How a case with a local lawyer and an Italian one is run
Before a foreign court, only a lawyer admitted there can file, appear and speak to the judge. That is not negotiable. What such a lawyer frequently cannot do is select and instruct the right local counsel elsewhere, hold the whole picture across the systems involved, and explain it to the client and the family in a language they actually speak. Those are separate roles, and they are different jobs.
They exist because a criminal case crossing a border is rarely a single case. There is a proceeding in one country, often a parallel one in another, a surrender procedure between them, and a set of consequences somewhere else again. Each is handled by a different authority on its own timetable, and none of them looks at the others. The questions that decide the outcome are precisely the ones that fall between them.
Avv. Massimo Romano — Ordine degli Avvocati di Napoli n. 14553, patrocinante in Cassazione dal 23/10/2015 — Roma, Via Avicenna 97, 00146 · Milano, Via Giuseppe Pecchio 3, 20129 · Napoli, Corso Umberto I 237, 80138 — +39 335 669 3954
In brief
- Appearing before the court, filing applications and lodging appeals can be done only by a lawyer admitted in that country, and nothing changes that.
- Selecting and instructing that lawyer, briefing them on what is already known and keeping the whole picture together is work that sits outside any single jurisdiction.
- The questions that decide these cases are the ones between systems: whether consenting to surrender weakens the position elsewhere, whether an early resolution in one country closes options in the other, whether the Italian measure behind a warrant still stands.
- Choosing the local lawyer is the decisive step, and the name that happens to be available is not necessarily the right one.
- Criminal practice is specialised everywhere, so a lawyer who is strong on economic crime may not be the one wanted at a detention hearing, and the reverse holds just as often.
- What matters in the selection is the specific area, the court concerned, the working language, and availability within days rather than within weeks.
- Getting that choice wrong costs twice over, because changing lawyer in the middle of a proceeding costs time that a detained person pays for personally.
- The work runs in order: triage of country, authority, stage and deadlines; selection and instruction; preparation of the client for the hearing; then the Italian side and the consequences at home.
Who does what
| Task | Local lawyer | Italian lawyer |
|---|---|---|
| Appearing before the court | Yes | No |
| Filing applications and appeals | Yes | No |
| Selecting and instructing the local lawyer | No | Yes |
| Explaining the position to client and family | Often not in their language | Yes |
| Handling parallel Italian proceedings | No | Yes |
| Surrender, extradition and Red Notice work | Partly | Yes |
| Gathering documents from Italy | No | Yes |
| Assessing the consequences at home | No | Yes |
Why the second role exists at all
A criminal case that crosses a border is rarely one case. It is a proceeding in one country, often a parallel one in another, a surrender procedure between them, and a set of consequences somewhere else again. Each of those is handled by a different authority, on a different timetable, and none of them looks at the others.
Somebody has to. In practice the questions that decide the outcome are exactly the ones that fall between the jurisdictions: does consenting to surrender here weaken the position there; does an early resolution in one country close options in the other; is the Italian measure behind the warrant still standing.
Choosing the local lawyer is the decisive step
The first name available is not necessarily the right one. Criminal practice is specialised everywhere: the lawyer who is excellent on economic crime may not be the one you want at a detention hearing, and the reverse is equally true.
What matters when selecting is the specific area, the court in question, working language, and availability in the first days rather than the first weeks. Getting this wrong is expensive twice over, because changing lawyer mid-proceeding costs time that a detained person pays for personally.
How it works in practice
- First contact and triage. Country, authority, stage, deadlines. This alone frequently changes what needs doing first.
- Selection and instruction. Identifying the right local lawyer and briefing them on what is already known, including the Italian side.
- Preparing the client. What will happen at the hearing, what is being asked, what the answers mean. Most of the damage in cross-border cases is done by people who did not understand the question.
- Building the file. Documents from Italy — records, certificates, employment, family, medical — obtained here and sent over translated.
- Running the Italian front. Parallel proceedings, precautionary measures, the underlying warrant.
