BonelliErede has strengthened its commercial, competition and industrial law practices with the addition of Marina Tavassi as of counsel at the Milan office.

Her experience in the Italian judiciary dates back to 1977. She has served as President of the Court of Appeal of Milan (2016–2020), President of the Court of Milan’s Business Division (2009–2016), and advisor to the Italian Supreme Court (2004–2009).

In these roles, she primarily dealt with commercial law, Community law, arbitration, industrial law, and competition law. She has complemented her professional experience with numerous teaching positions and prestigious scientific contributions at national and international level.

Marina Tavassi also holds high-ranking positions to which she applies her competition and IP expertise: she is President of the Association of European Competition Law Judges and Vice President of the Intellectual Property Judges Association. Since June 2014, she has been a member of the panel of experts responsible for drafting rules of procedure for European unitary patent courts, and from 2016 to 2020 she was a national judge on the Enlarged Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office (based in Munich). She is also a professor of industrial law at the University of Pavia.

Italian Supreme Court judges recognise Marina as an authority in her fields of expertise, and she has been called to take on major roles even outside national borders through the Court’s exchange programme. This includes running training programmes at the Royal Courts of Justice and the House of Lords in London, where she followed important competition, patent and company law cases, and at the courts of Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Jose, where she participated in proceedings concerning information technology and antitrust matters.

Stefano Simontacchi, President, and Andrea Carta Mantiglia, Executive Director, had this to say about Marina Tavassi coming on board:

“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”.