In our legal system, employers are required to make every effort to minimize the environmental impact inherently associated with business activities.
The obligations imposed on entrepreneurs in this area are also enforced under criminal law. Therefore, environmental criminal risks must be addressed and managed with the same rigour and expertise that a company applies to managing any risk factor related to its productive activities.
From this perspective, we assist our clients in managing criminal risks in their various forms, aiming to prevent issues from escalating to the “pathology” of a criminal trial.
We support companies, for instance, in developing appropriate delegation structures, even within complex industrial settings, and in addressing any issue with potential criminal implications related to environmental protection. This includes actively participating “on the ground” to identify the best solutions and implement preventive measures tailored to the specific characteristics and needs of each client.
The daily operations of any company, especially a large one, are exposed to a multitude of criminal risks, which are not always immediately apparent without specific expertise in the field.
These risks are associated with: the preparation of accounting records; interactions with public supervisory authorities; dealings with public administration in general or with auditing firms; participation in public tenders; and the management of sensitive information, particularly for companies listed on regulated markets or operating in financial markets. Additionally, the specific nature of guarantee roles must be considered, such as those held by a director with delegated powers compared to a director without such powers or a member of the board of statutory auditors.
These roles lead to significant differences in behaviour and varying degrees of responsibility, even when dealing with the same criminal offences.
In this diverse and complex landscape of corporate, financial, and bankruptcy-related criminal risks, we support leading Italian and multinational companies by providing criminal judicial assistance and a wide range of criminal law consultancy services.
In our legal system, employers are subject to increasingly complex and detailed obligations to protect the health and safety of workers.
These obligations, imposed on every entrepreneur in this area, are also enforced under criminal law. Therefore, criminal risk must be addressed and managed with the same rigour and expertise that a company applies to managing any risk factor related to its productive activities.
From this perspective, we assist our clients in managing criminal risk in its various forms, before it escalates to the “pathology” of a criminal trial.
We support companies, for example, in developing appropriate delegation structures to ensure a necessary balance between the tasks actually performed by the delegate and their corresponding responsibilities. Additionally, we assist our clients in addressing any issue with potential criminal implications related to workplace health and safety protection, offering tailored preventive solutions and interventions that meet the specific needs and characteristics of each client.
One of the primary risks associated with business activities is the management of tax obligations, particularly in a system like Italy’s, which is characterized by extraordinary and, in some respects, pathological complexity.
Managing tax obligations, even when aimed at complying with current regulations, is always prone to generating issues of a criminal nature. This is largely due to the difficulty in drawing a clear line between formal violations of a purely administrative nature and those serious enough to constitute criminal offences under our legal system.
For years, we have been assisting leading Italian and multinational companies in proceedings related to tax criminal law. We are able to provide specialized support, representing the company and its directors, managers, or employees in criminal proceedings and offering the necessary criminal law consultancy.
In Italy, the administrative liability of legal entities is governed by Legislative Decree No. 231/2001, which establishes the responsibility of companies and other legal entities for certain offences committed in their interest or to their advantage by individuals in managerial or subordinate roles.
This framework introduces a form of liability that, while classified as administrative, carries significant consequences, including fines, disqualification measures, and reputational damage. Offences covered include, among others, corporate crimes, corruption, fraud against the state, environmental violations, and workplace health and safety breaches.
Our firm supports companies in managing and mitigating the risks associated with Decree 231/2001 by providing specialized assistance. This includes drafting and implementing tailored compliance programs (so-called “231 Models”), conducting risk assessments, and offering training to ensure adherence to regulatory requirements. We also provide legal representation in administrative proceedings and advise on preventive measures to safeguard the organization and its stakeholders from liability.
Law Firm
Founded in 2001 by lawyer Luca Santa Maria, our firm is a well-established entity in the field of corporate criminal law.What has always defined our approach to the profession is the belief that every significant result for our clients stems from a relentless pursuit of innovative solutions, the ability to integrate diverse expertise in the criminal process, and the scientific rigour with which every issue is addressed and resolved.
We maintain strong ties with the academic community.
Doing business in Italy means having to manage criminal risk
Under Legislative Hospitable Decree No. 231/2001, companies and their directors, managers, or employees accused of offences committed in the interest or to the advantage of the company are subject to criminal prosecution and, if found guilty, face various sanctions.
We support our clients in developing Organizational and Management Models, collaborating with an external consultant who previously served as Head of Internal Audit for leading Italian companies (and currently chairs several supervisory bodies established under Decree 231/2001). It is our firm belief that criminal lawyers and corporate control experts must work together throughout the entire process of developing an organizational model. Their complementary expertise enables the creation of models that effectively prevent offences while remaining functional for business operations.
Additionally, we assist our clients in criminal proceedings involving companies investigated or charged under Decree 231/2001.
A building violation is an offence prosecuted under both criminal and administrative law, and in our country, it is a very common cause of criminal proceedings.