- Keeping the family informed, within the limits of what the client authorises.
The division of work between the two lawyers is fixed by what each is allowed to do. The table sets it out task by task.
| Task | The locally admitted lawyer | The Italian lawyer |
|---|---|---|
| Appearing before the court | This is their exclusive role | They cannot appear there at all |
| Filing applications and appeals | Theirs alone | Not available to them |
| Selecting and instructing local counsel | Not their function | This is the role they carry |
| Explaining the position to client and family | Often not in the family's language | In a language the family actually speaks |
| Handling parallel Italian proceedings | Outside their jurisdiction | Theirs to conduct |
| Surrender, extradition and Red Notice work | In part, on the local side of it | Across the procedure as a whole |
| Gathering documents and records from Italy | Not practicable for them | Theirs to obtain |
| Assessing the consequences in each country | Limited to their own system | Across the systems involved |
For foreign law firms
The same arrangement works in the opposite direction. A firm outside Italy with a client facing Italian proceedings needs correspondent counsel in Italy: to advise on Italian criminal law, to act before Italian courts, to handle requests for mutual legal assistance and the gathering of evidence located in Italy, and to provide opinions on Italian criminal law for proceedings elsewhere.
It is a lawyer-to-lawyer relationship with its own rhythm: clear scope, direct reporting, and no contact with the client except as the instructing firm arranges.
What it costs and why it is not double
Two lawyers do not mean twice the fee, because they are not doing the same work. The local lawyer is paid for representation before that court, on the tariff or agreement applicable there. The correspondent role is quoted separately and is normally a fraction of it.
What it saves is more concrete: choosing the right local lawyer at the outset, avoiding a decision in one country that damages the position in another, and not paying twice for a change of counsel three months in. The Italian side of costs is set out in hiring an Italian criminal lawyer.
Frequently asked questions
Can an Italian lawyer defend me in a German or Spanish court?
No. Only a lawyer admitted in that country can appear. The Italian lawyer coordinates, instructs the local lawyer and handles everything on the Italian side.
Does this mean paying two lawyers?
Two roles, not the same work twice. The local lawyer is paid for representation before that court; the correspondent role is quoted separately and is normally a fraction of it.
Who chooses the local lawyer?
You do, on a recommendation. Selection is based on the specific field, the court concerned, working language and availability in the first days.
I am a foreign lawyer with a client facing Italian proceedings.
The same arrangement works in reverse: correspondent counsel in Italy for advice, representation before Italian courts, mutual legal assistance and opinions on Italian criminal law.
If a case is open in more than one country
With the countries involved and the stage of each proceeding, the picture can be mapped quickly. First contact is free and covered by professional privilege.
The decisions that matter most are the ones no single authority examines. The table lists them with what turns on each.
| Question | Why it falls between the systems | What depends on the answer |
|---|---|---|
| Does consenting to surrender here weaken the position there | Each authority decides only its own part | Whether consent is given, and on what terms |
| Does an early resolution in one country close options in the other | No authority assesses the combined effect | Whether a resolution is accepted or postponed |
| Is the Italian measure behind the warrant still standing | The requested state does not re-examine it | Whether the warrant can be attacked at its source |
| Have the same facts already been finally judged somewhere | Neither system checks the other's files unprompted | Whether a further prosecution is barred altogether |
| Where would any sentence be served | The enforcing state's rules apply once a transfer is made | Whether a transfer is sought or resisted |
| What does the outcome mean for residence and work | It is not part of the criminal decision anywhere | Whether a resolution leaving no conviction is worth pursuing |
Who needs this page and why
Most readers are relatives. A son, a wife or a brother has been arrested in a country that is not their own, and the family is trying to understand why an Italian lawyer is not enough, why another lawyer is needed on the spot, and who is supposed to talk to whom. They are told by the police abroad to hire a local lawyer, by the embassy to hire a local lawyer, and by an Italian friend to hire an Italian lawyer. Everyone seems to be right, and the family has no way of telling how the jobs differ.
