McDermott Will & Schulte, a global law firm

I nostri professionisti specializzati in Antitrust Regolamentare e Comunitario offrono consulenza integrata, pratica ed efficiente a clienti italiani e internazionali su problematiche complesse davanti alle autorità antitrust e di regolazione, nonché ai tribunali e alle corti civili e amministrative, sia nazionali che comunitarie. Disponiamo di avanzate capacità tecniche e di creatività che ci permettono di identificare soluzioni personalizzate ed efficaci rispetto alle problematiche del cliente, supportandolo—con apprezzati risultati—anche nel coordinamento dei consulenti di varie giurisdizioni in cui spesso ricadono le operazioni internazionali. Assistiamo, inoltre, i nostri clienti in materia di pratiche commerciali scorrette e pubblicità ingannevole, anche in merito a eventuali profili penali. Il nostro team, abilitato in Italia, Belgio, Francia e Gran Bretagna, lavora a stretto contatto con i colleghi degli altri uffici dello Studio nel mondo e con primari esperti dei paesi dove non abbiamo uffici. Questo ci consente di assistere i clienti al meglio, nei principali settori e mercati nel mondo, in aree quali autorizzazioni di joint venture e acquisizioni transfrontaliere, coordinamento dell’assistenza giudiziale di presunti cartelli globali o pratiche commerciali scorrette su siti web di gruppi internazionali. Il nostro team è menzionato da Chambers Europe 2014 per la sua “notevole expertise in casi di controllo delle concentrazioni, accordi di distribuzione e investigazioni relative a cartelli”.

Le nostre principali aree di attività sono le seguenti:

Consulenza strategica sulla fattibilità e l’ottenimento dell’autorizzazione antitrust di joint venture, fusioni e acquisizioni

L’ufficio italiano è particolarmente attivo nell’area della consulenza strategica in tema di conformità alle normative sulla concorrenza, rivolta ai clienti impegnati nella gestione di controversie commerciali che ostacolano il perseguimento dei loro obiettivi. Forniamo regolarmente pareri su problematiche derivanti dall’interconnessione fra la normativa antitrust e i diritti di proprietà intellettuale, ad esempio nell’ambito di accordi di licenza. McDermott Will & Schulte offre inoltre assistenza qualificata su ogni aspetto relativo alla distribuzione e alla politica dei prezzi, in particolare a clienti che godono di una forte presenza su mercati specifici.

Assistenza durante investigazioni relative a presunti cartelli e intese anticoncorrenziali

Abbiamo maturato una significativa esperienza nella consulenza in investigazioni su presunti cartelli e nella difesa di clienti davanti all’autorità antitrust italiana, alla Commissione Europea e ai tribunali nazionali e comunitari. In collaborazione con i nostri team europei e statunitensi specializzati in antitrust, offriamo consulenza integrata sulle possibili ripercussioni internazionali della partecipazione a programmi di leniency, per l’elaborazione di strategie difensive internazionali e, laddove necessario, l’assunzione della difesa in tutti i fori competenti.

Consulenza su accordi di distribuzione e politica dei prezzi

Offriamo consulenza legale di alto livello a società nazionali e multinazionali, aiutandole a districarsi tra le complesse ramificazioni delle normative italiane, europee e statunitensi in materia di concorrenza, alla luce delle disposizioni vigenti nelle diverse giurisdizioni in cui ricadono le loro operazioni. Le nostre aree di competenza comprendono acquisizioni, joint venture, problematiche relative alla distribuzione e aspetti legati alla concessione di licenze di tecnologia e proprietà intellettuale. Siamo in grado di offrire ai clienti assistenza legale completa in materia di concorrenza, a livello nazionale e comunitario.

Consulenza in materia di regolazione in ambito comunitario, e adempimento delle norme specifiche di settore in varie attività produttive, come telecomunicazioni, agroalimentare e ambiente

Il team italiano offre consulenza su ogni aspetto delle normative nazionali e comunitarie, sia per quanto riguarda lo sviluppo di nuovi programmi regolatori, sia in materia di interpretazione e compliance alle norme in vigore, e alle leggi e ai trattati internazionali applicabili.

