Giancarlo Ferrara
Lawyer · Partner · admitted before the Italian Court of Cassation
Civil, criminal, commercial and corporate law
The firm’s professionals
Lawyers and Of Counsel in Como
Ferrara, Zappoli & Partners is an Italian law firm partnership based in Como, bringing together seven Italian-qualified lawyers across nine practice areas: civil, criminal, employment, commercial and corporate, real estate, family, succession, and insurance law, in addition to providing outsourced legal department services. While licensed to practice nationwide throughout Italy, six partners are registered with the Como Bar and one serves as of counsel with the Milan Bar. Furthermore, three of our lawyers are admitted to practice before the Italian Supreme Court of Cassation and higher courts (having gained admission in 1988, 2002, and 2022, respectively).
The firm is based in Como, at Piazza Alessandro Volta 33. Court work is conducted in the district of the Court of Como and in the other districts of the Milan Court of Appeal and, where required, before any Italian court. Assistance is provided in Italian and English.
Where a matter requires it, legal assistance is complemented by a Dottore Commercialista e Revisore Legale, an Italian accountancy and tax professional registered with the Ordine dei Dottori Commercialisti e degli Esperti Contabili of Como and with the Italian register of statutory auditors, acting as of counsel and tax advisor, on the corporate and tax aspects of the Italian and international clients handled by the International Desk.
An integrated approach to law and business advice
Since 1955, Ferrara, Zappoli & Partners has assisted individuals, families, institutions and businesses. Its Como office is the centre of a litigation and advisory practice that extends across Italy and to matters with international elements.
The firm’s organisation combines the individual preparation of each professional with coordination between practice areas: court work proceeds alongside out-of-court assistance and the tools of dispute resolution – assisted negotiation, mediation and settlement.
Continuous dialogue between the legal side and the accounting and tax side allows every matter to be examined from both perspectives, out of court and in court.
The professional team
The profiles below present the firm’s avvocati and of counsel, with the practice areas each of them handles and a link to the full profile.
Silvia Zappoli
Lawyer · Partner · admitted before the Italian Court of Cassation
Civil law, employment law, commercial and corporate law, compliance, ongoing business support
Giorgio Ferrara
Lawyer · Partner · admitted before the Italian Court of Cassation
Criminal law, real estate and construction law, family and child law, ongoing business support, cross-border transactions
Marco Ferrara
Lawyer · Associate
Insurance and road traffic law, civil law, real estate and construction law, cross-border transactions
Stefano Mossino
Lawyer · Associate
Insurance and road traffic law, succession, family and child law
Raffaella Leoni
Lawyer · Associate
Civil law, succession, tax law
Alessandra Tell
Lawyer · Of Counsel
Civil law, commercial and corporate law, medical malpractice, ongoing business support
Luca Bisceglie
Accountant · Of Counsel
Tax, cross-border tax planning, corporate finance
“Justice is the constant and perpetual will to render to each his due”
Who handles your matter
Each practice area has one or more professionals of reference; the International Desk covers matters with international elements. Where a situation involves more than one area of law, it remains with a single lawyer, who involves colleagues from the other areas when this is necessary.
For a general overview of an area of law, the practice area page – or the International Desk page – is the starting point; for a specific situation, the reply comes from the professional who will handle it.
How you reach the right professional
Access to the firm follows three steps.
- 01
When the enquiry is received, the firm considers the nature of the legal question or the dispute.
- 02
The matter is then assigned to the lawyer who handles that area of law, who takes direct responsibility for the relationship with the client.
- 03
Where a matter has cross-cutting implications – for example combined corporate and criminal aspects – the lawyer in charge is supported by professionals from the firm’s other areas.
The value of a multidisciplinary approach: Law & Tax coordination
Working with a Dottore Commercialista e Revisore Legale as of counsel and tax advisor makes it possible to examine the legal and the tax aspects of the same transaction together. It is used in particular in International Desk matters and in ongoing support to businesses.
