Our philosophy
is based on a
proactive attitude
to clients’ needs.
Lawyers based in Malta,
Muscat Azzopardi & Associates
are advocates with an international
outlook, advising private and corporate clients.
Our philosophy is based on a proactive attitude to clients’ needs and on the awareness that a prompt response to such needs is of essence in today’s environment. We accordingly promote the qualities of commercial understanding and of a practical approach which are essential to the supply of effective legal advice to business.
Every lawyer in the firm is accordingly qualified and trained extensively.
Furthermore, our professional association with various internationally renowned law firms and representatives of related disciplines in Europe, and around the world, enables us to provide cooperative support with an emphasis on a one-stop shop approach.
Visit our practice areas information page for details about the areas we specialize in.
PRACTICE AREAS
Private Clients
Muscat Azzopardi & Associates are lawyers based in Malta specializing in private client practice, providing informed and objective legal advice to high net worth individuals, charitable foundations, financial institutions, partnerships, professional bodies, and cultural organizations. This specialist practice group has developed in response to the increased demand for legal advice in these areas.
Using our wide-ranging expertise, we provide a full service to those who wish to become, or who already are, permanent residents in Malta, where no minimum period of physical presence is required. We liaise with the individuals’ foreign consultants to develop and implement the most effective, tailor-made formula.
Corporate Practice
We act as general counsel for Government and parastatal bodies, corporations, companies and other organizations in all areas of their activity. These include banking and finance, mergers and acquisitions, real estate, leasing, intellectual property, employment, securities and capital markets, and taxation.
We also advise businesses as to their contractual relationships with domestic and international customers, suppliers, and distributors.
Dispute Resolution
We serve the interests of clients who conduct international business, by using the resources of our Malta office in conjunction with those of associated firms overseas. Companies based in two different countries may resolve their disputes by arbitration in a third, applying the laws of a fourth, and this makes a wide legal reach a clear advantage.
As businesses move across borders and between trading blocs, their enforcement, litigation and arbitration concerns expand in scope and complication. There may be anti-trust or competition law difficulties, securities and intellectual property issues, and the need to monitor, on a pre-emptive basis, the regulatory situation in other markets to avoid the risk of further disputes.
We aim to assist our clients in the efficient and effective resolution of disputes, through arbitration, litigation and other methods, always taking their business objectives into consideration. We are able to handle complex cases involving multiple claims and parties. Participants in international business are increasingly aware of the advantages of resorting to a private and neutral tribunal of persons selected for their expertise in the subject matter under dispute.
We offer advice on the comparative advantages of conducting arbitrations under different sets of rules and in different places, allowing our clients to make informed decision on whether to pursue arbitration, or opt for another form of dispute resolution or settlement.
Our para-legal back-up enables us to provide a cost-effective service in dealing with the documentation involved in litigation and arbitration.
Financial Services
- Credit, electronic money and financial institutions;
- Investment services and financial markets;
- Collective investment schemes; and
- Insurance business and undertakings.
- with respect to credit institutions and electronic money institutions – the Banking Act (Chapter 371 of the Laws of Malta) and the Banking Rules and Electronic Money Institutions Rules, respectively, issued by the MFSA; and
- with respect to financial institutions – the Financial Institutions Act (Chapter 376 of the Laws of Malta) and the Financial Institutions Rules issued by the MFSA.
- the Insurance Business Act (Chapter 403 of the Laws of Malta); and
- the Insurance Intermediaries Act (Chapter 487 of the Laws of Malta).
Intellectual Property
Our intellectual property practice advises on:
- establishment of rights
- enforcement
- structuring intellectual property rights in transactions
- technology contracts and disputes
- e-commerce
- the print media
- film, video and television
- patents
- trademarks
- copyright
- advertising media
- privacy
Intellectual property rights include goodwill and reputation – including brands and trademarks – technical innovations, trade secrets and confidential information, and copyright and design rights. If this intellectual property is to be exploited to its full potential by its rightful owners, then it must be protected from exploitation by others. We advise on all aspects of the protection, enforcement, exploitation and management of intellectual property rights, and on the cross-border aspects of intellectual property exploitation, especially with regard to parallel imports. We also provide counsel on the concepts embodied in the intellectual content of digital information.
Intellectual property issues are a pressing concern as the EU has put in force a number of directives aimed at enhancing and standardizing protection of intellectual rights throughout the Union. We advise clients on how best to identify, register, and protect their intellectual property rights, and prepare and process applications for patenting and trademarking.
A specialist area of Muscat Azzopardi & Associates is entertainment and film.
Mergers and Acquisitions
This practice area includes: takeovers and tender offers, whether hostile, contested, or agreed; private company acquisitions and disposals (domestic and multi-jurisdictional); leveraged buy-outs; joint ventures; equity investments; and privatizations. We handle multi-jurisdictional work that combines money centre experience and local market expertise, using foreign country due diligence, and ensuring that there is regulatory approval from competition authorities.
With joint ventures, we advise clients who may be venturing outside one jurisdiction and into another – a move that is complicated by differences in the law with which they are familiar, and the law of the new jurisdiction.
Acquisition and divestiture of state-owned entities: we advise on privatization of formerly state-owned entities, and represent selling shareholders and acquirers in these transactions. We advise on the implementation of the divestiture transaction through public offerings of equity in the privatized company, or a negotiated divestiture to strategic investors. We also counsel strategic and financial investors in newly-privatised entities, and represent financial institutions which are involved in privatization transactions as financial advisors, lenders, arrangers, underwriters, or investors. Other privatization practice areas are the drafting of the necessary legislation, establishment of a regulatory framework, and restructuring of state-owned enterprises and industries.Muscat Azzopardi & Associates is an EU-based
law firm with an international outlook.
DRIVEN BY
BUSINESS
We advise, and provide a full spectrum of services to, a select clientele – mostly Corporate and high net worth private clients – that require practical and business-oriented solutions. As a private office, we retain the agility and adaptability that best serves the ever-changing nature of today’s business and economic landscape.
Visit our practice areas area for a more comprehensive list of services.
A PRACTICE 50 YEARS IN THE MAKING
GLOBAL
NETWORK
MA&A is associated with the Credence Group which was founded in 2006 and comprises a licensed corporate service provider (CSP) and a licensed fiduciary company in Malta.
The firm advises a significant portfolio of international clients, including leading banks and financial institutions, asset managers, family offices, cross-border corporate groups and HNWI.
MA&A is the firm of choice in Malta for a number of international law firms whom we advise on a regular basis.
PARTNERS

Dr. James Muscat Azzopardi
PARTNER

Dr. Adrian Muscat Azzopardi
PARTNER

Dr. Clayton Fenech
PARTNER
CONTACT US
40, Villa Fairholme, Sir Augustus Bartolo Street,
Ta’ Xbiex XBX1095, Malta
+356 21336196