Contenzioso nazionale e comunitario, in particolare impugnazione di provvedimenti delle autorità antitrust e di regolazione

Lo Studio ha rappresentato clienti di fronte all’autorità antitrust italiana e alla Commissione Europea nell’ambito di istanze contro operazioni ostili, accordi limitativi della concorrenza e comportamenti dominanti da parte di concorrenti. Il team italiano specializzato in Antitrust Regolamentare e Comunitario ha incrementato l’attività di composizione extragiudiziale di controversie e difesa dei clienti nell’ambito di procedimenti davanti alle autorità antitrust e di regolazione italiane, e ai tribunali e alle corti civili e amministrative sia nazionali che comunitarie.

When financial distress threatens business operations, decisive action is required. Our business restructuring lawyers help stabilize struggling companies and maximize stakeholder returns. We deliver clear, actionable guidance to turn complex insolvency challenges into opportunities for recovery and strategic growth – or acquisition.

For companies facing insolvency, our business restructuring lawyers guide you through the legal process to restructure liabilities and engineer effective rescue packages. By stabilizing your financial foundation, we help you preserve enterprise value and position your business for long-term profitability.

Navigating cross-border insolvency requires seamless global counsel. We apply our deep knowledge of business restructuring law, including US Chapters 11 and 15, European Insolvency Regulation, and the UNCITRAL model law. Our international reach ensures we are well positioned to protect your assets and enforce your claims across multiple jurisdictions, minimizing disruption to your global operations.

Distressed markets also create unique opportunities for creditors and investors. Our business restructuring services help creditors achieve enhanced financial recoveries on their investments. For strategic buyers, we identify and execute the acquisition of troubled assets, driving immediate ROI and expanding your market share at favorable valuations.

At the forefront of data innovation and what’s next

Whether you are navigating the increasingly complex web of emerging privacy laws, responding to a data incident, unleashing the power of the data you collect, finding ways to safeguard the valuable information you hold or otherwise in need of a data-based “gut check,” our global privacy & cybersecurity team provides the practical guidance to minimize risk and drive your business forward.

Clients turn to our award-winning team for risk-based insights rooted in commercially oriented advice informed by regulatory expertise. Having worked in-house and been seconded to some of the most well-known companies, we understand our clients’ expectations and the need to identify realistic risk priorities and maximize business opportunities. Our team comprises engineers and computer coders, former senior government officials and cybercrime prosecutors. In addition, we helped draft the laws—we contributed to the legislative process to develop the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) and served at the European Commission leading deliberations over the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the e-Privacy regulation. We help you plan and prepare for the full lifecycle of data privacy needs, from proactive privacy and security counseling to incident response and regulatory and civil litigation.

Corporations across a wide range of industries partner with us to solve their most complex challenges, including:

• Developing global “soup to nuts” privacy and cybersecurity compliance programs
• Navigating evolving state and international privacy laws and sector-specific cybersecurity requirements
• Addressing the increased scrutiny and attention on privacy and cybersecurity from regulators, plaintiffs’ bar, vendors, insurers, customers and consumers
• Implementing “reasonable” cybersecurity and privacy standards that survive regulatory oversight and litigation
• Combatting increasingly sophisticated threat actors
• Developing scalable frameworks for evaluating vendors and corporate acquisition targets
• Developing data collection, monetization and digital marketing strategies
• Counseling on product development
• Advising on the cross-border transfer of personal data
• Maintaining attorney-client privilege and work product protections for internal investigations
• Deploying efficient and effective templates and resources

Your employment decisions can create both opportunity and risk, fueling your business growth and impacting your reputation. Adopting policies to build a strong company culture and ensure compliance with complex laws and regulations is critical to your success—and requires attention, agility and decisive action. Whether you need forward-thinking legal guidance or litigators equipped to handle your most complex workforce-related labor and employment matters, you can turn to us for creative and pragmatic solutions, sector-specific knowledge and a proven litigation track record.

