Linklaters Bags Former Freshfields Head of Innovation for Italy

Global legal services business, Linklaters, has announced today the appointment of Maziar Jamnejad as Innovation Manager for the firm in Italy. He was previously Global Head of Legal Innovation at rival Freshfields, and also worked most recently at HSBC where he was on secondment.

The move is slightly unusual as Italy has not been the main centre for legal tech innovation investment in Europe, so hiring a heavyweight to be based there is a major commitment – and a positive sign of growth for Italian legal tech initiatives. He will also work on developing an Innovation Hub in Milan (pictured), the firm said.

The firm commented: ‘The arrival of Maziar represents a decisive step towards consolidating the role of Linklaters as an innovative player in [Italy]. Maziar will continue to harmonise and develop the many activities launched by Linklaters in Italy with the aim of creating a Legal Innovation Hub capable of capturing processes of disruptive innovation and thus generating real value for clients and stakeholders.’

Andrea Arosio, Managing Partner at Linklaters in Italy, said: ‘We need to identify innovations that can change operational and organisational models, by encouraging ideas that can make our business grow by focusing on an incremental innovation model enabled by technology.’

Jamnejad added: ‘I’ve been really impressed by the innovation taking place in Linklaters Italy – the firm has made leaps and bounds in improving client service while keeping an eye to the lawyer experience and diversity, it is a pleasure to be able to bring to Milan, Rome and Lecce learnings from other global centres and help the firm continue its journey of responsible modernisation.’