Federica Restivo is a Senior Associate in the Barcelona office of Giambrone & Partners Studio Legale Internazionale.
She has been dual-qualified as an Avvocato since July 2023 (Bar Association of Palermo) and as a European lawyer since January 2024 (ICAB).
In addition to her native Italian, Federica is fluent in English and Spanish.
Education
She graduated in Law from the University of Palermo, where she defended a thesis in International Economic Law, achieving a mark of 110/110 cum laude and receiving academic recognition for her academic record.
She subsequently completed an LLM in European and Global Law at the prestigious Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, presenting a thesis on the international protection of trademarks in cross-border commercial transactions.
From the early stages of her academic career, Federica focused her path on international and European law.
In 2017, she studied at the University of Santiago de Compostela under the Erasmus programme. In February 2019, she was awarded a scholarship and participated in a Student Exchange Programme between the University of Palermo and the University of Business and Economics in Beijing, an experience that allowed her to deepen her knowledge of international commercial and investment law. In the same year, in November, she began her career at Giambrone & Partners in the Palermo office, relocating to the Spanish office in May 2021.
Expertise
Thanks to her dual qualification, her knowledge of two key jurisdictions, and her extensive training in international and European law, Federica advises private clients and professionals on cross-border matters relating to:
company incorporation,
joint ventures,
due diligence and M&A transactions,
intellectual property protection,
investments and complex commercial agreements,
family matters in international contexts.
She acts as advisor to various Italian and Spanish companies, assisting them in the management of ongoing obligations and international contracting, providing a solid commercial perspective and guiding strategic decision-making focused on results.
She regularly assists Italian colleagues in international litigation under Spanish and/or Italian jurisdiction, offering a comparative legal approach and contributing to the development of effective procedural strategies that support the defence and achievement of the desired outcomes.
She also represents clients and advises other professionals in separation and/or divorce cases of an international nature, often involving multiple jurisdictions and complex cross-border assets.
Recent cases
- She represented an Italian fragrance company in relation to a claim alleging infringement of a well-known luxury perfume brand, brought by the French company holding exclusive licensing rights to the mark.
- She contributed to the structuring of a complex commercial agreement, assisting a team of Italian colleagues in drafting a multi-round investment contract to be executed in Spain under Spanish law.
- She assisted a leading Spanish company in the industrial cutting machinery sector in a dispute arising from the purchase of a bespoke machine alleged to be non-compliant by the end client, with potential serious reputational risk.
- She represented a commercial agency in a long-running dispute with a well-known Italian luxury fashion brand in the context of its corporate restructuring.
- She successfully assisted a client in proceedings initiated by her ex-husband, a senior executive in a retail chain, seeking a reduction (ultimately rejected by the court) of maintenance payments set in divorce proceedings.
- She has obtained international trademark protection in multiple cases, including against oppositions filed by third-party companies.
- She represented a minority shareholder in a dispute with the other shareholders after being de facto excluded from the business, while they opened a parallel venture undermining the original project.
- She has advised and represented various business owners in contentious divorce proceedings, often highly complex and involving multiple jurisdictions.
