Dentons has hired partner Gianpaolo Garofalo to establish the legal firm’s Italian desk in London and lead the structured finance group within the banking and finance practice in Italy.

He joins from Italian law firm BonelliErede, where he spent two years as senior counsel in the London office. Garofalo has more than 15 years’ experience in banking and finance, with 12 of those gained at Allen & Overy in Rome.

“We are delighted to welcome a lawyer of his calibre to our team,” says Alessandro Fosco Fagotto, head of Dentons’ banking and finance practice in Italy.

Specialising in structured finance, Garofalo assists national and international clients in securitisation, factoring and repackaging transactions, and also advises on regulatory issues. He is seasoned in derivatives, liability management for both private and public entities, and the issuance of debt instruments and innovative financial instruments.

“Despite the uncertainty connected with Brexit, London will continue to be an important hub for structured finance work in Italy,” Garofalo says. “I look forward to the challenge of leading the structured finance team in Milan and the Italian desk here in London.”

Dentons has recruited several partners across its European structured finance practice of late: Julien Bacus in Paris in March 2018; Michael Huertas in Frankfurt in April 2018; and Arne Klüwer, Matthias Eggert and Mortimer Bertlet in Germany in 2017.