Squire Patton Boggs has opened its first Italian office in Milan with the hire of a four-partner team from Curtis, Mallet-Prevost & Mosle, including office head Galileo Pozzoli.

Arbitration specialist Pozzoli joins Squire as leader of its new base in Milan and will also sit on the firm's executive committee, a person with knowledge of the move said. Pozzoli had been with Curtis for 17 years and became a partner in 2008. He was appointed its Milan managing partner in 2010 and specializes in energy law, with a focus on handing international arbitration cases in the oil and gas sectors.

Pozzoli will serve as managing partner of Squire's new Milan office and work closely with energy partner Peter Stewart, who recently joined the firm in London from Clyde & Co, to coordinate the firm's Africa business development efforts and practice.

Also moving with Pozzoli to Squire are corporate partner Daniela Sabelli, Italy and U.K. dual-qualified corporate finance and M&A partner Ian Tully, and corporate and tax partner Fabrizio Vismara.

"Our goal is to provide clients with premium counsel wherever they do business," Squire chair and global CEO Mark Ruehlmann said in a statement. "Launching an office in the third-largest Eurozone economy is another important milestone in our global expansion.

"We already work for a number of Italian companies and other entities doing business in the market. This team will take our practice to even greater heights."

According to Curtis' website, its Milan base now consists of four partners, seven counsel, five associates and one consultant.

"We have already moved on from the departing partners and expect 2020 to be our best year ever in Italy," firm chairman George Kahale said in a statement. He added that Guillermo Ulke, a member of the firm's strategic planning committee, now heads the firm's Milan and Rome offices.

The Milan hires are the second group Squire has picked up from Curtis Mallet in less than a year. Last March, it hired two partners along with a counsel and six associates in a boost to its international arbitration practice based in New York.

The Milan base is the 15th office in Europe for Squire and its 45th globally, as the firm continues to expand internationally following a busy period. Earlier this month it hired the bulk of Winston & Strawn's Dubai office, picking up three partners and four associates as part of the raid.

Meanwhile, the firm launched a new global commodities and shipping group in Singapore with the hire of two Reed Smith partners at the end of last year, and has since hired an HFW partner duo to the office. It also boosted its London base with several partners during 2019.

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Norton Rose Closes in Bahrain

Elsewhere, Norton Rose Fulbright has closed its Bahrain office, leaving it with two bases in the Middle East. The office closed at the end of 2019, according to a statement by the firm, after its sole partner, Joanne Emerson Taqi, decided to relocate to the firm's Sydney office in March 2020.

The international firm closed its Abu Dhabi base in 2018. Its remaining offices in the region are in Dubai and Riyadh.

The firm's Middle East head, Deirdre Walker, said in a statement: "The evolution of the economy in the Middle East, coupled with [Taqi's] move, means it makes clear business sense to consolidate our resources in the region into the financial hubs of Dubai and Riyadh."

The firm has expanded its Dubai office this year, with the hire of Nick Kramer from CMS, where he was a partner and head of commercial construction in the Middle East.

A number of firms are consolidating their offerings in the region, including Winston & Strawn closing in Dubai and Allen & Overy closing its Qatar office in 2019.