Born in Haarlem (The Netherlands) in 1968, Annemieke graduated in 1992 in Cultural Studies from the University of Amsterdam, specialising in Economics, and went on to work as a cultural mediator and educational and cultural travels designer in Europe and the USA.

After moving to Italy in the early 2000s, Annemieke decided to pursue a career in the legal field, and obtained a MA in Law from the University of Florence in 2012 with a dissertation on freedom of religion in the Netherlands. Upon completion of the Bar Exam in November 2015, she joined the Florence Bar in January 2016 and founded Studio Legale Lippes shortly after. Annemieke has specialised in International Business and Contracts Law through a master organised by the Scuola Superiore dell’Avvocatura in partnership with UNIDROIT. In the light of continuous learning, in 2023 she has signed up for an advanced course at the University of Florence in Italian civil law and the new judicial reform in Italy.

Annemieke provides legal assistance and transnational civil litigation, mediation, out-of-court matters and contract drafting in Italian, Dutch and English.

She has a lifelong passion for exploring the word, going on safari and swimming.

Avv. Annemieke M.G. Lippes (Haarlem, Netherlands, 2 March 1968)

Sara graduated cum laude in Law in 2008 and obtained a Ph.D. in Comparative Law in 2013 from the University of Florence. Since 2012, she works as a rule of law, justice reform and human rights consultant for the EU, the OECD and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She acquired significant expertise in the Western Balkans, Turkey and Georgia. Sara was visiting researcher at the University of Barcelona (2012), Adjunktprofessor in Comparative Law at Örebro University (2013), and Visiting Professor in Comparative Public Law at Shkodër University, Albania (2019).

She is a member of the Florence Bar and currently serves as editor for the online law journal Questione Giustizia, edited by the judges and prosecutors association Magistratura Democratica. In 2022, she completed a specialisation course in Sports Law offered by the University of Florence Law School in collaboration with the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI).

Sara is the author of several publications in English and Italian, including a full monograph on social rights and the right to health care in Italy and Spain (ETS Pisa, 2016) and the co-edited collection of essays “Freedom v. Risk: Social Control and the Idea of Law in the Covid-19 Emergency” (Giappichelli, 2022).

She loves travelling, learning languages, and making music with friends.

Avv. Sara Cocchi (Florence, Italy, 2 February 1984)

Valentina graduated cum laude from the University of Florence in 2010 with a thesis in Criminal Law and obtained a PhD. in the same field in 2015. In 2013, she was admitted to the Italian Bar, and is now a member of the Siena Bar. She also enrolled in the registers of public defenders for the Florence Court of First Instance and the Florence Juvenile Court as well as in the public register of lawyers providing free legal aid.

She provides assistance in various fields of criminal law. Her expertise includes medical malpractice liability and the protection of patients, occupational accidents, stalking, juvenile law. In the field of civil law, she mainly focuses on civil liability and torts, guardianship and conservatorship for the protection of incapacitated adults and minors. She also offers legal aid and assistance in administrative trials, with reference to the challenging of public selection procedures, and immigration law.

Valentina is also the author of a number of articles published in prominent criminal law-related Italian journals.

Through her volunteer activity, she assists persons with disabilities and their families and advocates for the removal of architectural barriers.

Avv. Valentina Ferro (Florence, Italy, 11 August 1984)

Elisabetta Speziani graduated in 2001 at the University of Brescia.

After graduation, she did her traineeship at the accounting firm of Rag. Fiorina Mara in Brescia, in Via Pagani 4, where she acquired experience and training in book keeping and accounting management.

In 2006, she successfully passed her State exam for the profession of accountant and from 2008 she is in the Register of Chartered Accountants and Accounting Expert of Brescia.

She left the accounting firm of Rag. Fiorina Mara in 2009 and she started to practice the profession independently.

From 2007 to 2010 she follow courses to become a professional Mediatore Civile at the Insituto Lodo Arbitrale of Brescia.

From 2017, she moves her practice to Empoli, in Piazza Don Minzoni, 8, where she starts to collaborate with the Lippes Law Firm.

Her professional activity involves mostly fiscal consultancy for companies, accounting analysis, drafting tax declaration both for physical and legal entities, business planning, costs assessment and also handling inheritance files.

Moreover, she assists her clients with initiating their activities, supporting them with all the related requirements such as fiscal and social security issues.

She has proficiency in IT; in fact, alongside with the knowledge of the Office Package (word, excel, open office..), she uses accountability management software daily.  

She is fluent in English and German.

Elisabetta Speziani, 15 July 1975, Brescia (Italy)

Janneke graduated in 1987 from the University of Utrecht (Netherlands) in Dutch Language and Literature.

After a short stay in Switzerland, she decided to increase her knowledge of the Italian language and culture by attending a course at the University of Florence. Janneke settled there and collaborated on a project basis with schools, tour operators and translation centres. She also gained experience in the public sector, working for the Foreign Office of Italy’s biggest trade union, various administrative offices of the Tuscany Region and several offices of the Police and Justice Department. Her activities as a translator extend to the publishing world and audiovisual industry. At the moment, she works for the Dutch Foreign Ministry.

She obtained her diploma as a certified translator Italian into Dutch and Dutch into Italian at the Instituut voor Tolken en Vertalen in Utrecht. In Italy, Janneke is enrolled to the professional register of translators kept by the Court of Law in Florence; in the Netherlands, she is listed in the register kept by the Bureau for Sworn Interpreters and Translators in The Hague.

She is a Dutch native speaker with excellent knowledge of five other EU languages: Italian, English, German, French and Spanish.

She is fond of travelling, plastic arts and music, walking and cycling.

Janna Maria Bor (Ede, Netherlands, 18 July 1965)