Skadden ends exclusive Chiomenti alliance
Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom has ended its exclusive strategic alliance with Italian 'best friend' firm Chiomenti after seven years. The two firms said that the mutual decision was based on changes in client needs. The pair will continue to work together on a non-exclusive basis, referring work to other firms.
October 24, 2008 at 07:51 AM
3 minute read
Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom has ended its exclusive strategic alliance with Italian 'best friend' firm Chiomenti after seven years.
The two firms said that the mutual decision was based on changes in client needs.
The pair will continue to work together on a non-exclusive basis, referring work to other firms.
A statement from Skadden said: "While the firms will continue to work together in a close professional relationship, both firms have agreed to do so on a non-exclusive basis. The change to the relationship reflects the changing nature of cross-border legal practice and is in response to client needs."
Skadden has continental European offices in Munich, Frankfurt and Paris in addition to its City base, but has never had a base in Italy – instead relying on its relationship with Chiomenti.
London-based Chiomenti banking partner Carola Antonini told Legal Week: "The motivation is that we believe that the legal market has changed a lot and many of our clients require us to work with other international law firms – I believe the same thing happened to Skadden. In the current market situation, the best thing is to have best friends rather than an exclusive alliance, but we will continue to work together a lot."
News of the split comes after White & Case earlier this week became one of the first major law firms to announce it is pulling out of the Italian market. It is planning to close its Milan office next month having already axed its Rome and Turin bases in 2005.
Commenting on Skadden and Chiomenti's separation, a partner with a rival Italian firm commented: "I always wondered what kind of sense that relationship made from a strategic standpoint. You cannot expect to run your Italian operations through one such an established firm… What they have done now makes much more sense to me.
"I doubt that Skadden would open in Italy on its own in this climate. This is a time for consolidation rather than expansion."
Earlier this year, Chiomenti secured a merger with Italian firm Birindelli & Associati, handing it a major boost in the Chinese market. The two firms combined under the Chiomenti banner this May, with the takeover of Birindelli's offices in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Beijing, Singapore, Hanoi and Pyongyang.
Click here to comment on this article.
More news, deals and comment on Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Freshfields Name Change Becomes Official as Company with Similar Name Dissolves
2 minute read
Leaders at Top French Firms Anticipate Strong M&A Market in 2025 Despite Uncertainty
6 minute read
EU Parliament Gives Blessing to New EU Competition Chief Ribera Rodríguez
2 minute read
Simpson Thacher Becomes Second Firm to Launch in Luxembourg in 2 Days With A&O Shearman Hires
3 minute readTrending Stories
- 1Meta Pulls Plug on DEI Programs
- 2On the Move and After Hours: Meyner and Landis; Cooper Levenson; Ogletree Deakins; Saiber
- 3State Budget Proposal Includes More Money for Courts—for Now
- 4$5 Million Settlement Reached With Stone Academy
- 5$15K Family Vacation Turned 'Colossal Nightmare': Lawsuit Filed Against Vail Ski Resorts
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
