Firm Name: Batini & Associates
Jurisdiction: Italy
Practice Area: Shipping Law
20123 Milano
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Professional Biography:
Leaders in Law endorses Alberto Batini as our exclusively recommended Shipping Law expert in Italy. If you wish to get in touch with Alberto please use the contact information provided above.
Alberto manages the firm’s London office, which was opened in the City in early 2014 to assist the London insurance market with its Italian exposure. He travels between London and Milan.
His main areas of expertise are shipping law, P&I assistance, hull and machinery work, ship arrest, arbitration and litigation, domestic and international transactional work, transport and logistics and marine cyber risks.
He speaks English and Spanish.
Professional experience
Alberto graduated in Law in 1990. In 1991-1992 he spent a long training period with the London firm Sinclair Roche & Temperley (now Stephenson Harwood) in their Admiralty and Litigation Department.
At the end of 1992 he moved to the Standard Steamship Owners P&I Club, Charles Taylor & Co in London, as claims handler in the Club’s Italian Syndicate.
In the same year, Alberto joined Batini & Associati as an equity partner, and later the firm Batini Traverso & Associati in Italy.
Academic background and memberships
Faculty of Law degree from Pisa University in 1990 with a final dissertation thesis on “The European Economic Interest group: an application to the shipping industry”.
Registered as a qualified lawyer at the Livorno Law Society on 21.10.1993.
Registered at the Milan Law Society on 21.10.2010.
Admitted as advocate at the Italian Supreme Court.
In 1993 Alberto obtained the “18th Maritime Law Degree” at the University of Southampton, Faculty of Law, Maritime Law Institute.
In 1995 he obtained a postgraduate doctorate (PhD) at the University of Trieste in shipping and transport law, submitting a thesis on “Towage contracts – public and private law profiles”.
In 1998 Alberto was appointed Vice President of the Ibero American Maritime Institute (IIDM), Italian Section, a position which he retained until a few years ago. He has been a permanent Member of the Steering Committee of the Italian Association of Maritime Law (AIDM) and a member of the working group on maritime liens and mortgages at the CMI Centenary Conference hosted in Antwerp in 1997, as well as in the CMI Plenary Sessions in Singapore in 2000 and in Vancouver in 2004.
Alberto has been International Professional Partner of IUMI (the International Union of Marine Insurers) since 1.1.2017, following an IUA proposal.
Alberto has also been recently appointed as Global Leader of the Marine Special Interest Group within the Global Insurance Law Connect international network (globalinsurancelaw.com), of which he is also the executive board member for Europe. He is a founding member of the International Yacht Lawyers Network (iyln.com) and a member of the Insurance Committee and of the Transport Committee of the IBA.
He is a regular panelist in international seminars and events on international, shipping and insurance law, and the Honorary Consul of the Netherlands for coastal Tuscany.
Publications
Alberto has written several articles and publications on international and shipping law, and has delivered several congress papers, including:
- Il contratto a favore di terzo nel trasporto terrestre (Ipsoa), 1996
- Lifting of arrest of foreign ships in Italy (Shiparrested.com, Marseille), June 2006
- The hidden costs of Customs clearance of goods (Interlegal, Ukraine), September 2010
- The broker’s role in negotiating and fixing charterparties (Novorossiysk), 2010
- The Italian section of Shipping Law for the international legal magazine “Getting The Deal Through” until 2013
- The P&I Club’s right of action against a Classification Society (Vincenzini Batini Insurance Events, London), November 2015
- The Italian section of Enforcement of Foreign Judgements and Awards (Thomson Reuters) in 2015-2016 and 2016-2017
Firm Description:
The “Sisters” or the Sisters Olive Trees of Noah are a grove of sixteen olive trees in the Lebanese town of Bechealeh. Some 6,000 years old, they are probably the oldest olive trees in the world. According to common folklore and some Bible scholars, these are the trees from which the dove took the branch back to Noah when the deluge subsided. 
