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DWF Italy launches IP department with new partner hire

19 April 2018
International legal business DWF has established a new Intellectual Property (IP) department with the arrival of Marco Annoni, who joins the firm as partner and head of department, and trainee Valerie Balassiano.
International legal business DWF has established a new Intellectual Property (IP) department with the arrival of Marco Annoni, who joins the firm as partner and head of department, and trainee Valerie Balassiano. Marco Annoni has spent the last three years at the Carnelutti law firm, where he was a partner. Prior to this, he worked in the IP department at Bird & Bird.

Marco Annoni has gained significant experience in areas including trademark, patent, design and copyright, with a particular focus on issues relating to patent standard and anti-counterfeiting strategies, as well as design protection. He provides ongoing consultancy to leading companies – often multinationals – operating in the most varied sectors such as oil & gas, energy, information technology and telecommunications.

Marco Annoni is well recognised as a trusted consultant in identifying strategies for the protection and development of intangible assets, thanks to his extensive experience in the management and coordination of numerous transnational and European litigation.

Michele Cicchetti, Managing Partner of DWF Italy, said: “IP practice is an area with great potential for development and the strengthening of our competences in this sector will greatly benefit our offer of legal services. Choosing Marco to manage the IP department is part of our strategy to focus on the “rising stars” of the legal landscape.

Marco Annoni added: "I am delighted to become part of the DWF Italy team at a time when intangible assets and the various matters connected to them are assuming an increasingly central role to the economic interests of companies. The choice of DWF to invest in IP practice in Italy confirms the objective of the business to become, thanks also to its important international network, one of the leading firms in the Italian legal market, able to offer comprehensive assistance in all the primary sectors of the market."

The office in Milan has continued to grow since its opening in in October 2017. Recently the litigation and arbitration department, headed by Roberto Usai, was strengthened with the arrival of senior associate Federica Vaghi from Simmons & Simmons.

As part of its strategic growth plans, DWF has significantly expanded its international footprint in the last eighteen months; in January 2017 the firm established bases in Sydney, Toronto and Chicago as part of its acquisition of Triton Global, and made its first move into France with the launch of a Paris office. In April, the firm opened an office in Berlin, its third in Germany, and in June launched in Singapore with a four-lawyer team. More recently, DWF has acquired offices in Brisbane and Melbourne in Australia and launched an exclusive association in Turkey.

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