Today our members elected our 2025–2026 Executive Board, including our new President, Paola Sangiovanni. She is a partner at Gitti and Partners in Milan, Italy where she has extensive experience in negotiating and drafting complex international contracts and significant expertise in compliance, personal data protection, and anti-corruption legislation. Her sector expertise spans healthcare, life sciences, new technologies and renewable energy. For the past two years, she has served as an Ally Law officer and, prior to that, as a member of the network’s board.

Said Sangiovanni, “I am excited to serve as President of Ally Law. The practice of law transcends borders, serving as a bridge for collaboration and mutual understanding among nations. In my role, I will work hard to foster cooperation and international knowledge sharing, as I believe lawyers are uniquely positioned to strengthen the foundations of democratic societies everywhere.”

Sangiovanni will serve with a team that includes incoming First Vice President Juan Pablo Cardinal (Richards, Cardinal, Tützer, Zabala, Zaefferer; Buenos Aires, Argentina), a telecoms, media and technology (TMT) specialist and leader of Ally Law’s Latinx initiative, who served previously as the network’s Secretary; and incoming Secretary Linky Trott (Edwin Coe; London, United Kingdom), who has been a member of Ally Law’s board for several years and also serves as leader of her firm’s Employment practice. James Turner (Mcveagh Fleming; Auckland, New Zealand), a skilled litigator with significant experience in commercial and employment matters, will serve another term as Ally Law Treasurer. 

New members of the Ally Law board include three directors: Amanda Fugazy (Ellenoff Grossman & Schole, New York), head of her firm’s Labor & Employment Law Group and co-head of the firm’s Hospitality Practice Group; Takashi Hirano (Blakemore & Mitsuki, Japan), a lawyer and litigator focused on corporate, antitrust, intellectual property and labor law; and David Phelan (Hayes solicitors; Dublin, Ireland), head of his firm’s Commercial and Business Team and whose practice is focused on media, corporate and commercial, and intellectual property matters.

Returning to the board of directors are:

• Shane Coblin (Kornfeld; Vancouver, Canada), an accomplished litigator whose practice is focused on construction, real estate and commercial disputes. 
• Denise Junqueira (Cascione Advogados; São Paulo, Brazil), an experienced international trade, competition and antitrust lawyer licensed in São Paulo and New York.
• Harvey Koning (Varnum; Grand Rapids, Michigan), a top-ranked lawyer advising commercial clients on mergers, acquisitions, capital raising, corporate governance and related matters.
• Judith Marsh (Vorys; Columbus, Ohio), a nationally recognized lawyer advising large retailers and consumer brands on corporate, commercial, franchising and distribution matters.
• Gina Tresidder (Russell Kennedy; Melbourne, Australia), an experienced corporate and commercial lawyer with an emphasis on privacy, data protection, information technology and intellectual property.