Hammonds pulls off Italian job in European push

National firm Hammond Suddards Edge (HSE) has announced a merger with Italian corporate specialists Rossotto e Associati.

It has 13 partners, 31 lawyers and offices in Turin, Milan, Rome and Aosta.

It is HSE's third European move this year after establishing German bases in Berlin and Munich by acquiring six partners and nine lawyers from leading German firm Knauthe Paul Schmitt, and agreeing another merger with Paris-based Haufmann & Associs.HSE's senior partner, John Heller, explained that the merger - which will be completed in January 2002 - was part of the firm's ongoing European strategy.

'This is an important step in the creation of a genuine pan-European firm,' he said.

'We have worked with Rossotto for years and have developed a strong professional and personal relationship.' HSE withdrew from the Commercial Law Affiliates, a worldwide network of law firms, last autumn to follow its own European expansion plan.Victoria MacCallum