freebly: Riccardo Valle (ex Orrick e Alma-LED) joins the firm and the first office in Rome is launched

ICCIUK member freebly launches its first office in Rome and announced Riccardo Valle as a new team member of the company.

Milan-Rome, 2 November 2023 – freebly, the first Italian law firm established as an SB (Società Benefit) and specialized on sustainability, corporate social responsibility, and ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) issues, now also B Corp certified, officially lands in the Capital thanks to the addition of a highly experienced resident corporate lawyer.

Graduating with honours in 2000 from Federico II University in Naples, with a master’s degree in Energy and Environment from the Engineering Faculty at La Sapienza in Rome, admitted to the Bar since 2003 and the Cassation lawyers’ list since 2019, Riccardo Valle began his professional journey at the age of 23 with Tonucci, also working in Tirana, Albania. After an experience at Cleary Gottlieb & Hamilton form 2004 to 2005, he returned to Tonucci & Partners until 2009, before becoming a senior associate, special counsel and later of counsel in the M&A department of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe. A long and fruitful experience until late 2021, followed by joining Alma-LED as responsible partner for regulated markets (Pharmaceutical, Energy, Environment) and administrative law in the last two years.

From his initial words, it is clear how Riccardo got the right mood to join freebly: “With maturity and having a portfolio of established clients, the natural choice on the horizon should have been to join a new large law firm. So, I crossed paths with freebly: a place where we are People before Lawyers, without, however, abdicating the highest standards of the legal profession (including internationalization, a subject dear to me, given that I worked for many years in US LLps like Orrick and Cleary). I believe that the areas in which I work are suitable for creating a good fit with the ESG paradigm that is in freebly’s DNA”.

Because freebly is an organisation that places People at its core, the news of Riccardo’s new entry deserved precedence over the opening of the first desk in Rome. Nonetheless, it is an extremely important step, driven by the desire to tangibly expand the range of services to clients and lawyers in such a strategic market, ensuring a presence, especially endorsed by the profile of the new partner.

In this regard, the new location was not a casual choice. The modern Regus Tiburtina Center in Piazza Carlo Magno, located within the “Città del Sole (City of the Sun)” project, has a strong symbolic significance in terms of urban regeneration. Designed and built to revitalize a neighbourhood defined as the new hub of integrated mobility, especially thanks to the Tiburtina Station equipped with a high-speed rail terminal, the facility was entirely built with a focus on innovation and environmental and energy sustainability, themes that are in complete harmony with freebly‘s fundamental values. Notably, the “Città del Sole” project was awarded the “Best Urban Redevelopment Work in Italy” in recent years. Best wishes for a successful career to Riccardo Valle and for the fruitful growth of freebly‘s team in Rome.