News Archive 2018

Our highly professional, friendly and internationally recognized advisory team’s client portfolio is ever growing, so we are looking for a talented and experienced senior associate with a minimum of 3-5+ years of experience, since final Bar qualification (definitivat).

What we are offering:

• the opportunity to work with an award-winning team that is highly appraised by clients (“best of all firms in jurisdictions I have worked with” is, for instance, an eloquent client quote);
• work environment centred on strong ethics, integrity and team spirit;
• high profile clients and assignments;
• career advancement opportunities based on professional and personal qualities;
• development of management skills.

What we are seeking:

• practical experience of 3-5+ years since final Bar qualification (definitivat), out of which at least 3-4 years with a medium/large law firm (>10 lawyers);
• thorough knowledge of corporate, commercial and M&A matters is required as well as experience in employment and/or competition and/or real estate and/or data privacy; further experience in other areas of practice is a plus;
• full working proficiency in English (written and spoken) is an absolute must, including strong knowledge of legal English terms and terminology; fluency in a second foreign language is an advantage;
• openness to continuous professional training, team spirit and adaptability to firm`s policies;
• patience and dedication to forming junior team members;
• LL.M or legal PhD and any other degrees in law awarded by a foreign university are a plus.

Please send your resume and letter of intent (explaining why you chose to be part of our team and what motivates you in your legal career) to office@mprpartners.com using the subject line: Senior Associate Advisory.

Due to high number of applications received, only selected candidates will be contacted.

On July 30, the Romanian Ministry of Finance issued an order launching the procedure whereby investors may obtain non-reimbursable funding for investments made in Romania. Founding Partner Alina Popescu and Partner Răzvan Pele detail the terms of the scheme in another issue of our Emergency Legal Kit for Business (ELKB) available here.

It is the second year in a row that our specialists have contributed to Legal 500’s Technology Comparative guide. Each chapter of this guide (for all 18 jurisdictions, with highly appreciated contributors) provides information about the current issues affecting insurance and reinsurance in a particular country and addresses topics such as communications networks and their operators, databases and software, data protection, AI, cybersecurity, as well as personal insight and opinion as to the future of the insurance market over the next five years. The Q&A template for each chapter has been provided by Kit Burden of DLA Piper. Each chapter has been written exclusively by firms ranked within The Legal 500. The Romanian chapter is available here.

Until recently, only the board decisions regarding changing the company’s registered office and/or business object could be challenged by any of the company’s shareholders by an action for annulment filed in court. Pursuant to a decision of the Romanian Constitutional Court published on August 1, 2018, board decisions regarding share capital increases can now be subject to an action for annulment as well. You can read our latest ELKB (Emergency Legal Kit for Businesses) about this matter, published by Senior Associate Daniel Alexie, here.

MPR Partners renewed its contribution to the Restructuring and Insolvency Navigator of Lexology. Partner Dana Rădulescu and Associate Anca Băițan updated the chapter with the latest developments on the Romanian legal landscape. Lexology Navigator provides clear, concise, comparative guidance on law and regulation worldwide. The complete Romanian chapter is available for reading here and should you wish to browse the topic in different jurisdictions, you can do so here.

Senior Associate Irina Radu edited our latest ELKB (Emergency Legal Kit for Businesses), concerning national framework on infrastructure protection and most recent related provisions. One of the major objectives of the EU is reducing the vulnerabilities of critical infrastructure and increasing their resilience. An adequate level of protection must be ensured and the harmful effects of disruptions on the society and citizens must be limited as far as possible. Full ELKB (in English) is available here.

MPR Partners assisted a major shareholder of Nordic Petfood, the leading local producer of petfood, in the process of selling the entire business to United Petfood. The share purchase agreement was signed mid August.

Nordic Petfood is the Romanian lead producer and supplier of private labels for the most important modern and specialized retail partners in Romania, with over 40.000 tons of dry food for cats and dogs produced and delivered annually. Belgian group United Petfood, a family business, entered the market in 1994. It operates eight factories in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Spain and Poland and sells in over 40 countries across Europe, as well as in China, Japan, and the US.

