.svg){kind=small}
Roberta Crivellaro
Secretary Maria Grazia Sannicandro
Roberta is managing partner of Withers in Italy and head of the 'Italian desks' worldwide.
Roberta specializes in cross-border corporate, commercial and real estate transactions in many different business sectors, such as food and wine, luxury, fashion and furniture.She is a point of reference in the Italian market for transactions involving family offices or family businesses with a particular focus on corporate reorganization issues and generational business transitions.
She completed her legal training abroad, qualifying as a solicitor. She worked for many years in London and was the first Italian woman to become a partner in a City law firm.
Upon returning to Milan in the early 2000s, in 2010 she launched the Italian practice of Withers, immediately taking on the role of Managing Partner. For nine years, she also served as European Leader of Withers’ Business Division.
She remains today among the very few women managing partners of business law firms in Italy.
Achievements
In 2026 and 2025 she was listed by Citywealth among the Top 50 advisors for Non-Doms and UHNW individuals in Italy.In 2025, Forbes Italy included her among the 100 most successful women in Italy, highlighting her role in driving economic and other forms of progress in the country. In 2024, Forbes Italy mentioned her among the top 100 consulting professionals in Italy.
Since 2019, she has been a regular presence among the Best 50 Italian lawyers, a directory promoted by the publication LegalCommunity. In 2020, the same publication listed her among the few women managing partners of a law firm in Italy, recognizing her contribution to a historic transformation within the Italian legal market, historically led by men.
In 2025 she led the Italian offices of Withers to obtain the UNI/PdR 125:2022 certification for gender equality.
Since 2014, the international directory Legal 500 EMEA Italy has consistently listed her as a recommended lawyer in the areas of corporate and commercial, real estate, food and beverage, and fashion and luxury.
Clients
Recent recognition
Me in a minute
I am an advocate of equal opportunities for women in the workplace
From the first day I started studying law at Padua University I knew I wanted to be an international lawyer dealing with corporate/real estate cross border issues. In particular, I enjoyed learning about different systems of law - civil and common law, which proved to be most appropriate as I now deal with these differences on a daily basis.
I also love to travel, both within Italy and to other countries, which my job entails.
To relax and wind down, during my free time I cook and am a big fan of the Mediterranean diet. Healthy food is a must at home. When my children were in primary school, I sent them off with packed lunches to be sure they were eating correctly.
I am an advocate of equal opportunities for women in the workplace and in particular in the legal profession. At Withers, there are many women in senior positions, which I find most inspiring.
Track record
Family business reorganizations
Roberta is active in family business reorganizations, regularly assisting prominent Italian families with complex successions and corporate restructuring issues. In addition, she often advises on M&A transactions on behalf of the founders of family businesses.
Italian real estate advice
Roberta is a leading expert in Italian real estate. By way of example, she provides ongoing assistance to an international luxury club and hospitality complex that has invested in new concept hotels in Italy. She is also very active in trophy asset transactions where one of the parties is often a foreign investor.
Wine industry advice
Due to her long-standing experience in the food & beverage sector, with a particular focus on wine, Roberta provides ongoing assistance to some of Italy's most prominent wine producers and organisations. She acts for them in various matters such as M&A, joint ventures, acquisitions of wine estates and a variety of commercial agreements especially in relation to their international activities.
Legal Community
In 2021 Roberta was listed in LegalCommunity's annual rankings of the 50 best business lawyers in Italy, one of only five women.
