The legal profession shall not be regarded lightly. With a significant influence in society and its development, the highest expectations should be set for those who practise it -including their personal traits. Specifically, resolving critical issues with legal application should be entrusted to individuals with not only an understanding of the law but conscious utilisation in the interest of society.

Roberto Gilardino’, Regional Partner at Horizons, background in comparative law, an academic area that studies various legal systems across the world, has aided his career in helping customers. Due to western misconceptions about China’s culture and history, customers investing in new jurisdictions such as China may misunderstand the legal system.

From the Horizons lead office in the heart of downtown Shanghai, Roberto, in addition to his portfolio, oversees the advisory’s transnational operations. His Shanghai-based team, whose expertise rests in corporate issues and property safeguards, liaises day-to-day with Horizons’ regional offices, serving as the advisory’s global gateway.

“By understanding various legal frameworks, we may have a richer sense of its society, the inhabitants’ habits; and so forth. Such life patterns captivate me the most and are essential in bridging cultural differences from various jurisdictions,” explains Roberto. He further suggests that through exploring new patterns together, parties of different cultures may co-exist with win-win results, positive communication, and mutual understanding.

Bringing Expertise through Experience

Prior to joining Horizons, Roberto worked in ministries, government agencies, and the business sector in Italy, Russia, Japan, and China. He is based in downtown Shanghai, China, and is in charge of the advisory’s international activities in both inward and outbound investments. His legal practise focuses on company law and property protection. He specialises in international business and corporate law, with a focus on company governance, strategic negotiation, and shareholder protection.

With over 30 years of experience handling clients in other jurisdictions, Roberto guides clients through cultural subtleties and peculiarities that may make or break cross-border transactions. Language and cultural differences can appear as critical confrontations between parties of various nationalities. As a result, his team and Roberto did not simply practice law; they negotiated differences to deliver the best corporate solutions to generate profitable businesses for clients.

As an Italian national, Roberto is fluent in Italian and fluent in English, Russian, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.

Addressing Major Corporate Challenges

Horizons Corporate Advisory provides turnkey legal, tax, and accounting solutions to comprehensively safeguard cross-border investments. Its specialists in over 30 countries support customers by tackling company difficulties from a local, national, and international perspective. As a consequence, investments comply with all of the regulations that they cross, and clients retain control over their cross-border assets despite geographical distance and cultural differences.

The firm primarily develops the corporate structure for investments, entering new markets or reorganizing current operations. Frequently, it is discovered that shareholders were misled, resulting in investments that were improperly structured, or that existing subsidiaries had multiple compliance difficulties. As a result, Horizons Corporate Advisory creates plans for shareholders to keep or reclaim control of their subsidiaries.

Leading as a Regional Partner in North Asia

Being a regional partner in North Asia and other countries, according to Roberto, is a two-pronged posture. Internally, he manages client projects for the Shanghai team and teaches legal professionals to turn their academic knowledge into developed practice.

Externally, Roberto helps customers by being close to them and predicting their business difficulties before they materialize. Clients shape his professional approach, and he identifies their underlying difficulties by going deep to find the intangible and carefully listening to their challenges. As a consequence, his team and Roberto can develop real-world solutions that provide measurable benefits.

Developing and promoting skills, as well as assisting would-be brilliant individuals in determining their future in the legal profession, is an interesting duty and responsibility that Roberto takes on with great joy.

Living with Principals

Roberto has been practising Aikido (7th Dan), Iaido (5th Dan), Kendo (4th Dan), and Goju-ryu Karate (3rd Dan) since the age of eight, and has carried forward the principles of his esteemed teacher, Kenji AMAGAI; an extraordinary octogenarian who has greatly influenced Roberto’s personal and professional growth.

Success, according to Roberto, varies from person to person. For him, success is defined by “correct” professionalism both within and outside of the job. Regardless of the end aim, he feels that this technique has always advanced his path. He shares, “From my youth, my core beliefs have focused on honouring my commitments and remaining dedicated, productive, and respectful of those around me, building a respectable reputation both within and outside of my organisation.”

Believing in Collaborative Success

In China, Roberto led the talks for large dual technology acquisitions. The case, in which he represented the vendor, was a watershed moment in China’s technological advancement. The client requested that Horizons expedite the purchase because negotiations had been delayed for more than a year and the parties were stuck on many conditions. He led charges in the negotiation team to break through the walls generated by distrust, cultural differences, and misunderstanding. The business was able to rebuild confidence and teamwork between the parties after they realised they had the same goals.

Roberto was honoured to be in charge of a historic transaction and the formation of a relationship between the two parties. He was pleased with the results of the case. His negotiation approach is to generate a win-win and establish a partnership that will ease issues in the later stages.

At Horizons, the management values the unique strength of collaboration. The team works and achieves success by collaborating together, rather than individual efforts; this is fundamental in successfully serving clients. Roberto opines, “Namely, we believe that professionals from a broad range of backgrounds and experiences can offer diverse perspectives and know-how in solving corporate challenges. The team tackles challenges from multiple perspectives and generates highly attuned solutions for the ever-changing business landscape.“

Encouraging More Female Participation in the Legal Field

Many law graduates who enter the legal profession want to be involved in fascinating cases and advance their careers. However, practising law is a well-developed art form that necessitates patience. Individuals can develop skills even if they are assigned to minor or uninteresting tasks. Fresh grads should not be concerned with whether the projects are huge or small, but rather view each assignment as a steppingstone in developing their craft. Horizons’ management teaches junior attorneys to take responsibility for their work so that every outcome reflects their expertise. In this way, junior attorneys are encouraged to share responsibilities and devote their whole attention to projects or tasks.

For young women entering the legal world today, there are more options to improve work flexibility since COVID-19 has accelerated agile working practises that align with out-of-work responsibilities such as raising families. Aspiring women lawyers should not be intimidated by the specific challenges faced by women in a predominantly male-dominated profession. Rather, seek opportunities and firms that support female leadership and work-life balance.

At Horizons, the team encourages its female professionals to speak at events to increase the visibility of women in the legal field. Roberto believes that by doing so, the firm can play an active role in changing the perception of what lawyers are and aspires to see more females advance to senior positions.

Reshaping the Corporate Structure

Horizons Corporate Advisory has over 40 years of expertise guiding both inward and outbound Chinese investment and has seen China’s fast economic expansion and shifting regulatory landscape. Due to rising labour costs, many conventional industrial plants, such as retail, have relocated to South Asian or Eastern European countries. Nonetheless, the Chinese market attracts foreign brands. Roberto states, “Foreign investment has changed rapidly over the last two years with the restricted borders, and we see an increase in local senior management hires with international experience rather than headquarters dispatching foreign employees to the Chinese entities.”

Roberto and his colleagues are currently addressing challenges emerging from border limitations for Horizons’ international and Chinese headquarters. Employee misbehaviour can become widespread when geographical distance and poor communication are combined with remote or ineffective management. Typically, full investigations are required to identify legal issues, rewrite corporate policy, or, in extreme fraud situations, terminate top management and pursue lawsuits.

Moving forward, Roberto discusses how businesses must comply with increased data security and anti-money laundering regulations. With stricter data handling regulations and financial institutions subject to stricter know your client protocols, the firm is positioning companies by developing robust policies with flexibility. Companies are therefore compliant with existing standards and can swiftly align with upcoming requirements.

As a result, Roberto anticipates more situations of repositioning clients in accordance with the rapidly changing legal landscape and assisting them in remaining adaptable to a new normal. Roberto and the Horizons team are thrilled to play a significant part in redesigning the corporate structure with far more efficient ones for clients.

Website: www.horizons-advisory.com