English-speaking lawyers in Italy

Buying a farmhouse in Tuscany or settling an inheritance in Italy usually means paperwork in Italian and a legal culture that works differently from home. English-speaking lawyers in Italy help British, American, Irish and Australian clients, along with many international retirees, make sense of it.

Typical files involve property purchases, where an Italian notary (notaio) drafts and records the deed, plus residence permits, succession under Italian forced heirship rules, and setting up a company or partita IVA. Lawyers use the title avvocato and must be enrolled with a local Ordine degli Avvocati, which you can check online. Court hearings and filings take place in Italian, so foreign documents need a sworn translation (traduzione giurata) and often an apostille.

Ask early which lawyer will handle your file and whether written advice will come in English. Many English-speaking lawyers in Italy also agree a fee in writing, which is good practice under Italian rules. Plenty of English-speaking lawyers in Italy work in Milan and Rome, but provincial towns have them too. Compare the firms below and contact them directly.