Herbert Smith Freehills Partner Laura Orlando has been named Biomedical Lawyer of the Year, at the prestigious TopLegal Awards in Italy.
Laura, who leads the firm's growing office in Milan, was given the award at a ceremony in the City's Teatro Vetra last night, 8 May 2018.
Having been run since 2007, entries for the TopLegal Awards are judged by 30 senior figures from the major legal, tax and financial departments in Italy. This year more than 140 national and international law firms entered and over 450 individual professionals.
Herbert Smith Freehills' office in Milan has also been shortlisted in the following categories for the Italian Legal Community IP Awards, which are due to be held in Italy on 14 May:
- Law Firm of the Year
- IP Law Firm of the Year
- Life Sciences Law Firm of the Year
- Contentious Law Firm of the Year
Partner Laura Orlando is also individually shortlisted in the following categories:
- IP Lawyer of the Year
- Life Sciences Lawyer of the Year
- Contentious Lawyer of the Year
In January this year, the firm further strengthened its European offering with the opening of a new office in Milan. Laura - who previously led Simmons & Simmons' Italian Disputes, Intellectual Property practices, and life sciences sector group - opened the office and specialises in contentious and non-contentious IP, with a focus on patent and regulatory law in the life sciences sector.
In this field she has acted in some of the highest profile multi-jurisdictional patent cases, also within the context of the Supplementary Protection Certificate (SPC) Regulation, and has assisted major pharmaceutical companies in connection with patent issues concerning their biggest-selling drugs.
She also advises on regulatory matters, particularly at the interface with patent law.
Since opening, Laura has been joined by Herbert Smith Freehills Partner Sebastian Moore, who was brought up in Italy and is recognised by the legal directories as a leading patent litigator. He regularly acts for top clients in UK litigation, EPO oppositions and in co-ordinating actions on a pan-European basis.
The rapidly growing team also includes associates Martina Maffei and Spartak Kodra; Of Counsel, Pietro Pouché; and trainee Giulia Maienza.
About Herbert Smith Freehills
Operating from 27 offices across Asia Pacific, EMEA and North America, Herbert Smith Freehills is at the heart of the new global business landscape providing premium quality, full-service legal advice. The firm provides many of the world’s most important organisations with access to market-leading dispute resolution, projects and transactional legal advice, combined with expertise in a number of global industry sectors, including Banks, Consumer products, Energy, Financial buyers, Infrastructure & Transport, Mining, Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare, Real estate, TMT and Manufacturing & Industrials.
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