MPR Partners assisted the managing partner, one of the major shareholders of Nordic Petfood, in all aspects of the transaction consisting of the sale of the business to United Petfood, namely due diligence, drafting and negotiating the transaction documents and terms. The entire process was extremely smooth and lasted less than four months. At partner level, the dedicated team of MPR Partners consisted of Alina Popescu, Dana Rădulescu, Răzvan Pele and Gelu Maravela.

Our consultancy team’s client portfolio is growing, so we are looking for a talented associate at either entry level or with 1-4 years of experience. Please send your resume and letter of intent (explaining why you chose to be part of our team and what motivates you in your legal career) to office@mprpartners.com. Please use the subject line: Associate Consultanță.

Due to high number of applications received, only selected candidates will be contacted.

What we are offering:

• the opportunity to work with an award-winning highly professional team, highly appraised by clients (“best of all firms in jurisdictions I have worked with” is, for instance, an eloquent client quote);
• work environment centred on strong ethics, integrity and team spirit;
• high profile clients and assignments;
• career advancement opportunities based on professional and personal qualities.

What we are seeking:

• practical experience of 1-4 years (out of which, ideally, at least 2 years within a medium/large law firm) is a plus;
• advanced English (written and spoken), including strong knowledge of legal English terms and terminology is an absolute must;
• openness to continuous professional training, team spirit and adaptability to firm`s policies;
• LL.M and any other degrees in law or economics (ideally awarded by a foreign university) are a plus.

Contacted by CEE Legal Matters, Partner Dana Rădulescu shared her opinion on the Romanian current business climate and transaction market. In “The Buzz”, CEE Legal Matters interview experts from the 24 jurisdictions of Central and Eastern Europe about professional, political and legislative developments of significance. The interview is available here.

Founding Partner Alina Popescu and Associate Magda Grigore provided the comprehensive contribution for the Romanian chapter of Getting the Deal Through State Aid 2018, having as contributing editor Mr. Ulrich Soltész, of Gleiss Lutz . Published in July 2018 and currently at its fifth edition, State Aid aims to explain the effect of EU legislation and regulation surrounding state aid law in major European jurisdictions, providing readers with up-to-the-minute insight on the strategic considerations and best practices for successful state aid applications and competitions. Topics include: national legislation implementing European state aid rules, approval and disapproval rules for state aid programmes, information regarding the relevant bodies granting aid and receiving aid applications, national authorities monitoring and enforcing compliance, dispute resolution surrounding illegal and incompatible aid, and much more. Getting the Deal Through works with many of the best lawyers and law firms in the world to bring together a unique legal information resource, written by experts on each subject area, in every significant jurisdiction. The complete (15 jurisdictions) State Aid publication is available here and the Romanian chapter here.

Founding Partner Alina Popescu has been named “Leading Cross Border Investments and Transactions Adviser of the Year, Romania”, at the 2018 Leading Adviser Awards, from Acquisition International Magazine, part of AI Global. Since 2010, Acquisition International Magazine’s annual awards have been highlighting the amazing work done by those firms and individuals whose ceaseless dedication to innovation, customer care and the continued growth and improvement of their businesses has seen them forge ahead of their competitors and raise the bar for performance and results in their industry.

With an increasing work load and Client portfolio on the rise, MPR Partners’ competition department sustained a considerable development throughout the past five years, driven by the passion and specialization of the entire team.

Established and developed by Founding Partner Alina Popescu, the firm’s competition practice has a team of 7 lawyers, with practical experience in all competition law segments, including antitrust (economic concentrations, anticompetitive deals and practices, abuse of dominant position, on-site and forensic investigation procedures) as well as State aid and unfair competition.

The firm’s lawyers’ activity has been repeatedly acknowledged by its clients, one of the partners of a reputed USA-based law firm stating, for instance, that one of firm’s competition related work product was „the most complex and best analysis” of a distribution agreement, compared to that of other „20 firms, throughout the past 15 years”.

