Fieldfisher has opened an office in Bologna with a team of hires from boutique Lucchini Gattamorta & Associates (LGA).

The deal is effectively a merger between LGA and Fieldfisher's Italian arm, Fieldfisher SAPSI, and will hand the UK firm its fifth office in the country.

The office will be led by LGA founder and corporate partner Gianvincenzo Lucchini. He is joined from LGA by disputes partner Andrea Gattamorta. There will be a total of 18 fee earners in the office, comprising a mixture of associates and trainees, all of who are joining from LGA.

LGA also has an office in Rimini, but intends to close this base.

Fieldfisher first entered Italy in July last year, via a merger with Studio Associato Servizi Professionali Integrati (SASPI). The deal, structured as a Swiss verein, added 170 staff in total including 21 partners and offices in Milan, Rome, Venice and Turin.

Fieldfisher managing partner Michael Chissick said: "Since we've merged, our Italian partners have been fantastic at cross-selling and developing relationships across the network – particularly in our energy and natural resources sector. We are committed to our European positioning and we are still looking to grow further – in addition to our growing Italian offices, we also aim to have a Spanish presence within the year."

Giusi Lamicela, executive partner of Fieldfisher in Italy, added: "Since our merger, we've had substantial success in promoting our European offering to our clients and working with our colleagues across the network. We choose Bologna as our next office because of its strong industrial and commercial history."