Qualified Legal Opinions

The qualified legal analysis that enables the assessment of opportunities, risks, and strategies before any decision is made

Alongside legal consultancy, assistance, and representation in the areas covered by our Units, the Firm offers an independent service of qualified legal opinions, intended for those who require a rigorous and impartial legal assessment before deciding whether, and how, to take legal action.

It is important to distinguish from the outset between two concepts that are often confused. Legal consultancy, in the strict sense, is preparatory and functional to the granting of a mandate, whether judicial or extrajudicial; it is designed to guide the client toward an operational decision and normally results in a defensive mandate or a concrete assistance activity. A legal opinion has a different nature and its own independent value: as a pro veritate opinion, it provides a legal analysis of the issue, supported by the relevant statutory and case law authorities, for the resolution of a dispute that may even be purely hypothetical, or concerning a matter that the client may ultimately decide not to entrust to counsel.

A legal opinion neither presupposes nor promises litigation: its purpose is to understand the law applicable to a given set of facts, to assess risks and opportunities, and to support decision-making with full awareness of the legal implications. It may be a document that the client ultimately chooses to keep in a drawer, or a strategic asset to be deployed in future litigation.

Upon engagement, the questions on which the Firm is asked to express its opinion are defined clearly and unambiguously. Legal opinions may be provided in two forms, with the choice left to the client:

• Oral opinion: includes a complete review of the documentation, followed by a forty-five-minute meeting, either remotely or in person, during which we reconstruct the factual framework, illustrate the available legal solutions, and answer the client’s questions. This is a confidential and interactive format designed for those who wish to engage directly with the professional.
• Written opinion: the traditional legal opinion, prepared on the Firm’s letterhead. The written format is appropriate where the opinion is intended for external use: a formal and citable document, drafted according to the standards of a qualified legal opinion, which the client may present to third parties, including counterparties, institutions, public authorities, organizations, or other professionals.

The Firm’s legal opinions may concern any area covered by our Units, with a particular focus on matters of a transnational nature and highly specialized cases where multiple legal systems overlap and the correct identification of the applicable law is decisive. Our clients in this field are primarily associations and law firms from other countries, especially outside the European Union, such as Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom, dealing with cross-border immigration, citizenship, or family law matters and requiring a clear and reliable legal framework concerning the aspects of their engagement governed by Italian law.

In other cases, a legal opinion serves the client’s need to navigate significant life changes correctly, such as relocating to another country, or to gain a clearer understanding of their position regarding rights to be asserted against public authorities. For example, within the scope of Italy Visa Investments, we provided an opinion on international social security matters for an Italian citizen residing in Uruguay. We reconstructed the social security coordination mechanisms between the two countries, identified the relevant domestic legislation, the 1979 Bilateral Social Security Convention, and the Double Taxation Convention, and identified the aggregation of contribution periods as the appropriate instrument to optimize pension benefits. This work exemplifies the method with which we approach every matter entrusted to us.

With regard to legal opinions issued in connection with potential litigation, special mention should be made of an opinion provided by our Family Law Unit concerning a medically assisted reproduction (MAR) procedure undertaken by two Italian citizens in Albania. Following the unexpected dissolution of the couple, it became necessary to coordinate Albanian legislation on medically assisted reproduction with the provisions of Italian Law No. 40/2004 and with the principle of international public policy. The authority of the opinion persuaded both the opposing party and the Albanian clinic, which had refused to proceed with embryo transfer in the absence of the consent of both parents, ultimately enabling our client to fully exercise her right to pursue her maternity project.

Finally, within the activities of our Cidadania Italiana Unit, particularly significant opinions have addressed the recognition in Italy of natural filiation concerning ancestors born out of wedlock in Brazil who, according to local laws and traditions, were declared at birth by their Brazilian father but not by the mother who transmitted Italian citizenship iure sanguinis. Equally significant have been the opinions prepared for lawyers in Brazil regarding the so-called “Great Naturalization Decree,” which dominated litigation concerning Italian citizenship by descent between 2019 and 2022.

The guarantee of the quality and reliability of our legal opinions lies in more than eighteen years of professional practice and a well-established reputation in the fields of immigration law, citizenship law, family law, and international mobility for commercial, employment, and entrepreneurial purposes. This experience enables us to transform even the most complex legal question into a clear, well-reasoned, and immediately actionable legal opinion.