Amongst firm’s clients in the competition field there are important local companies such as Chimcomplex and Betty Ice as well as international corporations, as Monsanto, Japan Radio Co., Alphatron Marine, Hertz Autohellas, BBraun Avitum, Eberspächer, etc.

In addition, the competition department’s team members are active contributors to specialized international publications. Last year alone, they have been exclusive contributors for the Romanian jurisdiction for reputed materials of international reach such as Getting the Deal Through: State aid, Lexology Navigator: Cartels, and have equally published numerous dedicated materials in the local media.

The rise in work load levels triggered the need for team development, equally at partner levels, thus Răzavan Pele, reputed competition and IP specialist joined MPR Partners starting this June, as partner within the firm’s competition and intellectual property practices.

Răzvan graduated from the University of the West Timișoara Law School and holds an LL.M in International and Community Law from Nicolae Titulescu University.  He has a notable experience of over 10 years with one of the most important local firms, being furthermore one of the Romanian specialists in competition, regulatory, IP, consumer protection matters and related litigation. Răzvan advised clients from various industries, including weaponry manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, energy, postal services, wood processing, spare parts distribution, telecom, audio-visual, etc. Notable projects he coordinated and was involved in include:

• the first assessment by the Romanian Competition Council of a potential dominant position abuse in the pharma market;
• the litigation concluded with the annulment of the fine for one of the members of an alleged cartel on the EEE market;
• representing one of the most important Swiss weaponry producers in challenging a decision passed by the Romanian Competition Council finding a rigging of bids in a public procurement procedure organized by the Romanian Ministry of Defence;
• advising one of the largest Chinese telecom technology companies in the Romanian part of a worldwide dispute generated by a patent troll in connection with the use and extent of Standard-Essential Patents from a competition and IP law perspective.

„Increased activity of the Competition Council, overall business and economic climate as well as numerous local businesses reaching maturity drove a spike in our competition practice’s activity. This is very good news indeed, especially since it provides the opportunity to extend our team ranks with a high calibre professional who has a wealth of experience in the field. Besides recruiting external talent, we develop internally our team members, thus shaping our own future competition experts.” Alina Popescu, Founding Partner of MPR Partners.

„I am thrilled to have joined MPR Partners for several reasons, amongst which the excellent professional relationship that I have had with firm’s founding partners, the trust I have in their professional and management abilities, the impressive client portfolio, firm’s international achievements and, naturally, the perspective of a dynamic, high quality legal service. Both competition and IP are two fields of the law very dear to me. I have thus commenced my activity at MPR Partners with the desire and aim to greatly contribute to the development of these two departments alongside firm’s partners.” Răzvan Pele, Partner of MPR Partners.

During an awards Gala, Partner Dana Rădulescu was handed an achievement recognition and the Expert Lawyer title for her Corporate/M&A activity throughout the past year from the FinMedia, the publishing company editing the Expert Lawyers magazine. Dana was congratulated for her activity and involvement in, amongst others, the acquisition of assets of Chimcomplex from Oltchim, the acquisition of Betty Ice by Unilever and the acquisition of a parking by Interparking. At their 8th edition, the Top Lawyers Gala awards experienced lawyers, active in the most important practice areas of business law.

Gelu Maravela was named 2018-2019 “Lawyer of the Year” for work in Project Finance and Development Practice, being acknowledged for his Arbitration and Mediation, Banking and Finance Law, Energy Law, Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Litigation, Natural Resources Law, Project Finance and Development Practice, whilst Alina Popescu is praised for her Arbitration and Mediation, Corporate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions experience. Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Best Lawyers has published their list for over three decades, earning the respect of the profession, the media, and the public as the most reliable, unbiased source of legal referrals. Its first international list was published in 2006 and since then has grown to provide lists in over 75 countries. “For more than a third of the century,” says CEO Steven Naifeh, “Best Lawyers has been the gold standard of excellence in the legal profession.” President Phil Greer adds, “We are extremely proud of that record and equally proud to acknowledge the accomplishments of these exceptional legal professionals.” Lawyers on The Best Lawyers in Romania list are divided by geographic region and practice areas. They are reviewed by their peers on the basis of professional expertise, and undergo an authentication process to make sure they are in current practice and in good standing. Further information can be found here.

