Davide is a legal counsel, working in the European headquarters of Ralph Lauren, based in Geneva, Switzerland.

He’s part of an 11-strong team responsible for coordinating the company’s legal approach on a broad range of issues.

He says: “My particular specialty is in corporate law and compliance for issues in EMEA, which can involve anything from taking care of corporate matters to negotiating contracts or working on the implementation of new policies for anti-bribery and anti-money laundering. For instance, we’ve recently negotiated the group’s new $500 million credit facility agreement.

“At the moment, Ralph Lauren is putting a lot of focus into improving its e-commerce offering and investing in marketing initiatives, so an increasing amount of my time is spent looking at the legal issues around that.

“For instance, we’ve recently launched our website for the Swiss market, which presented particular issues we don’t typically face in the European Union.

Davide joined the Firm in 2012 straight from law school. He started as a trainee in the Milan office and went on to become an associate, working primarily in Capital Markets, Corporate M&A, and Banking and Finance, before leaving in 2018 to take up his current role.

He says: “I really enjoyed my time with the Firm, but I was interested in working in-house, so joining Ralph Lauren allowed me to do that, while also moving to a new country.

“While at White & Case, I loved getting the opportunity to have a broad understanding of several clients in a variety of industries, but working in-house allows me to specialize in one business and a single industry.

“Like the Firm, Ralph Lauren is also diverse, with people in my office coming from a variety of backgrounds and countries.”

“What attracted me to White & Case was the chance to work with other offices across the network and to do cross-border work.”

Davide joined Ralph Lauren at an exciting time, just as the brand was expanding into new areas.

He says: “One of the great things about fashion is that it’s always changing and innovating, so you have to adapt to keep ahead of the competition.

“In recent years even luxury brands have had to put more focus on sustainability and making their products environmentally friendly, while at the same time ensuring the highest possible quality of our products. This comes with legal challenges related to where we manufacture, what rules we need to consider, and how we market our products.”

Davide credits the Firm with giving him a good grounding for his future career.

He says: “What attracted me to White & Case was the chance to work with other offices across the network and to do cross-border work.

“I loved the fact that the Milan office was quite small, so I knew everyone and got to work with partners regularly from day one.

“It was great to get close mentoring, and I worked on some fascinating projects.

“Working for the Firm also gave me a real passion for the profession and an eye for detail, teaching me to always respond to client needs urgently and without losing focus on the bigger picture.”

One of these involved representing J.P. Morgan in its financing of the Pedemontana Lombarda Motorway project in northern Italy.

Davide explains: “It was a really long, demanding and complex process involving aspects of Italian, English and U.S. law, but it was also very rewarding.”

Davide has stayed in close contact with his friends and colleagues from the Firm and has already worked with them as external counsel during his time at Ralph Lauren.

He says: “One of the great things about White & Case is the people, and I have a lot of very good friends at the Firm.

“They are extremely skilled lawyers who I know we can rely on to offer an unparalleled level of expertise and service, and I can’t see us losing touch.

“I’ll always have fond memories of my time at the Firm.”