In fact, these “trees of Noah” are considered by locals to be a living miracle, because they have managed to survive 6,000 years of climatic shifts, plagues, wars, diseases and changing civilizations.
The firm of Batini & Associates was established in 1960 by the founding partner Giuseppe Batini, who is still acting as of counsel. Some Partners left in 2009 to set up Batini Traverso & Associates.
Nowadays, the resulting firm of BTG Legal is an independent Italian law firm providing a full range of services to assist and advise Italian and multinational insurers and corporations, in different classes of business such as insurance and reinsurance, shipping, transportation and dispute resolution.
The firm now has over 30 experienced professionals spread over the main offices of Milan, Rome, Genoa, Leghorn, Ravenna, Naples and London, plus an extended network of local correspondents in the main Italian ports, and in the more important international business centres, with a special focus on the United States and the eastern countries of Russia and the Ukraine.
With its in-house skills and extended network of correspondents, the firm provides worldwide specialised legal services, including general liability, professional liability, medical malpractice, D&O, marine and related insurance, arbitration and litigation, sale and purchase of ships, real estate and commodities, shipbuilding, sales, purchase and building of pleasure yachts, taxation, international finance, property, environmental liability and alternative energies such as PV and solar, wind and geothermal.
On regulatory matters the firm provides assistance to domestic and overseas operators throughout the whole business chain (the authorization process, corporate governance, product development, distribution and special transactions).
In dispute resolution, the firm assists clients in handling complex and sizeable disputes in the pre-contentious phase and throughout all the various procedures, including mediation, ADR, arbitration and litigation (including before the Supreme Court).
The firm also gives advice and assistance on the establishment and management of limited liability companies, both in Italy and in many other European and non-European countries, as vehicles for local and international investments.
The firm participates in the international business market with a complete and flexible structure which has been developed over the years, always true to the vocation of a boutique firm which can provide a tailor-made and customised service to clients.
The international and educational experience of our partners and associates ensures creativity, rapid response and a clear understanding of our clients’ business objectives.
The touchstones of our professional service are thorough dedication to the highest standards of quality, a global responsiveness to the client’s needs, a cost-effective service and a pragmatic attitude in facing complex and cross-border matters.
A considerable amount of work is international in nature. We can assist clients within Italy and in other countries. We service our clients through our network of best friends in key jurisdictions – in particular, North America, North Africa, the European Union, Russia and Asia.
That is why we are the unique Member for Italy of the exclusive international legal network Global Insurance Law Connect (GILC).
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We know that, for our clients, our understanding of the different legal systems and business cultures of these regions is a critical aspect of the advice we offer and the solutions we provide.
Our philosophy has always been focused on building and maintaining a long-term professional relationship with clients, founded on mutual trust and respect.
BTG Legal has expanded recently, recognising and adapting to the changing market. The increase in overseas and international clients and the need to respond to globalisation have resulted in many additional professionals joining the firm.
Most of our lawyers have obtained postgraduate degrees from leading universities in Italy and abroad, and have accumulated much overseas experience, particularly in the United States and the United Kingdom. The firm is able to provide assistance in other languages such as English, French, German and Spanish.
A notary is available for anything which must be publicly registered in Italy or England and Wales, including as to transfers of property, the formation of a business, and wills and other documents concerning inheritance.
Our policy is to be trustworthy and expert partners to business, recognising the vital role of integrity and endeavouring to satisfy our clients’ needs in the best way possible by:
- the widest availability of all components of the firm (partners, associates and staff) who are reachable every day of the year, with the constant support of the appropriate structures to respond to the clients’ needs;
- the use of modern technology (software and videoconference);
- total confidentiality of the matters being undertaken and the information received during and also after the attorney-client relationship (such being protected also through strict rules governing access to files, both electronic and paper);
- assistance beyond Italy by cooperating with firms and individuals in various regions of the world, always selected specifically for the matter being undertaken;
- promptness in solving problems and quickness in scheduling meetings with clients;
- a competitive billing structure and constant focus on client satisfaction.
