Michele Rizzo Law Firm offers its legal services to foreign self-employed individuals and consultants (other lawyers, notaries, accountants, engineers, architects, surveyors, real estate appraisers, industrial and chemical technicians, reclamation experts) who need  legal support in their relations with Italian companies, banks and public authorities or who need legal advice on Italian law matters (also with reference to judicial proceedings initiated or about to be initiated in Italy).

In the following paragraphs, we will take a closer look at the specific services that the Firm offers the aforementioned professionals in the three practice areas in which it is active:

• Italian Administrative Law;
• Real Estate Law;
• Business Law.

Legal services offered to foreign self-employed individuals and consultants on Italian Administrative Law matters

The Firm formulates opinions and provides legal assistance to other foreign professionals on Italian Administrative Law matters and, specifically, on issues related to:

• silence or delay on the part of the Italian Public Authorities regarding the approval of administrative measures and the compensation of damages due to the bodies’ unlawful conduct;
• access to documents and legislation regarding transparency in the Italian public authorities;
• administrative internal review procedures and specifically annulment of administrative acts;
• public contracts and concessions of public works, services and goods entrusted by Italian public entities;
• services of general economic interests and local or State government-owned companies;
• Town Planning and Building Law (click here for the list of legal services offered to the other foreign professionals on matters regarding Real Estate Law);
• public goods owned by the Italian State and other public sector entities. More specifically, the Firm provides its legal support and consultancy services on concessions for use of goods in the Italian maritime state property (beaches, shorelines, lake shores and ports) and concessions for the occupation of public land or subsoil, but also for the crossing of roads;
• expropriations and emergency occupations;
• Energy Law, in the field of which, for instance, the Firm offers legal support regarding procedures for the release of  authorizations for construction and management of conventional and renewable energy plants in the Italian territory (e.g. photovoltaic, wind, biomass, geothermal), but also regarding administrative procedures managed by Italian energy authorities (ARERA, the Energy Services Manager – GSE – -and the Ministry for Economic Development;
• Environmental Law, practice in which the Law Firm provides services such as legal support regarding environmental clean-up, environmental impact assessments (EIA) and environmental authorizations;
• certified notice of commencement of activity (SCIA) and authorizations to carry out business activities (e.g.  commercial,  industries, accommodation facilities, fuel stations, social and welfare facilities and trade fairs);
• Art, Cultural Heritage and Landscape Law, regarding, for instance, (i) declarations of cultural interest for movable and immovable property, (ii) the issuing of landscape constraints on buildings and areas of significant public interest and (iii) landscape authorizations;
• calls for tenders and open competitions organized by Italian public entities and the European Union. In this sector, the Law Firm assists foreign professionals and consultants in the preparation of claims for the allocation of funding, facilitations and subsidies and in managing the relevant administrative procedures;
• hygiene and health legislation;
• Italian anti-mafia and anti-bribery law.

Legal services offered to foreign self-employed individuals and consultants on Real Estate Law matters

The Firm formulates opinions and provides legal assistance to foreign consultants on Real Estate Law matters and, more specifically, on issues regarding:

a. transfers of property, lettings and other transactions in private and public real-estate assets situated in the Italian territory;

b. Italian town planning and building regulations;

c. contracts for the construction of buildings and their management (public and private procurement contracts, property management contracts and facility management contracts);

d. contracts, funding and facilitations granted by Italian public entities for seismic upgrading interventions and for increasing the energy efficiency of public and private buildings.

More specifically, the Firm provides legal assistance and advice regarding the transfer of property or other rights on immovable property in the Italian territory, namely:

• structuring and carrying out of transactions related to the acquisition and sale of immovable property, also in terms of their financing. These activities also include the performance of urban-construction and environmental due diligence on target assets;
• drafting and  negotiation of contracts regarding the transfer of ownership or other rights on immovable property, such as:

– contracts for sale of real estate asset or contracts for the sale of shares in real estate companies;

– lease contracts;

• drafting and negotiation of contracts with banks and leasing companies for the financing of real-estate transactions, such as – by way of example – mortgage loan contracts, secured credit agreements and real estate leasing contracts.

Furthermore, the Law Firm offers legal support and advice on transactions regarding the immovable property of Italian public entities, such as:

• transfer and lease of immovable property included in the available assets of public entities, in compliance with the Italian public sector accounting regulations;
• establishment of real estate funds with public-sector contributions, namely the transfer of public immovable goods in those funds.

With specific reference to the Italian town-planning and building regulations, on the other hand, the Firm offers foreign self-employed individuals legal support before Italian courts and in extra-judicial settings with reference to:

• the procedures for drafting, adoption and approving general and detailed town-planning plans and their variants;
• the identification of the applicable urban and building regulations and of the necessary building permits for the new construction, restructuring and renovation/conservation of individual buildings or real estate complexes in Italy.

The Firm provides the aforementioned legal services also (i) in the field of complex real-estate development projects aimed at establishing residential, commercial, industrial and artisanal, managerial, tourist-accommodation and public or of public interest functions, (ii) in the field of public housing and social housing initiatives, as well as (iii) in the field of rehabilitation of degraded immovable property and disused sites initiatives.

More specifically, the legal services offered by the Firm to professionals working in the field of real estate also include assistance in obtaining opinions, visas and licences within the competence of the health authorities or the various authorities responsible for the managing of historical, landscape and environmental constraints;

• administrative sanctions for buildings violations and, in any case, for the breach of town planning and building regulations.

Finally, the Firm offers legal support and advice regarding contracts for the construction and management of immovable property in Italy, such as:

• drafting and negotiation of private procurement contracts – including international engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts for industrial plants and civil works –  and legal advice in the performance of the same contracts;
• drafting and negotiation of contracts regarding the management of private real estate, such as property management contracts and facility management contracts, and legal advice in the performance of the same contracts;
• legal support and advice regarding the award and performance of  public procurement contracts for the supply of works, goods and services relating to public real estate assets, including real estate management contracts and facility management contracts, in accordance with the rules laid down by the new public contracts code approved by the legislative decree n. 50/2016 and the public sector accounting legislation.

Lastly, we would like to point out the legal support provided by the Firm regarding contracts, funding and facilitations for seismic upgrading interventions and for increasing the energy efficiency of public and private buildings in Italy.

Legal services offered to foreign self-employed professionals and consultants on Business Law matters

The Firm formulates opinions and provides legal support to foreign self-employed professionals and consultants on Business Law matters and, more specifically, on issues regarding:

• Italian Company Law. Moreover, in this field the Firm aids other professionals in the establishment and management of companies with registered offices in Italy – including the drafting of the company’s articles of association and shareholders’ agreements that will govern the relations between the partners –  but also in the structuring and implementation of extraordinary corporate transactions involving Italian companies;
• Italian Commercial Law and commercial contracts (as well as international);
• Italian legislation regarding innovative start-ups;
• authorizations for the construction of production plants and for the exercise of entrepreneurial activities in Italy;
• financing for the start-up and development of entrepreneurial activities in Italy;
• drafting and negotiation of contracts for the acquisition and management of real estate to be used in the business of the company (click here for the list of legal services provided by the Firm with reference to Real Estate Law).