Our repeatedly awarded, internationally recognized and very busy dispute resolution practice’s team is searching for a new colleague with 3-4 years’ experience since final Bar qualification (definitivat). Please send your resume and letter of intent (explaining why you chose to be part of our team and what motivates you in your legal career) to office@mprpartners.com. Please use the subject line: Senior – Litigation.

We are looking for:

• advanced English (written and spoken) as well as strong knowledge of legal English terms and terminology;
• practical experience of minimum 3-4 years since final Bar qualification, ideally as part of a medium/large law firm;
• sound skills and experience in civil and administrative litigations, insolvency as well as arbitration & ADR expertise;
• openness to continuous professional training, team spirit and adaptability to firm`s policies;
• patience and dedication to forming junior team members;
• LL.M or other law degrees awarded by a foreign university are a plus.

We are offering:

• the opportunity to work with an award-winning highly professional team, highly appraised by clients (“best of all firms in jurisdictions I have worked with” is, for instance, an eloquent client quote);
• people oriented work environment centred on strong ethics, integrity and team spirit;
• high profile clients and assignments;
• areer advancement opportunities based on professional and personal qualities;
• development of management skills;
• competitive financial package.

Due to high number of applications received, only selected candidates will be contacted.

We are looking for a very organized, serious and punctual Personal Assistant, with good command of English, written and spoken. If interested, please send you CV to office@mprpartners.com using the subject line: PA.

What we are looking for:

• at least high school baccalaureate degree;
• driver license, B category, at least 3 years hands–on driving experience;
• honesty, discretion and trustworthiness;
• flexibility and adaptability;
• good communication skills;
• organizational skills and the ability to prioritize daily workload;
• the ability to be proactive and take the initiative;
• good manners, tact and diplomacy.

Responsibilities shall include, without being limited to, the following:

• reminding the firm’s partners of important tasks and deadlines;
• assist firm’s partners with their personal and administrative issues;
• assist firm’s associate lawyers with administrative issues;
• organizing and maintaining diaries, correspondence and making appointments;
• travel with and in the interests of firm’s partners and associate lawyers.

We are looking for a communicative and neatly organized Font Desk Assistant, with excellent command of English, work management and prioritizing skills, problem solving ability and attention to detail, to handle our front desk and day-to-day administrative tasks. No previous experience required, although basic accounting knowledge can be an advantage. This position does not involve legal support related activities.

Job description:

• front office contact with clients;
• protocol and administrative activities;
• meetings and appointments handling;
• handling personal issues for firm’s partners;
• office supplies monitoring and ordering;
• documents filing (binding, copying, scanning);
• drafting and translating various documents.

Important!

This position involves two shifts, as follows: one week from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, and one week from 1:00 pm to 9:00 pm, from Monday to Friday. This condition is mandatory, so please apply only if you accept it.
Please send your CV to office@mprpartners.com and use the subject line: Front desk.

For the second year in a row, our healthcare specialists have revised and updated the Romanian chapter of the Life Sciences Navigator, published by Lexology. The Lexology Navigators are a powerful global tool for legal research, spanning multiple practice areas and jurisdictions alike. The Lice Sciences navigator covers important topics such as trends and developments, clinical trials, marketing aspects, advertising and labelling, as well as relations with healthcare professionals and many others. Prestigious law firms are contributing to each section (i.e. Dentons, Eversheds Sutherland and Reed Smith, just to name a few), thus turning the Navigators into a valuable resource for professionals. The Romanian chapter, contributed by MPR Partners, is available here.

For the second year in a row, our arbitration professionals, Alina Popescu and Alexandra Ichim, provide the latest provisions and news for the Romanian chapter of the Commercial Arbitration guide of Global Arbitration Review (GAR). GAR know-how provides reliable cross-jurisdictional insight to help cement the building blocks of international practice. Select experienced practitioners answer commonly asked questions for key jurisdictions so allowing readers to be better-placed to solve the challenges of their working days. The Romanian chapter is available here and all jurisdictions are online here.