Another reader is the person under arrest. They are in a cell, with a phone call that lasts a few minutes, and a duty lawyer who has arrived without explaining much. They want to know whether to accept that lawyer, whether to ask for another, and how to involve a lawyer from home. They need an answer that fits a short call.
A different reader works for a foreign law firm or a company that has an employee in trouble in Italy, and wants to understand how an Italian defender works with the lawyers in the country where the client lives. A further reader has a case open in several countries simultaneously, for instance a dispute that has produced both an Italian file and a foreign file, and needs a coherent picture of both.
The decisions that arise early
Several questions come up almost immediately, and each has a cost.
Whether to accept the duty lawyer abroad or to hire a lawyer. The duty lawyer is available immediately and costs the family nothing immediately; but a lawyer assigned by the court may not know the Italian side, may have little time, and may not be someone the family can speak to in their own language. Hiring a lawyer takes time and money, and it is an irreversible choice in the early days, because the court will deal with whoever is on record.
Who selects the local lawyer. A family can search by itself, through the embassy list, or through an Italian lawyer who knows how to test a candidate. The embassy list is a starting point, not a recommendation. Selecting well is the decisive step, because a poor choice cannot be fixed later without cost and delay.
Whether to authorise the Italian lawyer to speak for the family. Doing so allows a sole point of contact, quick coordination and a shared version of events. It also means that the family gives up some control, and should be clear about what is delegated and for how long. A written authority limits this, and it can be withdrawn.
Behind all of them sits a quieter question: how much to tell each lawyer. Telling the local lawyer everything helps them argue the case, but the Italian lawyer must also know the facts, since parallel Italian proceedings can be affected by what happens abroad. The practical answer is to give both lawyers the same account, in the same words, and to ask them to share it with each other.
What to put in the folder before the opening call with either lawyer
- Everything the person was given at arrest: the document stating the reason, the list of rights, the charge, the court summons. Photograph each page, with the date.
- The name and number of the local lawyer and of the duty lawyer, if a duty lawyer was assigned, with the date of the initial contact and what was said.
- Copies of the person's passport and residence papers, which both lawyers will need.
- A power of attorney for each lawyer, in the form required where they practise. Ask what form is accepted before signing anything.
- The Italian file number if there is a parallel Italian case, and any notice received from Italy.
- A written list of people authorised to speak for the person, with their contacts, so that offices do not refuse information.
- Proof of funds available for the defence and a note of how they can be sent to the lawyers abroad.
- Medical details and medicines, because a detention facility may not have them and the lawyer can raise the matter.
- A timeline of events as the family understands them, kept factual.
- Contact details for the embassy or consulate and the name of any officer who has already spoken to the family or visited the person.
- The details of the employer, if the person was working, with the contract and any insurance that covers legal costs abroad.
- Translations already prepared of any document, with the name of the translator, so that the lawyers do not pay for the same work again.
Send the folder to both lawyers in the same form, and keep a record of what was sent and when.
What gets harder in daily life when a case spans borders
Everyday life is stretched by distance and by language. A family abroad must pay for a local lawyer and an Italian lawyer, and must pay in different currencies, often by transfers that take days. They must travel to hearings, and each trip requires time off work and sometimes a visa. Children have to be cared for. A parent who was the main earner is no longer earning, and expenses for visits, phone cards, clothes and food for the detained person are real.
The person in custody abroad has different problems: a language they may not speak, food and religious practices that are not respected, and a legal system whose rules nobody has explained to them. They depend on the local lawyer for almost everything, and on the family for money and contact. If the person works for a company, the employer must decide whether to keep paying, and the employee's status in a foreign work permit can change quickly.
The Italian side adds its own difficulties. If an Italian case is open in parallel, the person must keep to its deadlines while in custody abroad, which requires someone to receive notices at an address in Italy and to read them. Missing a deadline in Italy because the person was detained elsewhere is a problem that can be prevented, but only if someone is watching. Finally, the family has to make sure that what is said in the country of detention does not damage the case in Italy, and the reverse.
