"Excellent at coordinating cross jurisdictional advice from multiple local counsel." Legal 500 EMEA 2011

Cristiana Spontoni is an experienced lawyer who has gained expertise working for years with the European Union’s laws and regulations in highly regulated sectors such as life sciences (including biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and medical devices), the environment (including the chemical sector) and communications. Cristiana is recognized in the 2011 edition of The Legal 500 EMEA for her work in European Union regulatory matters and recognized as a leading life sciences lawyer by PLC Which lawyer? and The International Who's Who of Life Sciences Lawyers 2010. She is also recognized in The International Who's Who of Environment Lawyers 2010.

In the life sciences sector, Cristiana advises a number of clients from a pre-market phase, including clinical trials and pre-market authorizations, to post-market issues including incident reporting, marketing and advertising practices and wholesale distribution. In the environmental sector, Cristiana advises a number of clients particularly in connection with EU chemicals legislation including REACH. In the communications area, she has particular expertise in the satellite sector.

Cristiana has counseled several governments and international organizations on a variety of legal matters. On behalf of the Kuwaiti government, she was coauthor of a report on the legal implications of the creation of a high-technology hub, addressing issues such as cyberlaws and biotechnology regulation.

In the areas of her expertise, Cristiana frequently manages and coordinates pan-European and cross-border assignments on behalf of clients and provides comprehensive analysis and solutions for cross-border regulatory issues affecting clients' operations in the European Union and Switzerland.

Prior to joining the firm, Cristiana spent two years with the European Council of Ministers and the European Commission in Brussels. Before that, she was with the Italian Attorney General’s Office where she focused on EU law. As a result of her multifaceted experience, which she has acquired not only through her work in years of private practice but also through her tenure at two of the three key EU Institutions in Brussels, as well as through her work for a national government, Cristiana has acquired a deep understanding of the EU regulatory and policy dynamics and can provide privileged access to, and a thorough understanding of, such dynamics.

Cristiana is a member of the Rome Bar Association, and the EU American Chamber of Commerce’s Healthcare and Environmental Committees and Chemicals Working Group, as well as the Satellite Action Plan Regulatory Working Group and the Women in Telecoms and Technology Group.

Representative Experience

• On behalf of numerous clients, coordinating clinical trial contracting exercises in more than 50 countries worldwide.
• Leading a global due diligence exercise in connection with the successful US$800 million sale of the diagnostic business of a major Japan-based medical devices manufacturer.
• Advising a major satellite operator in connection with the successful bid to obtain frequencies for the operation of mobile satellite services in the first ever EU-wide award procedure launched by the European Commission.
• Acting as strategic and regulatory counsel to one of the world's leading clinics in connection with the internationalization of its activities in Europe.
• Providing advice to a number of major global players worldwide in connection with compliance with EU chemicals legislation (REACH).