As your trusted advocate, we provide clear, strategic counsel and present solutions with your business objectives in mind. To help you anticipate emerging workplace issues and develop strategies to mitigate potential litigation risks, we make it a priority to proactively identify trends in your industry. When challenges do arise, we employ a collaborative process that allows us to assemble agile legal teams around the globe well suited to address your most pressing employment issues in any jurisdiction, from C-Suite and Board guidance to bet-the-company matters.

We work with clients in a variety of industries, including food and beverage, the gig economy, health, industrials, life sciences, media and entertainment, private client, professional and financial services, retail, technology and transportation and logistics. We have particular skill and experience in the following areas:

• Class Action Litigation
• Employee Classification
• Labor
• Pay Equity, Workplace Harassment & C-Suite Advisory
• Public Accommodations
• Trade Secret, Restrictive Covenants & Whistleblower Disputes
• Transactions & Executive Contracts

Because we’re committed to your success, we make it our business to know your business. As a result, we handle the heavy legal lifting, protecting your organization’s most critical assets—people and reputation—and allowing you to focus on achieving your core objectives. Our approach is direct, decisive and tailored to your specific labor and employment needs across all jurisdictions worldwide.

At the firm, we help clients reduce the uncertainties associated with dispute resolution. We ensure that clients understand the strategies available to them, the potential costs of pursing those strategies, and the key distinction between short-term victory and long-term success.

Our practice includes many recognized trial lawyers and specialized litigators in the United States and Europe. We advise clients from most industries and have earned a particularly strong reputation for helping major, multinational clients win big-ticket cases. The strength of our lawyers is based on the fundamental principle that excellence in client service mandates deep substantive knowledge in a broad range of industries and areas of the law, and―when required―incomparable ability and success in the courtroom.

Our lawyers possess superior trial skills, deep substantive knowledge and the flexibility to draw from the Firm’s deep bench to assemble strong, lean teams. Frequently, our trial lawyers team with in-house resources, such as our premier health care, life sciences, employee benefits or product liability lawyers, to provide truly best-in-class advocacy. This synthesis of skill and experience, along with a record of success in high-stakes controversies, is why we are a go-to-firm for large-scale, complex litigation.

Alternative dispute resolution

Our lawyers represent businesses, investors and states in a broad range of settlement negotiations, mediations and arbitrations under the auspices of the American Arbitration Association (AAA), the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and several other arbitral bodies. The group also regularly prosecutes and defends against litigations related to domestic and international arbitration, including actions to compel arbitration, actions to enforce arbitral awards and actions for injunctive relief in aid of international arbitration. Our ADR team lawyers are located across two continents, and a number have served as arbitrators in AAA and international arbitrations.

Appellate advocacy

Our nationally recognized Appellate Practice Group comprises highly experienced lawyers in our US offices who have successfully handled hundreds of appeals. Our group includes partners who have argued appeals in the US Supreme Court, the 13 circuits of the US courts of appeals, and numerous state appellate courts. Members of our group have served as judicial law clerks at all levels of the federal judiciary. We are frequently retained to file friend-of-court briefs in cases of national importance in the US Supreme Court and various other appellate courts.

Financial institutions

Our litigators represent banks and other financial institutions in a variety of complex litigation matters, including consumer and securities class actions, securities fraud and derivative litigation. We also represent institutions and individual executives in disputes involving director and officer liability, lender liability, loan workouts and regulatory issues. We regularly conduct internal investigations on behalf of clients and provide vigorous representation in investigations and enforcement proceedings brought by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the US Department of Justice (DOJ), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), stock exchanges, and other self-regulatory organizations, as well as various state securities enforcement agencies.

Hospitality

Our dedicated hospitality team includes litigators with experience in all aspects of our clients’ businesses, including acquisitions, development and financing; labor, immigration, employment and employee benefits; construction and real estate; data privacy; operations, management and service contracts; portfolio management; and tax. We have advised many of the world’s leading hospitality brands and developers, in the United States and globally.

