In to the wild

The legal nature of the associated firm in Italy.

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It is now well known that associated law firms are, in fact, without their own legal personalityfalling, according to case law, "toWithin those phenomena of aggregation of interests to which the law attributes the ability to act as autonomous centres of imputation of relations legal,munites of legal representation in accordance with the rules laid down in Article 36 et seq. of the Civil Code."[1]

In bankruptcythis characteristic is highly relevant. In fact, according to a constant orientation of the Supreme Court of Cassation, the associated studios have legal representation, do not claim any privileges when it comes to admission to the liabilities in bankruptcy. For the Supreme Court, the firm is not, in fact, assimilated to the individual subject favoured by the'Article 2751 bis n. 2., this right being insusceptible of analogical extension.

A possible solution to this problem would be the assignment of the claim arising out of the services rendered personally by the individual lawyer to the law firm. This condition, however, must in any event be attached and proven, since it cannot be considered, in the abstract, as a legal or natural effect of the lawyer's participation in the firm, an autonomous centre of interests.[2]

ABSTRACT

the associated Italian firm:

  • is a phenomenon of aggregation of interests without legal personality, but with legal representation;
  • in bankruptcy does not enjoy the privilege of Article 2751a(2)
  • an assignment of the claim arising out of services rendered personally by the individual lawyer is still possible

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