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"I think people were expecting more restructuring coming in 2011, but probably there has been less than the people expected so far, there is some indeed, but not in the big way that people in the restructuring sector probably hoped for."

This summary from one partner is indicative of the market where, for various reasons, the levels of restructuring work is not reflecting the overall economic environment.

This is mainly due to a combination of 'pretend and extend' – where companies put off restructruing in the hope of an economic pick up - and a greater desire among creditors and debtors to reach agreement outside of court. In this respect firms have seen a lot of work related to Italy's US Chapter 11 equivalent, the concordato preventivo (agreement among creditors). "We have done some out of court restructuring, internally organisations of groups, distress, we get a bit of everything," says one partner.

For some, there is a feeling that the trend of delaying big balance sheet issues is not one that can be maintained and that sooner or later the chickens will come home to roost. "Those who were able to resist the first time drag along for a couple of years but are now in a very difficult situation," says one partner. "Maybe if they had restructured earlier, they would now be in a less serious situation, but probably they have hung on too long."

This could lead, according to some, to an increase in insolvency cases and more drastic restructuring mandates. "2011 is probably going to be a year of fewer cases but more serious," says one restructuring lawyer.

"[The team's legal knowledge] is very good, they're the best," says one client. "If you've problems in litigation, you go to Mr Bonelli, he's the head of the litigation department of Bonelli Erede Pappalardo, for sure that he'll have an answer for you, because he really knows his matters." Peers also point out that the firm has been very active in the market. "Bonelli have been involved in various situations," says one.

One of the largest ongoing mandates at the firm saw the team advise Fondazione Centro S Raffaele del Monte Tabor on the restructuring of its indebtedness. It is the first time that a non-profit organisation has benefited from an arrangement with creditors in a concordato preventivo (agreement among creditors) procedure. The transaction was worth €800 million.

Another notable deal saw the team advise Bialetti Industrie on the €100 million restructuring of its indebtedness. The mandate is headed by Marco Arato, Paolo Oliviero, and Vittoria Giustiniani.

Arato was again involved advising Brembo on the lease or purchase of two companies, valued at €15 million, through its subsidiary LA CAM Lavorazioni Camune. In a similar mandate, the team is advising GE Capital on the insolvency proceeding of Snia, an Italian Stock Exchange listed company declared insolvent during 2010.

Elsewhere Arato is teaming up with Vittorio Lupoli advising BM Shipping Group on an ongoing mandate to restructure its indebtedness.

"Lombardi's a litigator, it's doing a lot of work" was one peers assessment of the firm which was in line with the market perception about the Italian boutique's restructuring and insolvency practice."Lombardi's definitely in the right tier. They're still up in the running in the market," says another.

One substantial mandate saw the Lombardi team act for Carlo Tassara on its €7 billion debt restructuring.

Another notable deal saw the team assist Risanamento, a major Italian real estate development company, in its insolvency proceedings before the Court of Milan and also advised on the procedures for the validation of the restructuring agreement pursuant to Article 182-bis of the Italian bankruptcy law, concerning the restructuring of the group's financial indebtedness. The transaction was worth €3.2 billion.

A €400 million mandate then saw the team act for Carlo Combo in the restructuring agreement pursuant to article 182-bis of the Italian bankruptcy law.

Elsewhere, the team assisted Metal Group in the restructuring of its consolidated financial indebtedness valued at €200 million. The indebtedness was originally supposed to be carried out by a financial debt restructuring agreement with the banks in the context of a reorganisation plan subject to article 160 of the Italian bankruptcy law.

On another occasion, Zunino Investimenti and Nuova Parva e Tradim, the majority shareholders of Risanamento, called on the firm to advise on the procedures for the validation of the restructuring agreements pursuant to Article 182-bis of the Italian bankruptcy law.

Giuseppe Lombardi (Leading lawyer bio)
Ugo Molinari (Leading lawyer bio)

Along with Lombardi, Chiomenti is seen as the key player in the Italian insolvency market with several peers supporting the firm's position, one says: "Definitely Chiomenti. They're still up in the market," says one.

One of the largest mandates last year saw the team advise several companies of the Alitalia group in the ongoing extraordinary administration procedure and bankruptcy procedure in relation to the sale of assets; closure of foreign branches; the group's relationships with the European Commission and monitoring trustees and its relationship with creditors and authorities. The ongoing transaction was worth €1.5 billion.

The key partner who took on a number of major transactions at the firm is partner Giulia Battaglia. One example saw her advise a consortium of banks in relation to an approximately €250 million restructuring of the financial indebtedness of Motia - Compagnia di Navigazone and its subsidiary. The restructuring plan was pursuant to Section 67.3 of the Italian Bankruptcy Law.

