Luciano Morello heads the banking and finance offering at DLA Piper, a preferred choice among domestic and international borrowers seeking advice on an array of financing deals. Giampiero Priori handles corporate finance, Giuseppe Mele focuses on real estate and leveraged finance, and Giovanni Ragnoni Bosco Lucarelli is a key name for project financing. Real estate, energy project and acquisition finance all fall under the purview of Federico Zucconi Galli Fonseca. Antonio Lombardo departed in May 2025.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Accolades
Client satisfaction: Lawyer & team quality
Client satisfaction: Billing & efficiency
Client satisfaction: Sector knowledge
Client satisfaction: NPS ®
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- The team demonstrates strong expertise and reliability in real estate and construction matters, with a pragmatic and solution-oriented approach. They combine technical competence with clear communication and responsiveness, ensuring smooth handling of complex transactions.
- The professionals we worked with stand out for their availability, precision, and ability to anticipate potential issues. Their proactive attitude and clarity in presenting options make them highly dependable compared to competitors.
- ‘Excellent technical capabilities, and the ability to understand clients' objectives and business needs and translate them into concrete proposals during negotiations. Effective communication.’
- ‘Strong emotional intelligence both with clients and counterparts.’
- ‘Really prepared and efficient team. Also supportive to their counterparties.’
- ‘Giuseppe Mele and Ivano Sproviero are really competent and efficient.’
- ‘A highly experienced team on both buy and sell side financing, so the ability to determine fairness and also deal with such high-value transactions provides comfort and competence in complex deals.’
- ‘Immediate answers, proactive approach, problem-solving mindset, always on the side of the client as facilitator. Collaborative approach and strong teams with clear roles and responsibilities.’
- ‘Giuseppe Mele and Ivano Sproviero were very supportive, always proactive and extremely quick in providing feedback and allowed us to close the deals on time. They have proven to be versatile in multiple disciplines, allowing us to negotiate with counterparties (banks) in a fluid and rapid manner.’
Key clients
- Hines Italy
- Mohari Hospitality
- CBRE
- Omnam Investment Group
- Harrison Street
- Colliers Global Investors Italy SGR
- Savills Investment Management SGR
- Castello SGR
- Nuveen Real Estate
- Prelios SGR
- Proprium Capital Partners
- AMCO
- Do Value
- Generali Global Infrastructure
- Corum AM
- COIMA SGR
- WRM Group
- Zaka Investments
- Investire SGR
Work highlights
Advised Hines and Prelios SGR in relation to a cross-jurisdictional refinancing of a mortgage loan granted to Novipraga S.p.A in relation to a retail park located in Serravalle Scrivia.
Assisted Feralpi Siderurgica in connection with a EUR 170 million sustainability-linked loan granted by a pool of leading financial institutions.
Advised 14 Luisa di Savoia (Zaka Investments) in connection with the financing granted by a leading Italian bank for the development of a new luxury hotel in Rome.
Lawyers
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Next Generation Partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.
Leading associates
Leading associates with regular involvement in their team's key work, and recognition from peers or clients as being ones to watch.
Practice head
Luciano Morello
Other key lawyers
Giampiero Priori; Giuseppe Mele; Giovanni Ragnoni Bosco Lucarelli; Federico Zucconi Galli Fonseca; Ugo Calò; Claudio D’Alia; Silvia Ravagnani; Ivano Sproviero