Founding Partners Gelu Maravela and Alina Popescu provided, during an interview conducted by Ziarul Financiar, an overview of the Romanian M&A landscape as well as related forecasts and insights. Partners revealed few of firm’s closed and ongoing M&A transactions, as well as several thoughts on competition and infrastructure development.  Ziarul Financiar is the leading daily financial newspaper in Romania. The article is available (in Romanian) here.

In anticipation of challenges raised by the implementation of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), JURIDICE.ro initiated a series of conferences and events, in order to debate the effects and impact on the private and public Romanian entities. Transcripts of lectures and a series of articles were thereafter compiled in a guide, a precious study material for all those who want to understand the new rules and, above all, to know their rights and obligations in terms of data protection. MPR Partners’ experts Gelu Maravela and Daniel Alexie were invited to contribute to the compilation, with an article concerning the record keeping whilst processing personal data. Further information (in Romanian) is available here.

This year, the reputed The Legal 500 ranked and acknowledged MPR Partners in four different practice areas: Commercial, Corporate and M&A, Real estate and Construction, Restructuring and Insolvency as well as Tax. Founding Partners Gelu Maravela and Alina Popescu were praised for their team leading skills and experience, whilst Partners Dana Rădulescu and Felix Tapai were mentioned and noted by the international directory. For 29 years, The Legal 500 has been analysing the capabilities of law firms across the world, with a comprehensive research programme revised and updated every year to bring the most up-to-date vision of the global legal market. More information here.

During March, MPR Partners’ articles on Mondaq generated the most reads for and related to the Romanian jurisdiction. Every month Mondaq publishes hundreds of articles by contributing firms from over 80 countries around the world. At the end of every month, for each country, Mondaq analyses which contributing author firms were read the most by their registered business readers: ‘Contributor Most Read’. Readership for all articles by that firm on that country is included. The reader may have come upon the article either on the Mondaq site, www.mondaq.com, via their personalised newsletters, or via one of their feeds to 3rd party sites. All readership for this article consists of real, identified individuals and no anonymous readers are included in the conferral of this award. Mondaq also distributes the same articles through major business systems like Lexis-Nexis, Westlaw, and Reuters. Further information is available here.

Thursday, March 15 during a special night in London, that celebrated success in the European legal world, MPR Partners was designated winner of the Law Firm of the Year: Eastern Europe and The Balkans Award, during The Lawyer European Awards 2018.

Furthermore, MPR Partners has been designated as Highly Commended Firm (runner up) in the European Law Firm of the Year category. An official article of The Lawyer, released after the event, states: “Highly commended in the overall law firm of the year category was Romanian firm Maravela, which won Eastern European/Balkans firm prize for the second year running. Despite its small size – it was only set up five years ago – the judges said it had ‘reaped the rewards of its niche’ and praised its focus on talent nurturing.”

It is the fourth year in a row that MPR Partners is recognized by the judging committee of The Lawyer European Awards and last year the firm was designated Law firm of the year: Romania.

Judges have paid attention to firms able to demonstrate that they have had an exceptional year, managing the pressures of the economic environment while maintaining high levels of client service. They were equally looking for firms that can clearly articulate their strategy and vision for the future, both in terms of significant developments in the past year and planned investment.

The judging panel was formed by partners of top international business law firms and in-house top management representatives of multinational companies. The list includes big names such as: Airbnb, Barclays, Bare Escentuals (Shiseido Group), Dixons Carphone, Hohan Lovells, Mills & Reeve, Mischcon De Reya, Navigators Insurance, Northrop Grumman, Orwell Group, Osborne Clarke, PayPal, Shoosmiths, Societe Generale, TLT, Travers Smith, TSYS International, Weightmans, Wolseley, Womble Bond Dickinson, WS Atkins.

The Eastern Europe and The Balkans category was only open to independent firms headquartered in Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia. Danish firm Kromann Reumert was crowned European Law Firm of the Year.

Shortlisted firms had to prove their capability of operating in the global economy, possessing strategic initiatives aimed at growing cross-border and referral work, both inbound and outbound.

