The firm, with a team composed of attorneys Chiara Adele Pero and Umberto Parmigiani, successfully represented the appellants before the Supreme Court in the challenge to the results of the electoral proceedings regarding the illegitimate election of the President of one of the most numerous professional orders in Europe with over 22,000 registered members.

The Court of Cassation, with judgment no. 39375/21 of December 10, 2021, ruled on the matter, establishing the illegitimacy of the election of the President of the Order, in application of Article 2, paragraph 4 of Presidential Decree 169/2005, as amended by Article 2, paragraph 4septies of Legislative Decree 2010/225, for exceeding the maximum number of consecutive terms that may be held within a professional order.

Ruling for the first time on the issue in relation to a Professional Order, the Supreme Court, in reversal of the first instance decision of the National Council of the Order, reaffirmed the illegitimacy of the election of a councilor to his fourth term, asserting that (i) all terms served must be counted for calculation purposes, even if interrupted by commissarial administration, and (ii) terms served following elections whose electoral proceedings were subsequently annulled are also relevant.

The Court, in accordance with its well-established jurisprudence, privileged substance over form, emphasizing the objective circumstance of the performance of the term for at least half of the prescribed duration, in line with the jurisprudence established in the matter of election of mayors of local entities and certain rulings rendered against other professional orders (Lawyers and Accountants).