Professor Iacopo Donati

Iacopo Donati is a professor of corporate and insolvency law at the University of Siena. On November 2023 he has been appointed as UNIDROIT/Bank of Italy Chair Holder for the UNIDROIT’s Bank Insolvency Project.

In 2023 he secured funding by the Italian Government to carry out, as the Principal Investigator and coordinator, the research project titled "Proportionating rules on bank crisis prevention and management to the case of retail banks: an analysis on the European and national legal framework" (Pro.Re.Ba.), involving—besides the University of Siena—the University of Florence, University of Milan, and University Ca' Foscari Venice.

He is the author of several publications on corporate law, restructuring and insolvency law, and bank resolution.  In 2020 he published the book "Le ricapitalizzazioni forzose" on debt-to-equity transactions taking place on a (partially or entirely) compulsory base from the shareholders and/or creditors perspective, with the purpose of avoiding the liquidation of the distressed company. His most recent research interests mainly focus on directors’ liability and proportionality in the legal framework for bank crisis management.

He has been invited as a speaker to various international and national conferences. He has participated in some high-impact international, European, and national research projects (Contractualised Distress Resolution in the Shadow of the Law, CODIRE; Judicial Co-Operation supporting Economic Recovery in Europe, JCOERE; Linee guida per il finanziamento delle imprese in crisi, II ed.; Treatment of shareholders’ rights in the insolvency of companies).

He holds an LL.M. in Corporate Governance & Practice from Stanford Law School (Palo Alto, California, USA) and a PhD at the University of Rome "La Sapienza", obtained defending a thesis ("Le società di capitali al tempo del bail-in") that earned him the “Gian Franco Campobasso” award for the best PhD thesis in corporate or banking law in Italy for 2016. He has taught corporate law at the University of Florence and the University of Rome "Tor Vergata".

In 2014 he was admitted to the New York State Bar (USA) and to the Italian Bar. Over the years, he has developed specific experience in assisting and advising corporations, banks, and listed companies, as well as in judicial and arbitration matters relating to corporate, banking, and insolvency law.