“What a great night in London at The Lawyer European Awards 2018! We are happy, proud and have so many thanks to give to an incredible jury, as well as to our clients, our business partners, our friends and our OUTSTANDING TEAM! Thank you all! We are grateful for your trust and support and remain committed to a continued service of great quality, loyalty and success!” Gelu Maravela and Alina Popescu, Managing Partners of MPR Partners.

Currently at their ninth edition and structured in 24 categories (by country, region, types of deals, referral work but also recognizing the managing partner of the year and holding a distinct global in-house category), the awards showcase the achievements of firms to the rest of the industry.

Further detail about The Lawyer European Awards as well as this edition’s jury can be found on the official website at http://www.thelawyereuropeanevent.com

MPR Partners contributed to the Doing Business in the European Union 2017: Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania, the first report of the subnational Doing Business series in these countries—assesses the business regulatory environment and its impact on local entrepreneurs in 6 cities from Bulgaria (Burgas, Pleven, Plovdiv, Ruse, Sofia and Varna), 7 cities from Hungary (Budapest, Debrecen, Gyor, Miskolc, Pecs, Szeged, and Szekesfehervar) and 9 cities from Romania (Brasov, Bucuresti, Cluj-Napoca, Constanta, Craiova, Iasi, Oradea, Ploiesti, and Timisoara). The report measures regulations relevant to 5 stages in the life of a small to medium-size domestic firm: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property and enforcing contracts. Direct link to the report in Romanian here, and in English here.

MPR Partners assisted the Belgian company Interparking in the almost EUR 4 million acquisition of a parking in Timișoara, in the context of the operator’s business expansion in Romania. Interparking Group is present in 9 countries and in over 360 cities, currently holding 782 units totalizing 355.839 parking spaces, Europewide. In 2016, the group’s turnover was of over EUR 410 million. Interparking holds 4 parkings in Romania, în Bucharest and Timișoara. The P700 parking in Timișoara has a capacity of 520 parking spaces, whilst the parkings in Bucharest have a total of 1.400 parking spaces.

MPR Partners’ team, coordinated by Partner Dana Rădulescu, assisted with regards to due diligence, as well as negotiation and drafting of the transaction documents. „We are glad to be involved in transactions that underline the raised interest of foreign investors, speeding the modernization of the infrastructure and offering practical solutions to everyday problems. Interparking Group intends to further expand its business in the region so we presume that new projects will be announced shortly.” Dana Rădulescu, Partner of MPR Partners.

Started in 2017, the negotiations were concluded at the end of January 2018, when the Romanian ice cream producer Betty Ice was fully acquired by Unilever South Central Europe. The sale purchase agreement is subject to regulatory approval by the Romanian competition authorities.

Following the acquisition, Betty Ice will operate as a standalone unit within Unilever and will be led by its founder, Vasile Armenean, acting as General Manager.

The complex legal assistance provided by MPR Partners to Betty Ice comprises all transaction related aspects, including due diligence, preparing the tender, negotiation of the transaction documents, liaising with the competition authorities.

MPR Partners’ team assigned to the project consisted of over 10 professionals. Gelu Maravela, Alexandra Rîmbu, Daniel Alexie and Anca Băițan assisted regarding the due diligence process, Gelu Maravela, Alina Popescu, Dana Rădulescu, Alexandra Rîmbu and Mihai Buciuman provided assistance during the negotiation of the transaction documents, whilst Alina Popescu, Alexandra Rîmbu and Magda Grigore assisted with all competition related aspects. Financial and tax assistance was provided by Gelu Maravela, Alexandra Rîmbu and Felix Tapai.

With regards to the financial aspects, Betty Ice was equally assisted by Ernst & Young România, with a team lead by Florin Vasilică and BrinkThink Management, through Florin Cerna, as financial and strategic consultant.

MPR Partners has been selected by CEE Legal Matters to serve as a member of the Shortlist Selection Panel for the first ever CEE Legal Matters Romania Deal of the Year Awards.

