Our footprint expands in Europe
In November 2024, our Firm expanded further in Europe with the opening of a new office in Milan, Italy.
The opening reflects our strategy to pursue opportunities in the market that closely align with our core private capital focus and a commitment to grow our international reach. Nicola Saccardo, Partner in our Private Client team in London, took overarching responsibility of the new office as Head of the Italian Practice. Cristiana Felisi, previously Of counsel at Maisto e Associati, joined as a Partner and Head of the Milan Office, and Giovanni Angelini also joined from Maisto e Associati as Counsel. Nicola is an expert in Italian tax law, with a focus on taxation of trusts, estates and ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNWIs); the relocation of UHNWIs; international and EU tax law and estate planning. Cristiana and Giovanni are expert non-tax private client lawyers, focusing on succession law, family law, private wealth disputes and residential property transactions work.
“Italy is a vitally important location for us due to the significant relocation of foreign UHNWIs to Italy and the presence of wealthy Italian families with an international dimension. We are incredibly well placed to assist successful families, family offices and family businesses on Italian and foreign law.”
Spotlight on Singapore: 18 months on
We launched our Singapore office in July 2023 with a headcount of four, and 18 months on, our team has grown to 17. Much of that growth has stemmed from US private capital work through our team in Singapore and changes ushered in by the UK’s Autumn budget in October 2024.
When we launched our office in Singapore, we anticipated initial growth in the private client/capital and international property space (both commercial and residential), supplemented by work through our Private Office, with market analysis to identify additional practice areas. Eighteen months later, private capital continues to be a strong practice area for our Firm but our focus has broadened with the arrival of Peter Brabant, who joined our International Arbitration and Investigations practice as a Partner in March 2024. We were also joined by Corporate Partner Tun Zaw Mra, whose arrival opened up Corporate work as a new service line for our Singapore office. To accommodate our expanding team, we moved from a serviced office into our own premises at One Raffles Quay, providing us with capacity up to 30 people.
Impact of US and UK elections on private capital
In November 2024, we hosted a two-part event – a panel discussion titled ‘Panglossian or Painful: Tax after the US and UK elections’, followed by a party to celebrate our first year in Singapore.
The panel discussion explored the changing political landscape and new fiscal rules that have arisen from these events and was attended by 150 intermediaries. We have since hosted further presentations to private banks in the region on the implications and opportunities for private clients and the structuring of their global wealth.
We have exceeded our expectations for year one and now our focus for Singapore must be strategic growth, not growth for growth’s sake. Singapore remains a private capital hub, with a very strong private wealth market in the heart of Southeast Asia. The strength that we have as a firm in terms of private capital is well suited to the city.”
Growing our international relationships network
As our clients become more international in their ambitions, outlook and operations, we are expanding our international capabilities – not only through our own offices but also through our network of relationships with leading law firms around the world.
Where we do not have offices, our teams work with local law firms in over 150 countries worldwide to support clients from, or doing business in, other countries. This can be either project managing international advice or making direct introductions to local lawyers, as needed. “We have a reliable network that we've curated and cultivated over the years,” says Charlotte Ford, Head of International Business Development and Relationships.“So if clients come to us and say I need advice across different markets, we can do that even if we’re not there on the ground.”
Year on year, we have seen a marked increase in the work that we are sending out on behalf of our clients, reflecting their international growth as well as our own. Alongside the established economies of the US and Europe, there has been particular growth in Africa, Latin America and Asia. Current projects include working with a client on the management of a property portfolio across 14 jurisdictions in Europe, Asia and Africa.
To ensure we work as one for our clients across borders we invest in these relationships through secondments, sharing know-how and client events.
We put a great deal of effort into getting to know our relationship firms. It’s about making sure they have the right expertise and are well regarded in the market but it's more than that – there’s a need for cultural alignment, too.”
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