Aviation Law Firm of the Year Italy

Firm Profile

Vitale & Partners, originating from Prof. Paolo Vitale’s banking law practice in the early 60s, is an international legal practice focused on some key European, Asian and American regions.

It provides in particular

market-leading legal counsel to the aviation and train industries, advising aircraft and train manufacturers, financiers and lessors, maintenance facilities, airlines and operators.

It also provides legal advice on international trade and commerce, cross-border leasing and financial transactions, international taxation, customs duties, dumping, State aid, international public procurement and project finance, international arbitration and litigation.

Some of our partners have also held management positions in multinational companies, have served as member of the Board of Directors of European airlines and telecommunication companies, have been appointed as trustees-in- bankruptcy, attending to the liquidation of the bankruptcy estates of companies in Italy, and have been foreign members of the Arbitration Courts of the chambers of commerce of Slovenia and Romania.

mind the very conservative Italian Courts’ approach to the granting of any kind of aircraft arrests, and the fact that the only connection with the Italian jurisdiction was the presence of such aircrafts in Italy for maintenance. We have been able to settle in consideration of the payment of only 10% of the initially-demanded amount, a Euro multi-million claim pursued in court by an airline’s trustee-in-bankruptcy against certain foreign lessors.

Areas of Expertise

• Aviation Law, Aircraft financing and cross-border leasing, aircraft repossession

• Train manufacturing and supply agreements, and Transportation Law

• Telecommunication Law • Infrastructure and Project Finance

• Bankruptcy and Insolvency Law and Companies’ Re-organization

Notable Legal Work

We have acted in 2011 as Contract Manager for a top train manufacturer, providing legal support in relation to a Euro 1.5 billion development project together with an Italian manufacturer, aimed at the supply of fifty complete high speed trains to a major European railway operator. We have obtained this year a pre-judgment attachment on behalf of a US client to seize two aircrafts owned by an Angolan airline. It was not easy to achieve it, bearing in

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• Cross-border financing and Taxation

• International Trade and Commerce

• International Litigation and Arbitration

• Green Energy • Investments in Emerging markets

Salvatore Vitale

VITALE & PARTNERS Salvatore Vitale 9 Via Luigi Credaro 00135 Rome (Italy)

Tel: +39 06 3265 0771 Fax: +39 06 3534 0063 Email: salvatore.vitale@vitalegal.com

Lawyer Monthly Legal Awards 2011 Salvatore Vitale

Salvatore Vitale has got thorough experience both as in-house counsel and in private practice, having worked as European Counsel of Texas Instruments, Head of Contracts of Alitalia-Italian Airlines, Head of Legal Affairs-European Area of the Telecom Italia Group, outside Counsel acting as Contract Manager for Bombardier Transportation’s ETR 1000 train manufacturing and supply, member of the Board of Directors of STET International Netherlands and of the Supervisory Board of Malev-Hungarian Airlines, as well as associate at Baker & Mc Kenzie, Chiomenti, and Eversheds. He was teaching International Law of Economics at the LUISS University in Rome and for over ten years at the University of Siena-Law School, as well he was a Guest Professor at the East China University of Political Science of Law (ECUPL). He is the published author of several law articles, and a book on legal aspects of cross-border securitization transactions.

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