CEE Legal Matters is the leading source of news and information about Central and Eastern Europe’s legal markets. The Deal of the Year awards were conceived by CEE Legal Matters to honor the skilled lawyers who make the most complex, significant deals happen. The final three nominees in Romania will be announced in the February issue of the CEE Legal Matters magazine. The winner will be announced at the annual Awards Banquet that concludes CEE Legal Matters’ Dealer’s Choice conference in Prague on June 6, 2018.

The CEELM Romania Deal of the Year Award is unique in being exclusively peer selected, with both final nominees and final award winners being chosen by leading legal experts in the country. According to CEE Legal Matters Executive Editor David Stuckey, this makes them especially valuable. “We are proud of the reputation CEE Legal Matters has established for integrity, independence, and impartiality,” Stuckey said, “and in organizing these awards we were committed to inviting only lawyers who are themselves highly regarded dealmakers to employ their expertise and knowledge in evaluating the many submissions we have received and in selecting the final nominees.”

According to Stuckey, selecting the Shortlist Selection Panel for Romania was an important process, but ultimately not a difficult one. “We’ve reported on a number of deals these select lawyers have worked on over the years, and in our many conversations and interviews with them in that time, we have found them each to be insightful and perceptive analysts, knowledgeable both about the Romanian market in general and about the particular client management and negotiating skills necessary to bring these deals to fruition. We are delighted that MPR Partners has accepted our invitation to join the Shortlist Panel, and we look forward to thanking him in person at the June 6 Awards Banquet.”

“We are honored to be part of CEE Legal Matter’s Deal of the Year Award and happy to be judging this year’s entries from the Romanian market with utmost objectivity and with the professional insight required for evaluation. It is indeed an impressive number of both firms and deals (M&As, IPOs and financings). Our considerations when assessing a deal include value, timeframe, complexity, legal creativity/innovation shown, political and regulatory sensitivity, number of jurisdictions to which the deal relates, as well as the involved team’s depth, media coverage of the matter and impact of the deal on the country/region.” Gelu Maravela, Managing Partner of MPR Partners.

CEE Legal Matters is the premier publication about the region’s legal markets. The CEE Legal Matters website, which registers well over 40,000 unique visitors a day, carries daily updates of deals, disputes, and other client matters across CEE, as well as news about senior promotions, lateral hires, and other developments inside the 24 legal markets themselves. The widely-read subscription only monthly CEE Legal Matters magazine provides thorough coverage of the persons and trends driving the legal industry across CEE, with in-depth interviews, analysis, and commentary. CEE Legal Matters also hosts the annual regional GC Summit, the largest annual conference of senior in-house counsel in CEE. This year’s GC Summit will be held on June 7-8 in Prague.

Further detail about CEE Legal Matters can be found on the official website at http://ceelegalmatters.com/.

MPR Partners is proudly supporting the Romanian Palaces of Justice project, a wonderful compilation of architectural treasures, dedicated to the exertion of the legal profession. Through their greatness, the Palaces of Justice – true works of art, some dating from an impressive while back, enchant the eyes of the beholder, imposing respect and demanding admiration. Published by igloomedia (www.igloo.ro) within their “Patrimony” collection, the bilingual album includes 19 representative buildings, (Palaces of Justice, Courts and Tribunals), landmarks of Romania’s cultural heritage. Each monument is carefully documented, presented with high quality photographs and accompanied by the most interesting aspects from architectural, cultural and historical points of view. The launch event took place on 18 January 2017, at Bucharest’s Palace of Justice.

It is the fourth year in a row that MPR Partners is recognized by the judging committee of The Lawyer. This year the firm has been shortlisted for Law firm of the year: Eastern Europe and The Balkans.

This category was only open to independent firms headquartered in Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia.

Judges have paid attention to firms able to demonstrate that they have had an exceptional year, managing the pressures of the economic environment while maintaining high levels of client service. They were equally looking for firms that can clearly articulate their strategy and vision for the future, both in terms of significant developments in the past year and planned investment.

Shortlisted firms had to prove their capability of operating in the global economy, possessing strategic initiatives aimed at growing cross-border and referral work, both inbound and outbound.

