Leading Italian independent firm Chiomenti has hired a seven-lawyer finance team from Orrick led by the US firm’s former Italy head of banking and finance. Gianrico Giannesi (pictured) is joining Chiomenti’s office after nearly nine years as a parter at Orrick, having originally joined the US firm’s Rome office in 2004.

The arrival of Giannesi and his team boosts the headcount of its finance and regulated entities department to 70 lawyers.

Giannesi is a highly rated in the fields of debt, structure finance and securitisation. Making the move with him are counsel Anna Maria Perillo, senior associate Alessio Palumbo and four associates.

Chiomenti  managing partner Filippo Modulo said the firm was pursuing a strategy of hiring well-established lawyers in specific sectors where we have identified room for significant growth, including in those sectors where we are already in a market leading position”.

He added: “Gianrico's case is emblematic. A department that today we can safely describe as market leader with high profile professionals further strengthens its position through the entry of a top-level professional and team",

Gregorio Consoli, head of finance and regulated entities, added: "Structured finance has been employed in the most significant transactions in the non-performing loands sector (NPL), bank de-risking, as well as several transactions in the funding sector and, recently, structured lending. These are all long-term trends and will, in some cases, become even more significant.”

Orrick has operated offices in Milan and Rome for more than a decade with a focus on finance, corporate and technology and  a team of more than 70 lawyers, according to its website.

Last week, Squire Patton Boggs announced it was opening in Italy with a four-lawyer team secured from US rival Curtis’s Milan office.