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Criminal defence lawyers · Milan — Monza — Ferrara
Criminal defence as an exercise in responsibility.
Over thirty years of white-collar and corporate criminal defence: rigorous analysis of the case file, professional responsibility, risk oversight over time. Alongside companies, directors and executives in proceedings with high economic, organisational and reputational impact.
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Misappropriation: the first act of dominion, and when the date moves– 1 September 2026
Areas of practice
The areas in which the Firm operates.
Studio Petrali assists companies, directors and structured groups in the main areas of business criminal law, with an approach built on preventive risk analysis, a structured reading of the facts and consistency of defence choices over time.
Companies, directors and executives
Assistance in criminal proceedings involving companies, directors and executives, with an integrated reading of legal and economic-organisational facts. The defence is built from the company’s real structure, delegations, decision-making flows and internal documentation.
Corporate, insolvency and tax offences
Defence in proceedings for corporate, insolvency and tax offences, focusing on management conduct and individual imputation. The work is aimed at precisely reconstructing the functions actually exercised, operational limits and individual responsibilities.
Embezzlement, fraud, bankruptcy offences, self-laundering
Defence in proceedings for embezzlement, fraud, bankruptcy offences, self-laundering and business-related crimes. Each case is analysed in its economic and financial dimension, distinguishing business risk, management error and criminally relevant conduct.
Seizures, disqualifications and personal precautionary measures
Assistance in the most delicate stages of the investigation: immediate, targeted action to protect personal liberty, business continuity and assets, with particular attention to the proportionality of the measures.
Corporate defence and compliance models
Defence of entities in proceedings under Decree 231/2001 and support in drafting organisational models: designed not as formal compliance, but as concrete tools of prevention and courtroom resilience.
Relations with Prosecutors and investigators
Structured management of relations with Prosecutors and investigating authorities, with a prudent, documented approach. Every interaction is governed with method, procedural awareness and risk control, respecting the defence role and investigative dynamics.
The method
Method, regulatory coherence and decisions that hold over time.
Facts first, then the law
The Firm’s working method is based on a rigorous reconstruction of the facts in their concrete, economic and organisational dimension. Legal analysis follows a substantive understanding of conduct and context, avoiding abstract or merely formal readings of the rules.
A professional structure
The Firm operates as an autonomous, accountable criminal defence structure, directly managing the technical defence choices. Every engagement is followed with personal continuity, without improper delegation or standardised approaches.
Clear responsibilities and positions
Criminal assistance is aimed at clearly delimiting individual responsibilities and the roles involved. The goal is to build consistent, sustainable defence positions, taking account of procedural, personal and organisational implications.
Professional compatibility principle
The Firm does not assist in situations requiring merely opportunistic solutions or defensive shortcuts. It operates exclusively in contexts compatible with a rigorous, responsible approach that respects the rules of criminal procedure.
Experience
Experience, method, continuity
Experience gained in criminal proceedings of major systemic impact, starting with the Tangentopoli season, has shaped a method founded on technical rigour, control of complexity and full professional responsibility. Every engagement is followed with direct continuity and absolute confidentiality.
Defence of business and management
The Firm practises business criminal law, assisting companies, structured groups, directors and executives in complex proceedings. The approach combines courtroom defence, an economic reading of the facts and preventive assessment of organisational and reputational consequences.
Complex groups and structured organisations
Criminal assistance to articulated business groups and large organisations operating in sectors with high regulatory and media exposure, including large-scale retail: management of complex criminal proceedings and ongoing advice to top governance bodies.
Confidentiality
Confidentiality is a non-negotiable principle of the Firm’s practice. Every engagement is handled with the utmost discretion, under professional secrecy and through a direct, fiduciary relationship with the client.
The founder
Marco Pierpaolo Petrali
The Firm stems from the personal experience of its founder, built over more than thirty years of practice in business criminal law.
Marco Pierpaolo Petrali is the founder and principal of Studio Legale Petrali, an independent professional firm with offices in Milan and Monza, active for over thirty years in business criminal law.
