Chiara studied public international law at the University of Maastricht. After graduation, she completed postgraduate courses in international trade law and intellectual property law at the Institute of European Studies in Macau.

She then worked in China and Yemen where she completed an internship at a Beijing-based law firm and the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Sanaa, respectively.

In February 2007, Chiara joined the Customs & International Trade practice of Simmons & Simmons in Rotterdam. On 1 December of that year, she joined Bird & Bird together with three of her colleagues to start Bird & Bird's new International Trade and Customs Group.