Firm profile

Portolano Colella Cavallo Studio Legale was founded in 2001 by partners Manuela Cavallo, Domenico Colella and Francesco Portolano.
The firm's activity is mainly focused on the corporate/M&A sector and the media industry.

M&A

In recent years, we have worked on share and asset transactions, venture capital and private equity investments, company restructurings, corporate governance and conflicts between shareholders.
The firm is a member of AIFI (Associazione Italiana del Private Equity e Venture Capital - Italy's private equity and venture capital association). Our professionals on AIFI's Tax & Legal Committee contribute articles, participate in the work of the association's other committees and carry out research on legal issues of interest to the private equity industry.

At an international level, we are members of the American Bar Association and the International Bar Association, where we participate as speakers at seminars and conferences and contribute articles and research on M&A, joint ventures and other areas.

Media

In the Media sector, the firm has worked on all the most complex and current developments: the supply of multi-platform and interactive content and “transactional television”, digital terrestrial television, DVB-H, product placement, TV phone-in games, online and TV games and betting.
Thanks to our Media sector focus, we understand the opportunities and problems for sector operators and the challenges presented by emerging business models, trends and technologies.
Our experience in the Media sector can be divided into the following main areas:

Television
Internet & e-commerce
Brands and rights
Advertising and promotion
Games
Technologies

Our professionals contribute, on an international level, to research projects and publications by Media law associations, such as the Information Technology Law Association and the International Association of Entertainment Lawyers. We frequently speak at seminars on Media issues for these and other organizations.
We also contribute to leading Media magazines and publications, for which the firm analyzes and comments on the evolution of the law and topical issues. For example, we contribute to: Entertainment Law Review, TV international, International Law Office, Beltel, Key4biz, Interlex, Gaming News and Gambling Analyst.

Service

Technical excellence, although essential, is not enough to satisfy clients' expectations. Client satisfaction also depends on quality of service. Our firm applies service levels which are typical of the legal profession in the United States and United Kingdom, characterized by accessibility, availability, responsiveness and reliability in meeting deadlines.
For example, we return calls as soon as possible, generally within two hours; we are available outside normal working hours if required; we communicate with our clients and others in a comprehensible manner that is appropriate to their background.

International Scope

The activity of our firm is mainly international: 60% of our clients are from outside Italy. We also provide legal advice for Italian clients in relation to their activities and investments abroad.
Our firm is not affiliated with foreign law firms or networks. Instead, we work with several law firms around the world - each a leader in its sector - on the basis of relationships that are consolidated by the quality of our work together, not dictated by exclusivity agreements.
All of our professionals can work comfortably in English. In order to help them improve and refine their language skills, the firm organizes in-house English courses. Each professional's training also involves English courses abroad and English or US law courses.

Fees

Depending on our agreement with the client, our fees may be computed on an hourly basis, with flat fees, etc.
Our firm is especially conservative in recording and charging for the services it provides.
For example, when billing on an hourly basis:

we believe it is fundamental to learn about our clients' business, industry and approach - we do not charge for the time that we devote to this activity
we do not charge for travel time
when more than one professional attends a meeting, we do not automatically charge the client for each professional's time, but instead assess the value added by each of the participants
if a new professional is involved in a matter, we do not charge for the time that he or she spends in getting up to speed

To find out more about the professionals who make up the firm, please consult the People page.

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