Franco Grilli Cicilioni
Director - Legal
"I am a lawyer by trade but, somewhere in my heart, there has always been a special place for animals.
My father was a veterinary doctor. When I was a little boy, he often used to take me, after homework, to the beautiful Italian countryside where we lived, visiting his patients in farms. I cherished those moment and have never forgot them. Since then, there have always been pets in my house, as a child and teenager, a law student, a husband and father of four boys.
Currently, our family includes Ras, a white labrador, and Romina, a British Shorthair. That is where my enthusiasm to join this project comes from, in addition to pay tribute to my hero vet father."
Franco's Professional Profile
Franco is a senior international lawyer consistently ranked among top financial law practitioners. He acts as team leader and client relationship partner in complex corporate, financial and investment transactions.
Main areas of Franco’s experience are: debt and equity capital markets; corporate M&A; asset, corporate and project financing; investment funds; banking and financial regulation. His activities span mostly over the Oil&Gas, Healthcare, Real Estate and Transportation industries.
Currently, Franco is a Principal in the innovative DIFC law firm Support Legal Limited. Previously, he was the Financial Services Leader for the MENA Region at EY (Ernst & Young) Law LLP (DIFC) since 2018.
For 20 years, Franco has been a Partner in the so called Magic Circle global law firm Clifford Chance, both in Europe and in the United Arab Emirates, where he built a solid recognition, both internally (Head of Finance and Capital Markets (Italy), Member of the Capital Market Strategy Committee (Worldwide), Member of the Partners Selection Group (Worldwide) and Central Support Partner for the Middle East Capital Market Group), and externally (awarded, among others, “Innovative Lawyer of the Year” (Financial Times 2007), “Global Finance Deal of the Year - Debt Capital Markets” (The American Lawyer 2013).
He graduated in Law at Bologna Alma Mater University (Italy) and obtained a LLM in International Banking and Financial Law from Boston University (US). He is currently registered as a practising lawyer in Italy and UAE and has been registered for 12 years as a European practising lawyer in the UK. He has operated in the MENA Region since 2013.
With more than 20 years of experience in three different continents, Franco is able to advise on complex and innovative matters and transactions and to deal with any type of entity, from Central Governments and Authorities to Supranational entities and financial and non-financial, private and publicly listed, companies.