The emotional cost is easy to underestimate. A relative who has to coordinate lawyers in different countries, different languages and a detained person while holding down a job and caring for children is under heavy strain, and decisions made at the end of a long day are rarely the best ones. Agreeing early on a sole family contact, and on who will be told what, spares others from repeated calls and avoids the spread of contradictory information.
The opening call is only useful if the material is to hand. The table lists what to assemble, from whom, and why counsel needs it immediately.
| Item | Who holds it | Why counsel needs it immediately |
|---|---|---|
| The document that started it, in the original language | The person or the family | It names the authority, the file and the stage reached |
| The country, the authority and the stage of the case | Anyone present, or any notice received | The triage depends on it, and it often changes what is urgent |
| Every deadline already running | The documents served | A deadline is the one thing that cannot be recovered |
| Identity and travel documents | The person and the family | They establish status and movements in both systems |
| Documents on residence, work and family | Employers, registries and schools | They support any application about where the person waits |
| Details of any lawyer already instructed | The person or the family | Overlapping mandates cause delay and confusion |
| Translations of the key documents | A sworn translator | Each lawyer has to be reading the same material |
Questions to put to the Italian lawyer and to the local lawyer
- Who is the lawyer of record before the foreign court, and who can sign filings and appear at the hearings?
- What exactly do you do in the case, and what do you leave to the other lawyer?
- How often will each of you report to the family, and in which language?
- Who decides on strategy when you disagree, and how is the client told?
- How is the cost divided, and does the estimate cover both roles and expenses such as translation?
- Do you coordinate with each other, and will each of you see the other's filings?
- What is the position in Italy: is there a file, what does it say, and could anything said here affect it?
- What could the court abroad do next, and what deadlines are running?
- If the family loses confidence in the local lawyer, how can the lawyer be changed without harming the case?
- Which of you will attend the hearing, and which of you will explain to us afterwards what was said and decided?
- Are there steps that only the person detained can take, and how will you reach them to explain?
The answers show whether the lawyers are working as a team or as strangers. Ask them early, while changing is still easy.
What not to do with lawyers in different countries
- Do not give each lawyer a different story. Differences between what the person tells the local lawyer and the Italian lawyer will surface, and the mismatch will damage the case.
- Do not let the lawyers work without speaking to each other. Insist on a shared channel, and ask for confirmation that each has seen the other's documents.
- Do not pay in cash or without a receipt. Every payment should be recorded, with the purpose, and made through channels that can be traced.
- Do not sign a power of attorney without reading its scope. A wide authority can allow a lawyer to settle the case or consent to surrender without further reference to you.
- Do not use a fixer, a relative with contacts or an unlicensed agent to approach officials. It can be read as an attempt to influence and can ruin the defence.
- Do not discuss the case on a prison phone or in a visit. Conversations are monitored in most places.
- Do not change lawyers in the middle of a hearing cycle without advice. It may cause delay, and the court may refuse an adjournment.
- Do not post about the case or the lawyers. It can harm the client and expose the family.
- Do not send money to a lawyer on a verbal promise. Ask for a written engagement that states the work covered, so that a later disagreement can be resolved on paper.
Where the roles meet, in practice
The central fact is that the lawyers work under different rules and in different languages, and the client is the only person who sees both. The local lawyer is the only person who can appear before the court there, file applications and speak to the judge. The Italian lawyer cannot do any of that. What the Italian lawyer can do is choose and instruct the local lawyer, understand what the foreign court is likely to do, deal with any Italian proceedings, and explain the position to the client in a language they understand.
Translation is where things often break. Documents move in both directions: foreign papers into Italian and Italian papers into the foreign language. A mistranslated charge or a missing term can lead the local lawyer to argue the wrong point. The Italian lawyer should check translations of key documents, and the local lawyer should confirm the way terms are used in court.
