McDermott Will & Schulte has hired a team of five partners and seven lawyers from Italian independent firm Gitti & Partners in Milan.
The team is led by Vincenzo Giannantonio, a former co-managing partner of Gitti & Partners, who will undertake the same role in McDermott’s Milan office.
He is joined by four partners: Giacomo Pansolli and Domenico Patruno, who specialise in transactions; Elisa Mapelli, a prominent employment lawyer; and Marco Blei, an expert in intellectual property with extensive knowledge in life sciences and high-tech issues, who only joined the firm in 2025.
Giannantonio is a highly regarded corporate, M&A and private equity lawyer, known for his work on mid‑market and sponsor‑led transactions, with a particular focus on private equity and growth-capital investments.
He leaves his former firm a year after it celebrated its 10th anniversary, having shared the managing partner role with Marco Rizzi.
Harris Siskind, global head of McDermott’s transactions group, said the hires were “a standout addition to our European platform and a key step in building McDermott as a pan‑European destination for mid‑market private equity”.
He added: “For clients, it means deeper local capability, delivered through a fully integrated European platform for complex, cross‑border deals.”
Giancarlo Castorino, who will co-head McDermott’s Milan office alongside Giannantonio, said the hires will “meaningfully accelerate the momentum we’ve built in Milan”.
He added: “Vincenzo and his team broaden our capabilities across transactions, employment and IP, allowing us to deliver more integrated, end‑to‑end support for clients through our European and global platform.”
Giannantonio added: “We are genuinely excited to join the firm and to help drive the growth of the Milan office, working closely with colleagues across Europe to deliver high‑impact, cross‑border private equity and M&A solutions.”
The arrival of Giannantonio and his team follows two lateral partner hires in February across McDermott's European network. Kalish Mullen joined in Paris from Kirkland & Ellis to lead and develop the office’s finance offering, and Oliver Sutter joined the banking and finance practice in Frankfurt from Norton Rose Fulbright.
Italy has seen some significant lateral hires in recent months. Last October, HSF Kramer invested in a five-lawyer structured finance team in Milan led by Emanuela Da Rin, who joined from BonelliErede, while a month earlier, Ropes & Grey opened an office there, following the hire of two private equity partners and a senior associate from Latham & Watkins.
Writing in October, SSQ’s Alejandro Kress said: “Milan combines financial depth and a strong corporate deal pipeline with established fund and sponsor activity – in 2024, Italy was the fastest growing private equity market in Europe.
“For US and UK firms seeking a foothold in continental Europe, Milan offers proximity to clients and transactions that matter and is where many firms are now directing their partner recruitment.”
Gitti & Partners was contacted for comment.
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