporting the business especially on complex regulatory matters’, explains Roberto Schiavelli. A team of 10 lawyers and one assistant that ‘deal with different legal matters such as corporate legal affairs, asset management legal affairs and business development’, the team has recently been reorganised to increase the amount of legal staff to add quality and ‘strengthen’ the internal legal services offerings. As a consequence of working in an extremely regulated industry the team plays a ‘central role in the conduct of business’, which extends to the recent impacts the team has made in high value transactions IDeA FIMIT has been involved in. Schiavelli explains the team as assisting in the ‘setting up of several new alternative investment funds (AIF’s) for major companies including Intesa Sanpaolo as well as closing of Fondo Trophy Value Asset, a very challenging process considering that one of the main investors and contributor of the real estate assets to the AIF was in the same time involved in a restructuring process’. The cultural streak running through the team is that of a ‘sense of commitment and problem solving attitude, developed by discussing goals of each team member and improving communication allowing the free exchange of information’ and helps draw on the talent of their in-house lawyers and developing their skills at the same time. Speaking highly of his colleagues, Schiavelli cites three lawyers in particular that deserve praise, Paola Dessì, head of legal business is known as an ‘expert lawyer who assists her clients in structuring and executing equity and debt capital markets transactions’, whilst Serena Trella, acting in corporate legal affairs, is a lawyer who ‘supports us by preparing all documents necessary for the meeting of the corporate governance bodies’ and Annunziata Tuccino, head of legal affairs for investment funds, who ‘takes care of any legal issues arising in the contest of the AIFs asset management’.