Timing is the other source of trouble. Hearings abroad are set by local calendars, holidays differ, and post takes time. The lawyers should agree on a short list of dates that matter, and a way to confirm them. Time zones make calls with the family hard, so a fixed slot helps. Consulates can visit the person, check on conditions and tell the family where the person is held; they do not choose a lawyer and do not take sides. The Italian lawyer should keep contact with the consulate, as a courtesy and for practical reasons, and should make sure the family does not rely on it for legal steps.
How the studio runs a case with a lawyer abroad
We begin by finding out where the person is held, what has been charged and who is acting. If a local lawyer is already on record, we contact them, introduce ourselves and ask what they need. If not, we help the family find a lawyer admitted in the relevant country, check that the candidate has experience of such cases and that there is no conflict, and agree who will instruct whom. The engagement with our studio is confirmed in writing, with an estimate of cost in phases.
In the opening call we explain who will do what, what the family will see, and how often they will hear from us. We set up a shared channel, usually email, for documents and updates, and agree a regular time for calls that suits the family's time zone. Documents can be sent as photographs or scans. The studio works in English and Italian, and if a relative prefers another language, we arrange for interpreters for the main conversations.
We have offices in Rome, Milan and Naples, which helps when there is a parallel Italian file or when the family lives in Italy. For the foreign proceedings we work through the local lawyer, who files and appears; we keep the overall picture, explain it to the family and watch the Italian side. We are reachable outside office hours when a hearing or a transfer is close. We make no promise about the result, which depends on the foreign court. The email address is avvmassimoromano@gmail.com.
Italian words that appear when lawyers share a case
- Difensore di fiducia: a lawyer chosen and appointed by the person or by a close relative, as opposed to a lawyer assigned by the court.
- Difensore d'ufficio: the court-appointed lawyer, assigned when the person has not chosen a lawyer. The service is not free; the cost falls on the person unless legal aid is granted.
- Procura: a power of attorney, the signed authority that allows a lawyer to act. The form required varies by country.
- Mandato: the engagement or instruction given to a lawyer, defining what the lawyer is authorised to do.
- Estradizione: extradition, the formal handing over of a person from a state to another.
- Mandato d'arresto europeo: the European Arrest Warrant, used between EU states instead of extradition.
- Red Notice: the international alert asking police forces to find and provisionally hold a person.
- Consolato: the consulate, the office of a state in a foreign city that can assist its citizens but cannot act as their lawyer.
- Domicilio: the address at which a person is deemed to receive official notices. In a parallel Italian case, an address in Italy is needed, so that notices do not go unread.
- Atto: an official document or act, the word used for notices, filings and decisions. Each atto has its own deadline, printed on it or set by the code.
About the lawyer
People write to this office from places where Italian is not spoken, and often with documents they cannot read. That is the starting point of the work rather than an obstacle to it. Avv. Massimo Romano practises criminal law and appears before the Court of Cassation; alongside ordinary Italian proceedings he deals with surrender requests, extradition, and the situation of foreign nationals facing charges in Italy. Send or read out what you have: a notice, a receipt from a search, the name of the prison, a lawyer's letter in another language. He will tell you what the document is and what it obliges you to do. The call is followed by a written note setting out what the office can take on, how the file will be handled between Rome, Milan and Naples, and who in the family will be kept informed. Those conversations are held in English whenever that is what the family needs.
Write on WhatsApp or call. Have ready the identity details of the person concerned and a photograph of every page you have received, in whatever language it is written.
Avv. Massimo Romano — criminal defence lawyer, admitted to the Italian Court of Cassation
Iscritto all'Ordine degli Avvocati di Napoli n. 14553 | Patrocinante in Cassazione dal 23/10/2015
Roma, Via Avicenna 97, 00146 · Milano, Via Giuseppe Pecchio 3, 20129 · Napoli, Corso Umberto I 237, 80138
+39 335 669 3954 · WhatsApp