19 DECEMBER2024W MAN LEADERGLOBAL W MAN LEADERGLOBAL Vania upholds excellence in her practice, builds trusted advisory roles, & strategically drives the firm's growthbuilding strong teams, keeping them engaged with interesting and stimulating assignments is critical to ensure our ability to timely and efficiently deliver high-quality services to our clients. That is instrumental to address another challenge, which is maintaining and growing our profile and brand in the market. In tax law, the challenge is even more pronounced due to continuous, at times quite rapid developments that impact clients and their business strategies. A team that is sophisticated and committed to expanding their knowledge allows us to stay ahead of changes, effectively communicate them to clients to help them address any ensuing challenges.How is the legal advisory landscape evolving in Italy?The legal advisory landscape in Italy is witnessing significant transformation, driven by various trends. One notable trend is the significant influx of public funds into the real economy following COVID-19, facilitated by government spending initiatives and budgetary allocations aimed at attracting strategic investments. This shift emphasizes the need for high-quality, cross-disciplinary, cross-border competencies to navigate regulatory and financial challenges.Moreover, we are observing a growing demand for legal assistance from major market players, including corporations and those in the private equity sector, particularly concerning large, complex transactions, especially in regulated sectors. In the realm of taxation, there has been a government push for large corporations to implement compliance programs. This initiative aims at streamlining the assessment and management of tax risks, fostering a more direct relationship with tax authorities. While this is a positive development, it won't cover all issues, especially for legacy structures or entities that do not fall within these programs' perimeter.Furthermore, there is increasing interest in how tax strategies evolve in response to changing regulations in the context of acquisition structures and on investments' exit. The sophistication of tax administrations, including Italy's, and their increased ability to cooperate on an international scale, highlights the necessity for robust advisory services and potential litigation support.Looking ahead, as anywhere else, one of the most impactful trends will likely be the integration of artificial intelligence into legal processes, to which we are very committed as a firm. In fact, with ClearyX, we are striving to deliver of high-quality, lower-cost legal services in innovative ways, with a view to combining talent, process, and technology. Yet, there are other important related implications. For instance, while AI can take over many routine tasks traditionally performed by more or less junior lawyers, there remains uncertainty about how we will effectively train future talent in an evolving landscape to still ensure that the industry can develop the knowledge, competences and expertise necessary to address and solve the most complex and articulates matters. It will be crucial for educational institutions, law firms, corporations, and the judiciary to adapt to these changes collaboratively.Can you share some of the major professional milestones in your career?For sure, joining Cleary Gottlieb was a major professional milestone. At just 26, I was given responsibilities and entrusted with sophisticated matters, exposed to demanding clients to address complex, cross-border issues under the supervision of experienced and wise senior colleagues to whom I will be forever grateful for what they taught me. I started in Brussels and spent a year in New York with our U.S. tax team. My learning curve was very steep. When I came to Rome to join our newly-opened office, at first I did not realize that I was taking on a substantial role and that I was establishing from scratch our Italian tax practice. Every day has been challenging but also quite rewarding.As a young lawyer, presenting my analysis to seniorexecutives and successfully addressing challenging questions validated my hard work and boosted my selfconfidence.These experiences have been instrumental in my growth as a professional in a very competitive field. Continually investing in myself and my team, understanding client needs, delivering precise, clientfriendly advice, raising our internal and external profile have been crucial to our success. These milestoneshave shaped my career and, I hope, may offer valuable lessons for young lawyers who need to never doubttheir potential and relentlessly nurture their talents and invest in their growth.
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