Talks
Roberta often participates as a leading speaker and moderator in various events and round tables. Amongst her latest featured events and webinars:
-
Lecturer - AIFO's Family Offices Master Programme, 2016 - 2025
-
Chairman of the “Law Firm Symposium 2025 - Law Firms 4.0: Strategies for the New Legal Era” by Global Symposium, 2025
-
Event "Family businesses at the challenge of the generational transition: experiences, perspectives and legal innovations", Withers and Banca Generali (2025)
-
Event “Envisioning2035 - Wine (R)evolution: Strategic Plan for Italian Wine”, (2025)
-
Round Table “Building bridges, not walls: reconnecting families, values and visions to preserve and transform the great shared wealth”, Withers and Alti Tiedmann (2025)
-
Lecture ‘Succession planning after the reform of the Consolidated Law on Succession and Donations: novelties and opportunities’ at the Advanced Training Course ‘Generational Transfers and Family Business’, SAF Triveneta and Order of Chartered Accountants (2025)
-
Lecture ‘The family office as a family governance tool’ at the Executive Programme in Family Office Professional, Politecnico di Milano (2025)
-
Lecture ‘Corporate Governance and Generational Transitions’ at the Master in Fasion and Luxury Law, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (2024)
-
Annual conference ‘The Skills Challenge for Family Offices’, Family Office Observatory - Politecnico di Milano (2024)
-
Event “Family businesses: corporate governance and opening to capital: new market instruments”, UBS and Gatti, Pavesi, Bianchi, Ludovici (2024)
-
‘Presentation of 2023 Family Office report’, Politecnico di Milano (2023)
-
"Wine Calling: Strategies for investing in US wineries," Withers presentation for select Italian clients - January 27, 2022, co-presenter
-
'Covid-19 and hospitality: challenges and future of the sector', Webinar in partnership with Gianni Origoni Grippo Cappelli & Partners, World Capital, Silver Fir Capital, Currie & Brown and Credit Agricole, May 2020
-
'Generational succession in Italian SMEs', Webinar in partnership with Milano Notai and Bocconi University, AIDAF, May 2020
-
Ambrosetti - Withers: 'Governance, tutela del patrimonio e continuità generazionale nelle imprese familiari', ('Governance, wealth planning and generation continuity in family business'), Arcugnano (Vicenza, Italy), September 2019
-
'Facciamo 31': 'Thinking out of the box', September 2019
-
STEP Annual Italy Congress: 'The new vocabulary in Wealth Planning' - 'Family businesses: governance and succession agreements; evolution and proposals' November 2019 (and previous STEP annual congresses)
-
'Investing in wine estates in the US: opportunities and regulatory considerations', Winetowine (Vinitaly), December 2017
-
'Conversations on women talent: Withers champions Italy's female professionals', April - May - July 2017
-
Lecturer at the Executive Master on Wine Export Management, organized by Edmund Mach Foundation, May 2017
Insight
External publications
Roberta is often contacted by major Italian newspapers, such as 'Corriere della Sera' and 'Il Sole 24 Ore', to provide her insights on the food and beverage sector (especially with regard to the wine market) and on the real estate market in Italy, in relation to hotels and hospitality.
Amongst her latest feature articles and publications:
'Pink Power', Italia Oggi Sette, 2020
'Flessibilità e condivisione dei ruoli in famiglia', ('Flexibility and sharing of family roles') Il Sole 24 Ore, 2020
'I consigli di Roberta Crivellaro per fare carriera come avvocata', ('Roberta Crivellaro advises on legal careers for women'), 2019, Corriere della Sera
'Le 100 donne Italiane vincenti', ('The top100 Italian female winners'), Forbes Italy, 2018
"L'avvocatessa dei billionaires", ('Lawyer to the billionaires'), Forbes Italy, 2018
'I paesi più attraenti per gli studi legali', ('the most attractive countries for law firms'), Market and Business Magazine, March 2017
'Le signore del diritto scalano la governance delle law firm', ('Women Lawyers move up in the governance of law firms ') Italia Oggi, March 2017
Admissions
Italy, 1994
England and Wales, 2005
Education
University of Padua, Italy, LL.B equivalent
Languages
- English
- Italian
Memberships
STEP (The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners)
Roll of Solicitors for England and Wales
International Bar Association
British-Italian Law Association
Fondazione Bellisario
30% Club
Key dates
- Year joined: 2005
- Year became partner: 2008