Professional responsibility

As professional service providers ourselves, we understand the costs associated with allegations of professional misconduct or malpractice. We represent lawyers, accountants and others on the full range of professional responsibility matters, including defense of malpractice claims, securities class actions, regulatory and ethics investigations, partnership disputes, insurance coverage issues, RICO claims, audit and tax controversies, white-collar criminal defense, and other litigation. Drawing on our in-depth understanding of professional ethics and our strong courtroom skills, we have successfully represented some of the largest global professional services firms in sensitive and high-stakes cases, and in proceedings before the SEC, PCAOB, and other regulatory bodies.

Whether a company’s primary driver of revenue or an essential tool in providing better products and services, technology plays an important role in virtually every business. The lawyers of our Technology industry practice advise clients in the technology sector on all aspects of their business concerns and initiatives, including mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, technology development, transactions, outsourcing, intellectual property, compliance and operational issues. We also help clients develop the technology infrastructure and strategic relationships required to maximize value and achieve business objectives.

Our group includes lawyers with extensive records of success advising startups, Fortune 50 technology companies, and national and multinational enterprises. We have structured, negotiated and closed billions of dollars of transactions for clients across North America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, Latin America and Africa. Perhaps most important, we have substantive experience in the unique products and services of our technology clients and in the technologies and issues that matter most to today’s businesses.

Every day, we advise technology clients on a wide variety of technology-related matters, including acquisition and licensing of technology and IP assets, cloud computing, Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS); IT and business process outsourcing (BPO); data hosting, management, privacy and security, distribution agreements, technology development, maintenance, services and licensing, e-commerce and electronic payment systems, mobile apps and social media, open-source software, consulting services and contract manufacturing.

A number of our partners have been recognized as leading practitioners by publications and ratings agencies such as Chambers Global, Chambers USA, Chambers Europe, The Best Lawyers in America, The Legal 500, The Legal 500 EMEA, The Legal 500 Deutschland, JUVE Handbuch Wirtschaftskanzleien, BTI Consulting Group, Lawdragon, and The Black Book of Outsourcing.

Cloud

New technologies, emerging business models and an increasingly mobile workforce have made cloud computing the IT option of choice for many businesses and organizations. We have represented numerous providers, corporate customers and investors on all sides of technology transactions and agreements involving cloud computing, Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (Paas), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), hosted arrangements, web services and application outsourcing. We help domestic and multinational clients identify and address potential issues such as data security, protection and privacy, while determining the value of services in terms of increased revenues, reduced costs and more efficient operations. We regularly draw on our Firm’s experience in technology intellectual property, finance, corporate transactions, regulatory issues and compliance, and other key areas of law to negotiate transactions and develop enforceable terms of service, service level, subscription and other agreements.

Social media

Social media has quickly evolved from a personal-connection medium to a primary means of business, advertising, marketing, promotion, communication and reputation/brand management. The opportunities that arise from these new technologies are accompanied by equally daunting challenges and uncertainties. We help clients create and implement practical solutions that help them manage online and social media platforms and presence, respond to claims, complaints and regulatory actions, and better understand and comply with user-driven standards, new laws, cooperative self-governance and regulatory oversight. Given the broad range of issues that arise through participation in social media, we draw on the experience and knowledge of lawyers throughout the Firm’s technology, corporate, intellectual property, labor and employment, litigation and dispute resolution, and other key practice areas to help clients safely capitalize on opportunities in this environment.

Internet of Things

The “old” internet is being surpassed by the “internet of things”: technologies embedded in and connecting the everyday objects that people use at work, at home, in the car—even while asleep. Our lawyers advise clients on the myriad legal and commercial issues that arise from the development, deployment, licensing and sale of products, processes and services relating to wearable technologies, smart buildings and cities, telemedicine and e-health, energy and automobiles, among other growth areas. We also recognize that laws and regulations surrounding data privacy, consumer protection and telecommunications significantly affect the production, sale and use of these technologies.