Vania Petrella: Perfectly Balancing Legal Expertise & Strategic Acumen for Success

Leadership is often forged by experience, honed by challenges, and illuminated by courage to explore more. Such is the story of Vania Petrella, who has accumulated nearly 30 years of expertise in the legal industry in Italy and beyond. She leads the Italian tax practice at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and, over the years, has held various management positions, including co-chairing several committees and serving on the executive committee of her firm. While Cleary’s primary practice areas focus on corporate M&A, litigation, and competition, Vania and her team contribute by providing crucial and seamless tax advice on large transactions with a view to supporting clients and colleagues in forging best strategies to bring deals through the finish line. Vania and her team are also involved in complex cross-border tax controversy matters and advise high net worth individuals and family offices on a range of estate planning and wealth management issues. Thanks to her and her team’s expertise and her established trusted advisor role, she helps attract new clients and opportunities, often fostering cross-selling among the different practice areas of the firm.

The Global Women Leader magazine is proud to interact in an exclusive interview with Vania. Let's read.

Can you tell us about your educational and professional background?

I had the fortune to grow up in Naples, Italy, where my parents settled due to my mother's teaching career. Those days, Naples had a reputation for being a tough place but it remained a gorgeous city, with a lot of history and cultural richness, populated by generous and eclectic people. My father returned to Italy after living several years in the U.S. to which our family maintained strong ties and where we spent many summers visiting relatives. I had a low-key, yet comfortable upbringing with access to high quality public education. My passion was classical music, I studied the flute at the conservatory while attending high school and university, and my dream at the time was to become a professional musician.

While my parents were always supportive, they suggested that I have a backup plan, so I enrolled in law school alongside my music studies. Eventually, I realized that I did not have the talent needed to become a successful professional musician, and I was glad I had followed my parents’ advice. I graduated with honors in law and in my final year, I discovered tax law. I was intrigued by its complexity and interdisciplinary nature. This led me to pursue a PhD in tax law and complete an LLM at Queen Mary College in London.

In 1998, as a young attorney, I joined Cleary Gottlieb, a U.S.based law firm with a strong international footprint. I've spent nearly three decades at Cleary, thriving in an environment surrounded by brilliant colleagues from diverse backgrounds. It’s been an incredible journey for which I am very grateful. I'm committed to giving back more to the firm that has given me so much.

"Vania upholds excellence in her practice, builds trusted advisory roles, & strategically drives the firm's growth"

Could you introduce us to Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton ?

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton is approaching its 80th anniversary, proving its successful presence in the legal industry. The firm is renowned for its exceptionally talented and versatile lawyers with a strong interest in international, cutting-edge practice. One key differentiator is its close-knit environment. Despite its size, the partnership is relatively compact and conducive.

Many of our partners joined early in their careers and have grown with and within the firm, contributing to a unique and cohesive culture, one of the top reasons that enable us to attract successful laterals. We maintain strong connections with our alumni, fostering a community closely tied to the firm's values. Kindness and respect are a priority in our daily interactions, which I find extremely important.

Could you share some of the major challenges you encounter?

One significant challenge is talent acquisition and retention. Identifying, nurturing, and keeping the right talent is crucial in a competitive marketplace. In the legal industry, driven by intellectual abilities, delivering top-notch, sophisticated advice depends on understanding and identifying the best solutions to complex issues. While the profession is adapting to some changes emerging due to AI, human intellect remains at the core of our daily work.

Like any other industry based on talented and skilled people, attracting and retaining the best and brightest,

building 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 senior

executives 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.

Vania Petrella, Partner, Cleary Gottlieb

A partner at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, Vania is an expert in Italian and international tax law on which she advises clients across the world. She holds and LLM and PhD in Tax Law and was named 'Woman of the Year' at the 2024 Legal Community Tax Awards. Vania serves on the Board of Trustees of the Foundation Academy of European Law, has taught International Tax Law at multiple universities, where she currently lectures in post-graduate programs.