Luca Failla

Practice Areas

Luca Failla is the Founding and Managing Partner of Failla&Partners.

His practice focuses on providing assistance to national and international businesses in all areas of Italian employment and labor law – including providing counsel on Italian employment litigation, executive contract negotiations, directors and officers liability, know how protection, personnel reduction reorganizations, damages reputational protection, corporate reorganizations, outsourcing, trade union negotiations, data privacy, employment contracts, dismissals, pension schemes … and more recently workforce management when businesses are faced with unforeseen periods of distress – such as with the recent pandemic and threat of an energy crisis.

Over the past 20 years, Luca Failla successfully managed some of the most sensitive litigation cases, layoffs, and restructuring plans, building extensive experience in the field and providing his Clients with unparalleled support in these matters

A number of these set new legal precedents and were also extensively covered in the national press .

About Failla&Partners

Failla&Partners is an Employment Law firm founded on the 35+ years of experience of its Founding & Managing Partner Luca Failla and the historical team he has worked with.

For decades, together, they have been providing counsel on a wide range of people management issues that companies must face each day – from general administrative items such as company policies, health and safety in the workplace, employment contracts etc. - to more complex matters such as sensitive litigation matters, collective bargaining agreements, European Works Councils, and collective dismissals.

Failla&Partners provides assistance to multinationals and foreign Clients (Companies and International Funds) in all areas of Italian Employment and Labour Law — both throughout the country and internationally. Failla&Partners supports Clients in all day-to-day activities, including:

• Sensitive M&As reorganizations, outsourcing, workplace restructuring processes and lay-offs;

• Sensitive Litigations procedures,

• Consultancy and managing disciplinary procedures

• Handling dismissals, internal investigations, and whistleblowing

• Know-how and unfair competition protection;

• Data privacy

• Drafting employment contracts, company policies, and ethic codes

• Immigration matters and much more.

Career

Luca Failla is a name that many in the legal industry will be familiar with as in 2006 he became a Founding & Managing Partner of the notable Italian employment law boutique LABLAW. He was also one of the founding members of the international employment law network L&E GLOBAL. Also of note is the alliance between LABLAW and Deloitte Legal in Italy which Luca spearheaded in 2020, running the position of Head of Employment team.

In 2022 Luca Failla established Failla&Partners with a team of trustable expert professionals (Elisabetta Cassaneti, Marcello Buzzini, Claudia Marasciuolo, Lorenzo Marano and Paola Salazar), who have worked alongside of him for decades – ensuring a continuation of the high level counsel clients received in the past continues also in the future.

Professional Memberships

- International Bar Association (IBA)

- American Bar Association (ABA)

- European Employment Lawyers Association (EELA)

- The Association of Italian Employment Lawyers (AGI)

- The Association of Italian Law Firms (ASLA)

Personal

Luca is the author of many books and articles on a wide range of employment matters. In addition, he regularly appears as panelist at conferences both in Italy and around the world. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Employment Law at LUM De Gennaro University (Bari).

This role ensure that he is always deeply engaged in both the theoretical and actual practice of Italian Employment and Labour Law – and perhaps more importantly always up to date on the most recent changes to the regulations which govern the labor force in Italy.

Luca has a unique curriculum built on a professional career of 35+ years dedicated exclusively to Employment and Labour Law.

Languages Spoken

Luca speaks English, French and Italian.

Clients

What they say:

""Luca Failla is very attentive and knowledgeable about client needs. He provides accurate and precise answers."

- Client 2025

"The Founding Partner of Failla&Partners is one of the most renowned Labor Lawyers in Italy and can boast a track record of absolute quality in litigation. He recently followed one of the most important labor litigations in the country,"

- LegalCommunity Labor Awards 2024

"The founder Luca Failla is an outstanding professional. His attention to all details, and meticoulous approach to the facts, along with a long legal experience in the labour world and the capability to reassure his clients make you feel him more as a colleague than a consultant "

- Client 2024

"Luca Failla is excellent and his thoughtfulness and defence of our position has been critical."

- Client 2024

"‘Luca Failla: by far the best labour lawyer in Italy. Serious, prepared, with the ability to put various points into a framework."

- Client 2023

"Luca is a highly competent lawyer and a partner in strategic choices."

- Client 2023

Work Highlights

Below are some examples of a range of the numerous matters Luca has provided counsel to clients on in recent years:

CESSATION OF BUSINESS:

Advised an internationally recognized brand on the closure of a facility which impacted 200+ employees. Advised on the strategic negotiations with the Trade Unions and the settlement with all the impacted workers.

CRISIS MANAGEMENT:

Advising employers on access to government sponsored furloughs, and other safety nets when a business finds itself in a period of distress. Counsel also provided on bringing employees back to work when a crisis situation is resolved.

DATA PRIVACY:

Providing counsel on privacy regulations for business, the protection of personal data, drafting and review of disclosures to employees and clients, GDPR and relations with the Privacy Guarantor and the Ministry of Labor, video surveillance authorizations and control devices pursuant to article 4 Law no. 300/70, biometric data, GPS etc.

DAY TO DAY COUNSEL:

‘On Call’ with numerous national and international companies – with our team providing counsel to them several times a day throughout the year on a range of legal human resource matters and strategy.

DEMATERIALIZATION OF THE OFFICE:

Advised an Italian company on a pioneering reorganization program to introduce ‘work from home’ for all of their employees – representing the first dematerialization of a workplace in post-pandemic Italy.

DISMISSALS:

Defended a well-known international brand against a claim of unfair dismissal and discrimination which set a new legal precedent in Italy and at the European level.

EUROPEAN WORKS COUNCIL:

Advising on the setting up of a European Works Council in 15 countries for an international company.

HEALTH & SAFETY IN THE WORKPLACE:

Advising businesses on the protection and safety of employees at work, occupational diseases and accidents at work.

IMMIGRATION:

Drafting of posting agreements and posting letter templates from Italy and abroad, completion of related tasks, management of mandates for social security representation and the appointment of representatives in Italy for transnational secondments.

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS:

Advised an organization with 4000+ employees in more than 20 locations on the renewal of the company level agreement.

INVESTIGATIONS:

Advised an internationally recognized company on a very sensitive internal investigation which uncovered sophisticated illicit activities involving 30+ employees.

LABOR LITIGATION

A history of advising on some of the most important labor litigation cases in Italy - also with results which create new legal precedents.

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS:

Advised on the employment law aspects of the sale of a business with 700 locations and 2000 employees in Italy.

REORGANISATIONS:

Advised an internationally recognized company on a complex business reorganization, which has led to a 20% reduction of the workforce - hence saving 80% of the existing positions.

RESTRUCTURING:

Advised an international company on the downsizing of its Italian business. The implementation of a solidarity contract led to 60% of the workforce retaining their positions. After complex trade union negotiations - binding agreements were signed before the Italian Ministry of Labor.

SOCIAL SECURITY:

Assistance in the audit and social security litigation before INAIL, INPS (challenges of administrative sanctions and measures of tax collection and assistance in litigation both in social security inspection and in administrative and judicial proceedings).

TRANSFERS OF BUSINESS:

Management and assistance with business transfers and harmonization of labor contracts of transferred employees, assistance in negotiations with trade unions and during the litigation initiated by labor organizations.

… and much more!

Awards