Italian law firm BonelliErede has hired the former president of Milan’s appeals court Marina Tavassi as of counsel as it seeks to bolster its commercial, competition and industrial law practice groups.

Tavassi served as the president of the Court of Appeal of Milan between 2016 and 2020, and before that as president of the Court of Milan’s business division between 2009 and 2016. She brings with her more than four decades of experience in the Italian judiciary, including five years as an advisor to the Italian Supreme Court. She will be based in the firm’s Milan office.

Stefano Simontacchi, president of BonelliErede, and executive director Andrea Carta Mantiglia, said in a joint statement: “We are proud to welcome Marina Tavassi, who has a unique set of skills and experience in commercial, competition and industrial law thanks to a long career in the Italian judiciary – where she held key senior positions. Her addition brings significant value to our firm and is a testament to BonelliErede’s continuous pursuit of professional excellence. Her prestige and renowned experience further strengthen our expertise, to the benefit of our clients.”

Tavassi is currently president of the Association of European Competition Law Judges and vice president of the Intellectual Property Judges Association. She is also a member of the panel of experts responsible for drafting rules for Europe's unitary patent courts, and until last year was a national judge on the Enlarged Board of Appeal of the Munich-based European Patent Office. On top of that, she is also a professor of industrial law at the University of Pavia.

Her expertise in competition, patent and company law has seen her run training programmes at the Royal Courts of Justice and the House of Lords in London. She has also participated in technology and antitrust proceedings in courts in Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Jose.

In a similar move to tap senior judicial talent, Wall Street leader Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz last April hired former Delaware chief justice Leo Strine to take on a ‘strategic counselling role’ to advise clients on ‘corporate governance solutions'.