Tax Litigators in team move to DLA Piper Italy

[private]DLA Piper has stepped up its commitment to provide integrated, contentious and non-contentious tax advice in Italy with the appointment of a partner and two associates. Tax litigation specialist, Antonio Tomassini, will join the Tax practice in Milan as a partner, together with two associates.

Antonio was partner and Head of Tax at Sciumé Zaccheo & Associati prior to joining DLA Piper.

He has an excellent reputation for handling tax litigation matters in Italy and has represented both national and international corporates and financial institutions on tax planning, compliance and litigation. Antonio has also advised on a range of international tax matters including transfer pricing, cost sharing policies, taxation treaties and tax havens. He joins DLA Piper with two associates also from Sciumé Zaccheo & Associati.

The arrival of Antonio and his team will add considerable strength to DLA Piper’s offering in Italy. In October last year partner Maricla Pennesi and five fee earners joined the Tax practice in Milan from Deloitte, expanding DLA Piper’s capabilities on the non-contentious side. Antonio’s appointment will complement the skills of the existing team, providing clients with a broader tax offering.

“We are committed to expanding our tax team in Italy and the arrival of Antonio and his team is crucial to our plans to build a strong, integrated Tax practice able to look after clients’ tax planning, and related contentious and non-contentious matters,” said Roderik Bouwman, EMEA Head of Tax at DLA Piper. “Our clients will increasingly face complex tax issues as tax authorities become more aggressive and with the team that we are establishing we will be able to meet these needs nationally and internationally.”

“I am delighted that Antonio is joining us. He has the skills and experience that we need to help us achieve our goal to build a tax team with a broader offering,” said Maricla Pennesi, Head of Tax for DLA Piper in Italy. “The arrival of Antonio and his team will be a huge asset, not just to clients in the Italian market but those supported by our colleagues around the world.”

Antonio has degrees in both law and economics from the University of Rome and is due to finish his PhD in tax law from Rome University at the end of 2009. Prior to working for Sciumé Zaccheo & Associati, Antonio was a tax advisor at Ernst & Young for six years and before that he was a tax officer with the Italian tax police.

Antonio officially joins DLA Piper on 30 June 2009.[/private]