Further expansion for Ashurst in Europe…

Further expansion for Ashurst in Europe
Ashurst has hired a new leader for its private equity offering in Milan and a corporate partner for its London team.

Fabio Niccoli joins as partner in Italy from CDP Equity where he has been general counsel since 2012.

“Fabio is a key strategic hire for the European corporate team, reflecting our aim to further invest in and strengthen our private capital offering,” said Global head of corporate, Jason Radford. “We are delighted to welcome him to the team to help develop a successful private capital and M&A practice in Italy. His background and experience in private practice and as general counsel with a leading Italian investor will complement our existing Italian offering very well."

Meanwhile, in London, partner Jonathan Cohen makes the move from Clyde & Co to join the corporate team with more than 10 years of experience of M&A, PE, and other commercial matters.

“His commercial mindset makes him a strong addition and will help us to further expand our high growth & VC team," added Radford.

Vienna law firm’s coronavirus experience highlights the risk
A leading law firm in Austria says that three of its lawyers have tested positive for the Covid-19 coronavirus.

Wolf Theiss tested all staff when it emerged that a partner was suffering from the illness. Of around 300 tested, only the three were positive and are now in domestic quarantine.

The experience highlights the potential risk for law firms if a case is identified. Not only were the staff tested but clients who had been in contact with one of those who tested positive were informed, along with a court where one of the lawyers had been.

When the initial partner’s illness was known, the firm responded with a multi-layered response to mitigate risk including:

• Installing a crisis management team
• Immediately contacting and continuously supporting the health authorities
• Testing all its employees in the office where the partner works
• Establishing a medical hotline to a leading infection expert

The firm also ensured that no member of staff had external contact with clients, courts, or business partners until they had tested negative.