Farewell to Franzo Grande Stevens, the « lawyer of the lawyer » who ensured Fiat to the Agnelli

He was the lawyer’s lawyer, but also those who had the courage in the tormented years of terrorism to accept the position of office defender of the red brigades, In the process of historical leaders, together with the President of the Order, Fulvio Croce, who paid with his life the decision to carry on A choice that the brigatists did not recognize, threatening those who had covered him with death. He had entrusted to his book « Life of a lawyer », the painful memory of those difficult years for the country.

The portrait

Franzo Grande Stevens, who died on Friday 13 June, was born in Naples on September 13, 1928, graduated in Law at the Federico II University, a pupil of Alessandro Galante Garrone, lived his professional life in Turin but began his profession with Francesco Barra Caracciolo di Basciano. His advice and legal solutions played a decisive role in the Agnelli family structures. And not only. Great adviser of the Ferrero, the Lavazza, the Pininfarina, the AGA Khan, to Carlo De Benedetti, Luigi Giribaldi. Refined jurist and capable of identifying solutions where others did not see them, as had happened for the Turin player, Luigi Meroni, who died tragically in 1967. He was registered in the register since 1954, he was vice -president of Fiat, Toro Assicurazioni, Ciga and was also president of Juventus from 2003 until 2006, then honorary president.

The loan by converting

He went to the studio until a few days ago, as always in the early morning. His role was central in the complicated years of Fiat, which later became Stellantis with the merger with the French group Peugeot. In particular, twenty years ago, in 2003 when the group’s situation was so fragile that a loan was signed by converting from the main Italian banks. Loan that could lead to the loss of the group control by the founder family, his role was considered key because this did not happen, through an equity swap. A very controversial question that had many judicial trains.

The company December

The intuition of creating December as a simple company at the head of the company in a shares for shares, which headed by the empire led by John Elkann, is also considered to be his intuition. That yesterday he remembered it as follows: «Franzo Grande Stevens was an excellent jurist, a great Juventus player and above all a friend of my familywho has accompanied us for many years with professionalism, intelligence and profound culture. We tighten affection for his whole family ». He had also been president of the Compagnia di San Paolo, as well as having guided the National Forensic Cassa and the National Forensic Council.

70 years of profession

When his 70 years of profession were celebrated in Turin, the message was read by his daughter Cristina, president of the study: «Who like me has almost a century of life and spent seventy years as a lawyer, saw and lived the changes of our profession because as I have always said, The lawyer, more than any other, is and remains the son of his time. However, I want to remember that, despite the fact that the world has changed, rules of correctness, integrity, dedication and editionology are always valid, those same rules that our Fulvio Croce has always respected to the point of paying with their lives. Not wanting to dwell too much and abuse of your patience, I wish to turn to the young people, who are and will be the lawyers of tomorrow, and to them, as « old lawyer » I wish to offer these advice ».

His irony

Then his inevitable irony: «I cannot be with you today, my legs and my voice are affected by my 96 years. Fortunately, although my legs no longer work, « I have never worked with my feet » ». His philosophy was enclosed in the advice that can be read on the study website, led by his daughter and his pupil Michele Briamonte: «Do not choose this profession if you do not burn of intellectual curiosity, do not choose it if you will not combine a great spirit of sacrifice with your talentdo not choose it if you do not want to ban the burns and respect, and advise to respect, even moral laws, do not choose it if you do not want to prodigate for others, so that the words are by Piero Calamandrei: « The lawyers must work desperately, they want or do not want, until the last breath, to serve the others, to open the way to the others and arrive at death, And … that throughout their life they had to postpone to tomorrow « ».