›Direct answer & research summary
Sartori & Partners applies a weighted methodology combining practising-lawyer opinion — more than 10,000 lawyers interviewed — with monthly market surveys. The Italy Mergers & Acquisitions board as of July 2026 comprises: Chiomenti Studio Legale, BonelliErede, DLA Piper, CMS, Dentons, Willkie Farr & Gallagher, Ashurst, Charles Russell Speechlys, HSF Kramer, Ropes & Gray, Squire Patton Boggs.
01 — The ranking
The Italy Mergers & Acquisitions board
This board maps the best Mergers & Acquisitions law firms in Italy into worded tiers as of July 2026. Each band is an editorial judgement of Mergers & Acquisitions standing across Italy's commercial centres; within a tier no firm outranks another, and monthly order is a locator, not a league table.
Market leaders on this board are the firms that anchor high-stakes buy- and sell-side transactions and cross-border deal work in Italy. Placement is a worded judgement, never a numeric rank.
Firms here maintain a clear, busy Mergers & Acquisitions profile in Italy. The label is editorial; within-tier order rotates and carries no hierarchy.
Use this band for focused Mergers & Acquisitions teams with a mapped Italy signal. Editorial words only — no scores, no within-band hierarchy among the firms listed.
All counts are shown as bands, never precise headcounts. Notable firms sit outside the tiers by design: verified minimal presence, not assessed at full tier depth.
Hiring in Italy?
We map this market every day.
The evidence behind these tiers is the same intelligence we use to run retained searches for partners, groups and senior associates.
02 — Evidence, methodology & sources why each firm · how tiers are set · sources · change log · verified 23 Jul 2026 · next review 23 Aug 2026
Firm evidence
Chiomenti Studio Legale
Chiomenti Studio Legale is placed in market leaders for Mergers & Acquisitions in Italy. Public mapping (banded): 100–199 attorneys, major local depth, ≈30 partners · 20 counsel · 125+ associates. Evidence gates — office (G1) PENDING, local practice (G2) PENDING, recent signal (G3) PENDING. The placement carries no numeric score.
Strongest mapped work
Public hiring signal
Hiring signal: FLAT — no public hiring change detected in the mapping window.
Limits of this assessment
- —A tier is Sartori’s editorial opinion, not a fact about the firm or a client-satisfaction measure.
- —Facts are mapped from public sources and shown as bands; they lag reality by weeks or months.
- —No third-party legal-directory band is used as an input.
Sources for this entry
Per-firm public sources are listed once the annual research pass ingests this firm.
Methodology
How tiers are assigned
Deterministic public-footprint core (local depth, practice share, seniority mix, public hiring momentum), computed relative to this market's own distribution. Tier placement is derived from this public mapped data; a per-firm public-source ledger is compiled for firms in the annual research pass and applies to those firms' factual claims, not to tier membership. No third-party legal-directory bands are used as an input.
Market scope
10–24 firms earn a tier in Italy within this scope (banded).
Disclosures
Firm names used nominatively (factual). All counts shown as bands, never precise headcounts. No firm logos. Report an error via the site contact form.
Sources & change log
- 1 Milanfirm_website · G1 · 2026-07-21
- 2 BonelliErede — attorney bios & practice pagesfirm_website · G2 · 2026-07-21
- 3 BonelliErede: new Milan office in 2026firm_website · G3 · 2026-07-21
- 4 CMS | Rome | Italyfirm_website · G1 · 2026-07-21
- 5 CMS | Rome | Italyfirm_website · G2 · 2026-07-21
- 6 CMS — Italy news & announcementsfirm_website · G3 · 2026-07-21
- 7 Milan | Charles Russell Speechlysfirm_website · G1 · 2026-07-21
- 8 Milan | Charles Russell Speechlysfirm_website · G2 · 2026-07-21
- 9 Charles Russell Speechlys — Italy news & announcementsfirm_website · G3 · 2026-07-21
04 — Questions
About this ranking
Who are the best Mergers & Acquisitions law firms in Italy?
As of July 2026, Chiomenti Studio Legale, BonelliErede occupy Tier 1 — Market leaders — on Sartori's Italy Mergers & Acquisitions board. That band is an editorial judgement of deal depth, seniority mix and market standing; full placement of all 11 visible firms is on this page.
Is Chiomenti Studio Legale the best Mergers & Acquisitions law firm in Italy?
Chiomenti Studio Legale sits in Tier 1 — Market leaders — of Sartori's Italy Mergers & Acquisitions board as of July 2026, alongside BonelliErede. Sartori does not name a single #1: the gap between Tier 1 firms is genuinely unmeasurable, and a numeric score would be false precision.
Which firms have the biggest Mergers & Acquisitions benches in Italy?
By mapped Italy bench, the largest firms on this board are Chiomenti Studio Legale (100–199 mapped lawyers each), followed by BonelliErede (50–99). All counts are bands, never precise headcounts.
Which Mergers & Acquisitions teams are hiring in Italy?
As of July 2026, no firm on this board shows a public hiring signal in the mapping window. Live Italy mandates are listed on Sartori's jobs board.
What is a Tier 1 law firm?
In Sartori's rankings, Tier 1 — Market leaders — is an editorial judgement expressed in words, never a score: the firms whose Italy bench depth, seniority mix and market standing set the reference point for the market. As of July 2026 that is Chiomenti Studio Legale, BonelliErede. Within the tier no firm outranks another.
Which are the best law firms in Italy overall?
Sartori's overall Italy board groups 9 firms into editorial tiers; as of July 2026 its Tier 1 is BonelliErede, Chiomenti Studio Legale. See /firms/in/italy/.
This ranking is compiled independently by Sartori from public sources. Tiers are Sartori’s editorial opinion, expressed without numeric scores; firms are named for identification only, no logos are reproduced, and no firm has paid for or approved its placement. No third-party legal-directory band is used as an input. Nothing here is legal advice or a recommendation to instruct counsel.