We provide our clients with pre-emptive legal assistance—before the initiation of criminal proceedings—aimed at understanding all criminal risks, offering qualified specialist support, and providing the necessary criminal law consultancy in this area.
The management of tax obligations, including the payment of contributions owed for employees, can give rise to criminal issues, particularly due to the difficulty in distinguishing between formal violations of an administrative nature and those serious enough to constitute criminal offences under our legal system.
In our experience, we have frequently observed a tendency by the authorities responsible for tax audits to blur the line between administrative and criminal matters, thereby triggering complex criminal proceedings.
For years, we have been assisting leading Italian and multinational companies in proceedings related to tax criminal law, providing qualified specialist support and ensuring the necessary criminal law consultancy in this area.
The industry magazine Top Legal ranked our firm as a “market leader with widespread recognition” in the specific category of “Criminal Law: Corporate/Commercial” for the years 2012 and 2013.
The inefficiency and complexity of our Public Administration create a fertile ground for the spread of corruption phenomena, leading to numerous criminal proceedings against companies, directors, managers, or employees. This also demands greater efforts from virtuous companies to compete and operate in the market.
We provide our clients with pre-emptive legal assistance in developing corporate procedures for managing relationships with the Public Administration and handling “sensitive” matters in terms of corruption risk, as well as drafting anti-corruption protocols within the organizational, management, and control model. Additionally, we offer criminal law support to the company’s Compliance Function regarding the content and application of anti-corruption guidelines and applicable laws.
The industry magazine Top Legal ranked our firm as a “market leader with widespread recognition” in the specific category of “Criminal Law: Corporate/Commercial” for the years 2012 and 2013.
The management of tax obligations can give rise to criminal issues, particularly due to the difficulty in distinguishing between formal violations of an administrative nature and those serious enough to constitute criminal offences under our legal system.
In our experience, we have frequently observed a tendency by the authorities responsible for tax audits to blur the line between administrative and criminal matters, thereby triggering complex criminal proceedings.
For years, we have been assisting leading Italian and multinational companies in proceedings related to tax criminal law, providing qualified specialist support and ensuring the necessary criminal law consultancy in this area.
The industry magazine Top Legal ranked our firm as a “market leader with widespread recognition” in the specific category of “Criminal Law: Corporate/Commercial” for the years 2012 and 2013.
Insider trading and market manipulation are administrative offences as well as criminal acts punishable by imprisonment.
The law provides for a graduated scale of penalties based on the severity of the conduct, ranging from administrative sanctions to actual imprisonment.
We offer judicial assistance to companies, their directors, managers, or employees accused of offences deemed to have been committed in the interest or to the advantage of the company, along with qualified criminal law consultancy services.
The industry magazine Top Legal ranked our firm as a “market leader with widespread recognition” in the specific category of “Criminal Law: Corporate/Commercial” for the years 2012 and 2013.
In Italy, there are a plethora of criminal proceedings underway for even minimal exceedances of the limits set by administrative bodies for gas emissions, liquid spills and waste storage.
We have recognised experience in managing complex legal cases involving environmental disasters and exposure to toxic substances: from the Stava Valley disaster to the Porto Marghera “Petrolchimico” trial and the environmental issues in Porto Torres, Bussi sul Tirino and Spinetta Marengo.
We offer preventive legal assistance before criminal proceedings are initiated, to understand all criminal risks and develop defence strategies, and we support companies in setting up an organisational, management and control model suitable for the prevention of environmental crimes and in defining a system of sanctions in the event of non-compliance with the measures indicated in the model.
Any accident at work almost automatically triggers criminal proceedings, which often involve the company’s top management.
We support companies in creating a valid and appropriate system of delegated powers to distribute responsibilities within the company and transfer certain tasks incumbent on senior management to individuals who are materially and technically capable of performing them, in order to ensure the necessary balance between the tasks actually performed by the delegate and the related responsibilities and, in general, better management of company safety, by bringing the power to intervene closer to the source of risk.
We help our clients in the prevention and management of all criminal matters relating to the protection of safety at work, identifying the best solution tailored to the specific needs of each client.
The trade magazine Top Legal ranked our firm as a “market leader with widespread and established recognition” in the specific category “Criminal: environmental/health/industrial” for the years 2012 and 2013.
Every month in Italy, a new criminal trial begins following the death of workers exposed to asbestos. In fact, our country relies solely on criminal proceedings in these cases: offences and crimes are not prosecuted at the administrative level.
Our firm has recognised experience in managing numerous complex criminal proceedings relating to asbestos exposure and CVM of workers in leading Italian and multinational companies.
We support our clients in managing all criminal matters relating to environmental protection and occupational safety, identifying interventions and solutions that take into account the specific needs of each client. The industry magazine Top Legal ranked our firm as a “market leader with widespread and established recognition” in the specific category “Criminal: environmental/health/industrial” for the years 2012 and 2013.