December 2010 saw her lead the team advising Targetti Sankey on a €270 million restructuring of the indebtedness of the Targetti Group pursuant to Section 67.3 of the Italian bankruptcy law.

In a €70 million mandate, Battaglia also advised UniCredit and Credito Siciliano in relation to the restructuring of the financial indebtedness incurred by Off Side and Sicilia Golf Resort in connection with two real estate projects.

Allen & Overy has been involved in both restructuring and insolvency cases. Stefano Sennhauser was involved in a couple of banking restructuring related mandates, one example saw him lead the team advising a consortium of banks, including Intesa Sanpaolo, UniCredit, Banca Monte Paschi di Siena, UBI and Banca Popolare di Milano, on the continued negotiation related to the restructuring and rescheduling of the bank debt held by Carlo Tassara and of Carlo Tassara International for a total value of €3.1 billion.

Litigation partner Massimo Greco was involved defending an international bank and one of its managers on the civil issues of a criminal proceeding in front of the Court of Milan linked to the insolvency of Parmalat, the Italian food and dairy group. The bank and its employees were cleared by the court of charges of market-rigging linked to the collapse of Parmalat.

In restructuring, Corrado Angelelli from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advised on a number of restructuring transactions. He led the team acted for Deutsche Bank as lender and facility agent in connection with the Italian security package in the context of the restructuring of Carl Zeiss Vision's corporate finance debt worth €800 million.

Another occasion saw Angelelli involved advising Lucchini as borrower in the context of the restructuring of approximately €750 million debt of the group for general corporate purposes.

When comes to the insolvency cases, UniCredit and Banca di Roma called in the firm on the appeal proceedings brought by UniCredit against a judgement issued by the Court of Rome that has partially granted the claim brought by the insolvency commissioners of Cirio Group in order to obtain compensation damages for €500 million.

Linklaters has a strong restructuring practice in the Italian markets and this is reflected by its deal list. One highlight saw a group of practitioners, including Davide Mencacci, Francesco Faldi and Claudia Parzani, acting for Società dell'Acqua Pia Antica Marcia on the restructuring of the group's indebtedness and the related disposal of several key assets of the group in the context of the corporate reorganisation.

Another notable transaction saw Mencacci lead the team advising a consortium of banks, including Banca Nazionale del Lavoro, Natixis and UniCredit acting as lenders in relation to the restructuring of Lucchini's debt facilities worth €850 million.

NCTM's key clients include UniCredit, Intek Capital and Merrill Lynch International alike. Lead partners, including Gian Carlo Sessa and Vittorio Valieri, led a team advised UniCredit acting as leading creditor of a pool of banks on the negotiation and completion of a €150 million debt restructuring and rescheduling plan according to article 67 of the Italian Bankruptcy law.

Another example saw Maurizio Cimetti lead the team advising Fover Alluminio in connection with the preparation of the composition plan and the related proceedings before the Bankruptcy Court of Verona. Cimetti was again involved advising UniCredit Credit Management Bank in relation to the liquidation (winding up) of some of its Italian subsidiaries and relevant litigations.

One restructuring highlight at Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker saw Bruno Cova and Antonio Azzarà team up representing Lucchini on its €1 billion restructuring process; in addition, the team also advised the company on the financing agreements with the banks and the negotiation with the shareholders.

Elsewhere Alberto Del Din and Lorenza Talpo teamed up advising Barclays Capital as lender on the restructuring of existing loans granted to PlusValore and Carifin Italia in the framework of the restructuring of the Delta group, to which the two borrowers belong.

In line with the market, Legance has also got a share in advising on restructuring mandates. A group of partners including Alberto Giampieri, Luca Autuori, Andrea Fedi and Stefano Parlatore advised a pool of banks led by BNP, Intesa Sanpaolo and UniCredit on the €700 million restructuring of Lucchini.

Elsewhere the firm has landed two similar mandates when Andrea Giannelli and Luca Autuori led the team advising Koelliker group on the restructuring of the financial indebtedness of the group worth €500 million; Gruppo Blu Vacanze also called in the firm when Giandomenico Ciaramella advised on the restructuring of the financial indebtedness of the group.

Practitioners Mara Bolzoni and Stefano Sutti from Studio Legale Sutti teamed up advising creditors and the past management of the Illochroma group on their opposition to the extension of its French insolvency proceedings to its Italian business.

Livia Oglio was also involved in another notable mandate when the team advised Tandberg Data on the litigation started before the Italian bankruptcy court of the receivership of the Olivetti Group.