Valentino Garavani long ago resolved succession issues at the company he started in the 1960s, selling the Valentino label to holding company HdP in 1998. Since then the brand has changed hands twice, most recently being snapped up by UK private equity firm Permira. Another giant of Italian fashion, Giorgio Armani, continues to stall his plans for a future when he is no longer around to lead his fashion house.
Like Italian fashion groups, Italian independent law firms and their star lawyers are also grappling, or postponing, succession issues and seeking to institutionalise the firms they lead. The transformation is not always easy, as shown at Italian top-tier independent Gianni Origoni Grippo & Partners, where nearly 100 lawyers are getting ready to pack their bags to set up a new firm come 1 December.
