Clifford Chance’s (CC’s) former Italian senior partner, Vittorio Grimaldi, has angered his former firm by taking an apparent swipe at it in an advertisement promoting the launch of his new firm.

The controversial advert, which has provoked anger from the London-based giant, appeared in the Italian daily business newspaper Il sole 24 Ore and sparked resentment from CC over the use of the word ‘rinascita’, which translates as ‘rebirth’.