“Besides information related to portfolio growth and continuous training of our team members, this year the use of technology and its application to better customer service was taken into consideration. We understood from the representatives of The Lawyer European Awards that, this year as well, there were many firms who have entered the competition and sent submissions. Congratulations are in order, to all the finalists. We are very happy with the result, that furthermore follows last year’s success, as we were designated the Law firm of the year: Romania.” Gelu Maravela and Alina Popescu, Managing Partners of MPR Partners.

Currently at their ninth edition and structured in 24 categories (by country, region, types of deals, referral work but also recognizing the managing partner of the year and holding a distinct global in-house category), the awards showcase the achievements of firms to the rest of the industry.

The judging panel is formed by partners of top international business law firms and in-house top management representatives of multinational companies. The list includes big names such as: Airbnb, Barclays, Bare Escentuals (Shiseido Group), Dixons Carphone, Hohan Lovells, Mills & Reeve, Mischcon De Reya, Navigators Insurance, Northrop Grumman, Orwell Group, Osborne Clarke, PayPal, Shoosmiths, Societe Generale, TLT, Travers Smith, TSYS International, Weightmans, Wolseley, Womble Bond Dickinson, WS Atkins.

MPR Partners stands alongside numerous premier European firms, equally recognized for their work. Winners will be announced in March, in London, during the awards gala that will bring together more than 300 managing and senior partners to network and celebrate the most successful firms in Europe.

Further detail about The Lawyer European Awards as well as this edition’s jury and nominees can be found on the official website at http://www.thelawyereuropeanevent.com/shortlist.

Our highly professional, friendly and internationally recognized advisory team’s client portfolio is ever growing, so we are looking for a(nother) talented and experienced senior/managing associate with a minimum of 2-5+ years of experience, since final Bar qualification (definitivat).

What we are offering:

• the opportunity to work with an award-winning team that is highly appraised by clients (“best of all firms in jurisdictions I have worked with” is, for instance, an eloquent client quote);
• work environment centred on strong ethics, integrity and team spirit;
• high profile clients and assignments;
• career advancement opportunities based on professional and personal qualities;
• development of management skills.

What we are seeking:

• practical experience of 2-5+ years since final Bar qualification (definitivat), out of which at least 3-4 years with a medium/large law firm (>10 lawyers);
• thorough knowledge of corporate, commercial and M&A matters is required; further experience in other areas of practice is a plus;
• full working proficiency in English (written and spoken) is an absolute must, including strong knowledge of legal English terms and terminology; fluency in a second foreign language is an advantage;
• openness to continuous professional training, team spirit and adaptability to firm`s policies;
• patience and dedication to forming junior team members;
• LL.M or legal PhD and any other degrees in law awarded by a foreign university are a plus.

Please send your resume and letter of intent (explaining why you chose to be part of our team and what motivates you in your legal career) to office@mprpartners.com using the subject line: Senior/Managing Associate Advisory.

Due to high number of applications received, only selected candidates will be contacted.

Our highly professional competition practice and its client portfolio are ever growing, hence we are looking for a qualified competition specialist with 5-7+ years of experience in the field, who would be also open to work in other advisory related practice areas.

Please note that this is an opening that may lead to salary partner position within 2-5 years, depending on profile, achievements and abilities.

What we are offering:

• the opportunity to work with an award-winning team that is highly appraised by clients;
• high profile clients;
• interesting and precedent setting mandates;
• work environment centred on strong ethics, integrity and team spirit;
• development of management skills.

What we are seeking:

• intensive hands-on experience of 5-7+ years in competition matters;
• full working proficiency in English (written and spoken) is an absolute must, including strong knowledge of legal English terms and terminology;
• fluency in a second foreign language is an advantage;
• patience and dedication to forming junior team members;
• LL.M or legal PhD and any other degrees in competition awarded by a foreign university are a plus.

Please send your resume and letter of intent (explaining why you chose to be part of our team and what motivates you in your legal career) to office@mprpartners.com using the subject line: Senior/Managing Competition.

Due to high number of applications received, only selected candidates will be contacted.