Expertise
Corporate and Commercial, Banking
Work and Clients
Silvia is Head of International-legal at Collyer Bristow and specialises in international
company and commercial work with a focus on cross-border investments; joint ventures and
international banking and financial transactions. Silvia also specialises in international tax
planning structures for foreign corporations and high-net-worth individuals.
Silvia has over 15 years experience in international commercial law, having worked in law firms
in Brazil, Italy and UK.
She is a solicitor and is also a lawyer qualified to practice in Brazil, Italy and Portugal.
Silva has the following qualifications:
- LL.B (Law) (University of Sao Paulo, Brazil);
- LL.M. (Heidelberg, Germany) in International Law;
- M.Phil in European Law (Bologna, Italy);
- Ph.D in International Commercial, Corporate and Finance Law (Institute of Advanced Legal
Studies, University of London).
Silvia's clients comprise foreign governments and agencies; multinational corporations as well
as successful SMEs and high-net-worth individuals with international interests. Examples of recent
work include:
- advising a major Brazilian bank on banking securities valued at €42 million;
- advising high-net-worth individuals on multi-jurisdictional trust and corporate structures
involving substantial asset portfolios;
- advising carbon credit traders from emerging countries on high valued CER transactions.
The 2007 edition of the Legal 500 recommends Silvia as one of the leading lawyers in London
dealing with corporate/financial work related to emerging markets. According to the 2005 edition of
the Legal 500, "Partner Silvia Fazio merits praise for her international corporate insight."
Languages: Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and German.
The route to Collyer Bristow
After working for over 6 years at Brazilian and Italian law firms, Silvia moved to UK, where she
worked at Kingsford Stacey Blackwell from 1999 to 2002. She joined Collyer Bristow in February
2002. Silvia was promoted to the partnership and made Head of International (legal) at Collyer
Bristow in March 2005.
Publications
Silvia is the author of the following books: "The Harmonization of International Commercial
Law", Kluwer Law International (January 2007); "International Commercial Agreements in the EU and
Mercosul", LTR (1998).
She is also the author of the following chapters: "The Free Movements of Workers in the EU" in
"MERCOSUL: Regional integration and globalization", Renovar (2000); the chapter on European
competition Law in "Trading in the European Union", Tolley's (2002).
Silvia is currently working on a loose-leaf publication entitled "Drafting International
Contracts" by Wolters Kluwer Law & Business.
Silvia regularly contributes to articles and interviews on Latin American and Italian legal
matters for major news agencies including the Financial Times and the BBC.
Member of
Law Society (London); Brazilian Bar (Sao Paulo); Italian Bar (Milan); Portuguese Bar (Lisbon);
Society of Advanced Legal Studies; British Institute of International and Comparative Law. Board
member Italian Chamber in UK; Board Member Portuguese Chamber in UK; Member of the Brazilian
Chamber in UK; Member of the British Chamber in Milan.
What I like about being a lawyer
"Being introduced to different cultures and societies and to the laws that govern them."
Interests outside work
Travel, wine and gastronomy, sport.
Silvia is the Chairperson of Ondazul UK, a charity which supports the Ondazul Foundation in
Brazil (which runs numerous environmental and social projects in Brazil). Ondazul UK was launched
in the Collyer Bristow gallery in the presence of its founder Mr Gilberto Gil.