The Turin Magistrates' Court has placed the name partner of Slaughter and May's Italian ally Bonelli Erede Pappallardo, Sergio Erede, under investigation in the latest conflict over European lawyers' holding board positions with clients.
Erede, along with nine other people, has been named as a suspect in an investigation into whether Telecom Italia's take-over of internet company Seat Pagine Gialle violated conflict-of-interest, share manipulation and accounting fraud laws.
Erede has been placed under investigation in his role as deputy chairman of Telecom Italia along with chairman and chief executive of Telecom Italia Roberto Colaninno.
Erede, along with the other suspects in the case, has been sent an "avviso di garanzia", or formal letter, by the lead prosecutor, Bruno Tinti, informing him that he has been registered as a criminal suspect.
Five other unnamed people are also being investigated by prosecutors and are thought to work for investment banks CSFB, Lehman, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan Chase and accountancy firm KMPG, all of which had roles in the £14.6bn take-over in February last year.
Erede has been placed under investigation regarding a possible conflict of interest in the Seat take-over. During the deal, Bonelli Erede Pappallardo acted as lead legal adviser to Telecom Italia while Erede was vice-president of the company.
"We would like to make it clear that Mr Erede is being investigated for his role as vice-president of Telecom Italia and not as a partner in the law firm," said a spokesman for Erede.
This is the third case of alleged conflict of interest in Europe involving senior lawyers in recent months.