Every corporate transaction, property acquisition or restructuring of assets is assessed simultaneously from two complementary perspectives: the legal and contractual one (drafting and negotiating documents, protecting guarantees, preventing disputes and regulatory compliance) and the economic and tax one (analysis of the tax effects of the transaction, anti-money laundering obligations, business taxation and customs or cross-border aspects).
Institutional appointments and recognition
The firm’s lawyers have held positions in bar bodies, exercised honorary judicial functions, taken on roles in public bodies, publicly owned companies, mutual benefit organisations and foundations, and have experience in public administration:
- 1978-1981Giancarlo Ferrara, Consigliere, member of the Council of the Ordine degli Avvocati di Como, the Como Bar Association
- 1982-1990Giancarlo Ferrara, Giudice Conciliatore in Como for civil matters, an honorary judicial office for lower-value civil disputes
- 1984-1992Silvia Zappoli, Giudice Conciliatore in Como for civil matters
- 1990-1992Giancarlo Ferrara, member of the City Council of Como
- 1993-1996Giancarlo Ferrara, member of the Board of Directors of Società Pubblici Trasporti S.p.A., the Como public transport company
- 1998-2019Giancarlo Ferrara, Vice President of the Mutua Sanitaria Provinciale di Como, a provincial mutual health benefit society
- 2003-2007Giorgio Ferrara, Istruttore Direttivo Amministrativo, a senior administrative officer post, at the Amministrazione Provinciale di Como, the provincial administration
- 2019-2025Giorgio Ferrara, member of the Board of Directors of the Mutua Sanitaria Provinciale di Como
- 2023Giancarlo Ferrara, recognition by the Ordine degli Avvocati di Como for fifty years of registration with the Bar
- 2025-presentGiorgio Ferrara, member of the Board of Directors of Fondazione Ca’ d’Industria – ETS, a Como non-profit foundation
The secretariat and the firm’s organisation
The firm’s secretariat welcomes clients, manages the appointments diary and coordinates document flows with the courts, in constant liaison with the professionals responsible for each file. It is the first point of contact for arranging a meeting and for sending documents.
Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions about the firm’s professionals
What does it mean that a lawyer is admitted to appear before the higher courts?
It refers to an avvocato entered in the special roll kept by the Consiglio Nazionale Forense, the Italian National Bar Council, which is open to lawyers who meet the seniority and the other requirements set by the professional legislation. Registration allows them to represent clients before the Court of Cassation, the Council of State and the other higher courts. Three of the firm’s professionals are admitted, since 1988, 2002 and 2022 respectively.
How does admission before the higher courts affect the conduct of a case?
It allows the same professional who has handled the case on the merits to deal with any appeal to the Court of Cassation, without transferring the file to another lawyer. From the opening stage of proceedings, the prospect of a later review on points of law informs the choice of arguments and the drafting of documents.
How is the lawyer who will handle my matter assigned?
The name of the professional assigned is given when you first hear back from us, on the basis of the prevailing area of law and the specific features of the case. The firm identifies a lawyer of reference, who remains the client’s single point of contact and works with colleagues from complementary areas where the matter requires it.
What is the difference between partner, associate and of counsel?
Partners are the members of the studio associato and share in its organisation; the managing partner directs it. Associates are avvocati practising within the association alongside the partners. An of counsel works with the firm on a stable or periodic basis without being either a partner or an associate: here they are an avvocata admitted to the Milan Bar and a Dottore Commercialista e Revisore Legale registered with the professional body in Como.
Who handles matters involving foreign clients?
The International Desk is handled by Giorgio Ferrara, Marco Ferrara and Luca Bisceglie, a Dottore Commercialista e Revisore Legale who deals with its tax aspects, across the Desk’s four areas – property law, corporate and business law, residence and taxation in Italy, succession and civil law. Assistance is provided in Italian and English.
How is tax advice handled within the firm?
Tax assistance and tax planning are handled by the Dottore Commercialista e Revisore Legale acting as of counsel and tax advisor, in coordination with the firm’s lawyers. This integrated model makes it possible to address the tax aspects of a transaction together with the legal and corporate ones, within the boundaries of each regulated profession.
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