«MobiliseSME is advisable for any lawyer in the EU, since it brings a European approach to law career»
Mattia Tedeschi is an Italian freelance lawyer who has participated in MobiliseSME as a Sending Company, which has allowed him to collaborate for 6 months with Ricardo Moreno Iraola, owner of the Spanish law firm Iraola Advocatorum.
We interviewed both of them to see how their participation in the MobiliseSME programme has gone:
– Please, Mattia, tell us a bit about your company and your professional path. Why did you decide to participate in MobiliseSME?
As a freelance lawyer, I provide legal services (in Italian and English) to natural and legal persons in Italy. My areas of specialisation are immigration law and civil law. Our headquarter is in La Spezia, and we have contacts with local companies and people.
I wanted to participate in MobiliseSME as a Sending Company because I thought this could be a great and useful experience for me, since I am planning to establish a branch in another EU country. I also wanted to find a partner company or freelancer in Europe, to have an experience in his/her company, to improve my business, and to establish relations in other countries.
I discovered the programme when I searched on the Internet about opportunities for making exchanges in other EU countries. Then I found the website of the MobiliseSME programme.
– And how about you, Ricardo? Please, tell us about your company and how you found out about the MobiliseSME programme.
I am a freelance lawyer in Madrid, carrying out legal services to individuals and legal entities in Spain. My specialisations are bankruptcy and civil law, but soon I will be enrolling in the Madrid criminal office shift.
In addition, I have just opened a law firm called Iraola Advocatorum.
I participated in the programme as a Host Company because I learned about it and it seemed to me a great opportunity to collaborate with someone else. Since I opened the law firm, I have been working alone. Thus, I am looking to meet people and to win new clients.
I thought MobiliseSME was a good opportunity to work with a colleague of mine from another country and give a more internationalist turn to my business, which otherwise would remain confined to local law.
– From a business point of view, how did the collaboration with the Host Company contribute to your company, Mattia? Would you repeat the MobiliseSME experience?
This collaboration contributed significantly to my law firm, because my income increased due to the increase in the business volume.
I managed to surpass my previous invoice levels thanks to the support and knowledge I gained from the MobiliseSME experience.
Thanks to my participation in the programme, I am now providing business information services to Spanish companies interested in running their business in Italy. I also provide immigration advice services to Spanish speaking clients from Spain and Latin America.
Thus, I strongly recommend MobiliseSME to any lawyer and businessman in the EU. Is a great opportunity to meet new collaborators and to widen your business knowledge.
I would repeat this experience without any doubt and I would love to participate again, in order to develop more ideas and services, and to make my business even stronger.
– Ricardo, please, briefly describe the matchmaking process and the preparation of activities with Mattia. How did the process go?
I did not know about the Sending Company before. I contacted Mattia because we had a common goal: to satisfy our customers and learn from this opportunity.
Mattia’s profile seemed interesting because he wanted to learn bankruptcy law and extend his services to companies working between Italy and Spain.
We had different strengths, such as knowledge of civil law and the will to give a more international touch to our business. I think that we had things in common and that is why we decided to work together.
I would definitely repeat the MobiliseSME experience, since it was an important formative stage. I don’t know what it would be like to work in the long run, but for these months the experience has been very positive.
– Mattia, with which knowledge, techniques or information have you contributed to the Host Company? Which functions and responsibilities did you have during this collaborative period?
I have mainly provided knowledge to Ricardo about the most popular legal services that he could offer in Italy. I also informed him about the process to buy houses in Italy, so he can provide advice in Italian real estate law.
My main functions were to give support in marketing, in the elaboration of documents, in negotiation and customer search/support.
Therewith, I improved my legal skills oriented to multiple jurisdictions, especially to the Spanish legal system and, of course, my business skills and Spanish command.
As I said before, this collaboration surely contributed significantly to my law firm.
– Ricardo, how do you think this collaboration with the Sending Company contributed to your law firm and personal development? Would you recommend participating in MobiliseSME?
The collaboration with Mattia has contributed to my company in the sense that there has been an increase in the volume of business and income.
I basically offered my experience in criminal law and Mattia his experience in civil law. We have developed an overall vision on commercial law, in order to have more customers and offer more services; we also advertised our businesses, worked together and learned from each other, although initially there were language barriers. However, we overcame them and this allowed us to get to know each other better.
Mattia and I contacted several Italian and Spanish trans-border companies, which work and invest in both countries, as well as local authorities. He introduced me to some natural persons who wanted to invest in Spain and, thus, I was able to make new clients.
I would certainly recommend this experience, because it is important to give a more European approach to our profession, which otherwise would remain closed and limited to the country of origin.
– Mattia, do you plan to continue the collaboration after the experience with the MobiliseSME programme?
Sure, in fact I plan to further collaborate with Ricardo. We will act each other as an agent of our businesses in Italy and Spain, getting a commission every time we send a new client to each other’s law firm.
We will also continue giving support to each other when we have any doubt about the Italian or Spanish system.
We will both collaborate together when it comes to delegating work that must be done in our countries, while giving each other the chance to use our offices in Italy and Spain to meet with clients and to use them as a local contact point for our clients.
– What about you, Ricardo?
Of course, we will collaborate again in the future.
We have estimated new earnings from the exchange of clients, those interested in investing in Spain and Italy.
As Mattia said, for each new client, we would get a commission; and, for some clients, we will both work and earn half the fee each.
After our participation in MobiliseSME, we have gained new customers, as well as we have invested in advertising in local authorities and in our respective cities of origin.
So, I hope that the collaboration will continue over time, since it can be a way of making us grow in the international sphere.
Mattia also wanted to extend his services to another country, and this experience provided the tools to do so.
– Last but not least, did you improve your knowledge of mobility of workers within the EU after your participation in MobilisSME? Which role had the Local Contact Points in sharing this information?
I (Mattia) have improved my knowledge of workers mobility, because I have learned first hand how the European Union is supporting labour exchanges between countries in a successful way.
The MobiliseSME programme means a great opportunity to integrate the EU by allowing people to work in other EU countries and giving support to do it.
On the other hand, our Local Contact Points (Forum AIC and Fundación Equipo Humano) did a great job by guiding us in the whole process. They were very supportive all the time and always answered our questions, helping with a procedure that was new to us.
Their role is to support participants and to provide complete information about the programme. Also, to guarantee that MobiliseSME works in the agreed way.
