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Francesca Cannata

Lawyer
About

Francesca is a Lawyer and works in the White Collar and Corporate Crime, Investigations & Compliance practice within the Litigation & Regulatory Department.

Francesca provides judicial and extra-judicial legal advice both to individuals and primary companies operating at domestic and multinational level with reference to corporate criminal law and other compliance-related matters, with a specific focus on Legislative Decree 231/2001 and anti-corruption provisions.

Francesca regularly participates in the defence of top managers in the context of criminal proceedings concerning bribery and corruption, fraud, corporate, tax and bankruptcy crimes, as well as offences arising from the violation of the Health and Safety at Work provisions.

Francesca provides legal assistance to companies involved in proceedings pursuant to Legislative Decree 231/2001 and has also experience in planning and carrying out defensive investigations (also preventive ones).

Francesca has specific competence in the designing and drafting of Organization, Management and Control Models pursuant to Legislative Decree 231/2001 of national and multinational companies and regularly assists the Supervisory Bodies of primary entities established pursuant to Decree 231, of which she is also an external member.

Francesca has recently carried out an in-house experience, supporting, as secondee, the Legal Division of the Italian office of a multinational group leader in the pharmaceutical sector.

Francesca is part of the DLA Responsible Business team, which coordinates the ESG-related Firm's projects. She was elected as representative of the Lawyers in the internal "Community" committee, which, among others, aims to promote and develop initiatives to improve the working environment.She graduated cum laude in 2017 from Luiss Guido Carli University and is enrolled in the Bar of Rome since September 2019.

Professional QualificationsAvvocato admitted to the Rome Bar

EXPERIENCE

  • Assistance and participation in the defence of a leading Italian multinational pharmaceutical company from corporate criminal liability charges in a case of corruption. The assistance included a wide-ranging internal defensive investigation and the designing of the company’s compliance program, leading to the dismissal of the case in the preliminary investigation phase.
  • Assistance and participation in the defence of the holding of a major Italian group active in the manufacturing sector from corporate criminal liability charges in a case of false accounting and stock manipulation. The Team obtained the dismissal of the case against the company already in the preliminary investigation phase, thanks to the internal investigation activities conducted and the compliance program designed for the client.
  • Assistance and participation in the defence, from the pre-trial phase, of a former consultant of the main Italian steel company in a criminal proceeding concerning alleged charges of bribery and corruption. The defence led to the release from custody of the client and a favourable closure of the case in a remarkably short time.
  • Assistance and participation in the defence of the Italian subsidiary of a global leading pharmaceutical group from bribery and corruption allegations investigated by the Italian Anti-Corruption Authority (ANAC), persuading the Authority to dismiss the proceedings, also in light of the suitability of the designed anti-corruption compliance program.
  • Assistance and participation in the defence of five managers of the Italian subsidiaries of a leading pharmaceutical group operating worldwide, involved in a criminal proceeding related to the alleged offence of unfaithful tax returns; the assistance included an in-depth defensive investigation, with reference to the analysis and reconstruction of the Group's transfer pricing policies as well.
  • Secondment at the Legal Division of the Italian subsidiary of a global leading pharmaceutical group, providing legal assistance, among others, to Vaccines and Internal Medicine Business Units, as well as to the production Plants in the national territory.
Languages
  • Italian
  • English
Education
  • Law degree, LUISS Guido Carli, Rome

Publications

  • WHISTLEBLOWING LAW IN 2021, A QUICK GUIDE Legal risks and protections in Europe, Italy section, European Environmental Bureau website, 2021
  • Datore di lavoro e imprese: Responsabilità penale e 231, UpAgain, 2020
  • Le vicende penali dell'impresa e l'accesso ai contratti pubblici. Qualche riflessione alla luce delle ultime Linee Guida ANAC, Rivista 231, n. 1, 2018

Prior Experience

  • Before joining DLA Piper, Francesca worked with leading Italian and international law firms.

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