A law graduate of the University of Pavia, he trained as a criminal lawyer in Milan under Lodovico Isolabella and Armando Salaroli. He has been admitted to practise before the Higher Courts since 2007. Since 1995 he has continuously practised criminal defence, assisting companies, structured groups, directors and top management, with particular reference to complex proceedings of high economic, organisational and reputational impact.
From 2000 to 2018 he acted as criminal counsel for leading large-scale retail groups, including Billa AG (formerly Standa Commerciale) and Penny Market, covering around 140 stores nationwide. For over five years he was criminal legal advisor to Carrefour Italia (GS S.p.A.). He has also gained significant experience in the courtroom defence of entities under Decree 231/2001.
His professional approach is marked by technical rigour, strategic analysis and an economic reading of the criminal facts, aimed at a solid, consistent defence protecting the company and its bodies as a whole.
- Law degree — University of Pavia
- Admitted before the Higher Courts — since 2007
- Monza Criminal Bar Association — Special-part criminal law committee
- Monza Forensic Foundation — lecturer in criminal law and procedure
- Network — commercialistiavvocati.net
The Firm
Offices
Ferrara — Meeting address
Via Bagaro 3 (angolo Corso Porta Po 98)
By appointment
Frequently asked questions
Do you handle only courtroom defence or preventive advice as well?
The Firm assists clients both in courtroom defence and in preventive advice, with particular attention to the stages before criminal proceedings emerge. The aim is to control legal risk before it becomes judicial exposure, through a technical analysis of facts and organisational contexts.
Do you assist directors, executives and governance bodies?
Yes. The Firm provides criminal defence to directors, executives and members of control bodies, regarding individual liability and involvement connected with company management. Each position is assessed autonomously, respecting its subjective and procedural specifics.
Do you practise business criminal law and corporate offences?
The Firm has historically focused on business criminal law, including corporate, insolvency and public-administration offences. The approach combines criminal-law reading with the economic and documentary analysis of the transactions at issue.
Do you assist large groups and structured organisations?
The Firm has experience assisting complex business groups and large organisations operating in sectors with high regulatory and media exposure, including large-scale retail. The work pays particular attention to reputational profiles and business continuity.
How do you approach high-media-exposure proceedings?
High-profile proceedings are handled with a rigorous, confidential approach, centred on the case file and respect for the process. The Firm avoids any spectacularisation of the defence, favouring a technical, measured strategy that is consistent over time.
Do you also handle corporate liability under Decree 231/2001?
Yes. The Firm assists companies and entities not only in 231/2001 proceedings but also preventively, preparing and updating organisational documentation before charges or proceedings arise. The aim is to build consistent, defensible arrangements.
Is assistance limited to the trial or does it continue?
Assistance is not confined to a single procedural stage: it can continue over time, supporting the client in post-proceeding choices and in managing the organisational, personal and reputational effects of criminal exposure.
How is confidentiality guaranteed?
Confidentiality is a non-negotiable principle. Every engagement is handled with the utmost discretion, under professional secrecy, through a direct fiduciary relationship with the client, limiting information flow to the strictly necessary.
Criminal Law Observatory
Legislative news and case law.
The main legislative and case-law developments, selected and summarised by the Firm as a first orientation on business criminal law.
Misappropriation: the first act of dominion, and when the date moves– 1 September 2026
Preventive Seizure in VAT Fraud: Who Sets the Scope– 24 August 2026
Fraudulent bankruptcy through fraudulent transactions: Cassation upholds the conviction– 17 August 2026
Bankruptcy offences: operative part, reasons and limitation– 5 August 2026
Damage to cultural and landscape assets: when the company is liable too– 4 August 2026
The Morandi bridge collapse: the first-instance judgment and what it means for business– 29 July 2026
Environmental criminal law: Legislative Decree 81/2026 also reaches corporate liability– 29 July 2026
Almasri case: duty to forward the ICC’s cooperation requests– 23 July 2026
The Firm’s services
A first confidential, direct discussion.
Present your matter: the Firm responds with technical rigour, confidentiality and professional responsibility.