Ţuca Zbârcea & Asociaţii has been acknowledged as the “Law Firm of the Year” – Romania in “Men of the Year Awards 2009”. The award was presented by Nine O’Clock daily in recognition of the firm’s innovative ways of adapting to the new economical and financial context and nonetheless for its international success demonstrated by the opening of a representative office in Madrid.

“We are delighted to win this award which acknowledges our commitment to achieving success and offering excellent services to our clients in an ever-changing and increasingly complex business environment, on both local and international level”, said Florentin Ţuca, Managing Partner with Ţuca Zbârcea & Asociaţii.

According to the firm’s Managing Partner, Ţuca Zbârcea & Asociaţii has implemented a medium-term plan which included the development of the Crisis Knowledge Team (CKT) and the setting-up of a specialized insolvency unit - TZA Insolvenţă S.P.R.L., as well as developed a long-term strategy to better serving its clients, the first step being the opening a representative office in Madrid. The firm has formed a strategic alliance with the former Ambassador of Spain to Romania - HE Juan Pablo García Berdoy y Cerezo, and Jaime Fúster Rufilanchas, former Managing Partner with Garrigues CEE.

The winners in the various categories of the “Men of the Year Awards” have been decided by a carefully selected jury of consultants and industry experts. The "Men of the Year Awards" have reached their 19th edition, and are aimed to identify and recognize excellence in business, diplomacy as well as politics. Other important awards categories have included: Bank/Banker of the year, Insurer of the Year, Businessman of the year, Foreign investor of the year, Romanian diplomat of the year, Foreign diplomat of the year etc.

[-]

Ţuca Zbârcea & Asociaţii has become the first Romanian law firm with presence in Spain after it opened a representative office in Madrid to match the increasingly global needs of Iberian investors.

The move will position the Romanian independent law firm to provide a superior level of personalised service to a high net worth Iberian investors doing business in Central and Eastern Europe, especially in Romania.

Ţuca Zbârcea & Asociaţii sets footprint in Western Europe in association with notable figures of the Spanish diplomatic – HE Pablo García-Berdoy, former Ambassador of Spain to Romania and legal community – Jaime Fúster Rufilanchas, former Managing Partner with Garrigues CEE. Acting as local independent consultants under the Fúster García-Berdoy brand, the duo will bring a unique combination of local and international expertise and unparalleled knowledge about foreign trade and international business law which will be of immense benefit to existing and potential future clients.

“Spain has been one of the most dynamic investors in Romania in the last years but there are many opportunities to come. Our recent experience in the EU will, for sure, accelerate this process. We are pleased to form a strategic alliance with the most dynamic law firm in Romania which we hope will foster stronger business relations between Spain and Romania”, said Pablo García-Berdoy, former Ambassador of Spain to Romania and Partner with Fúster García-Berdoy. 

The representative office will serve as a local hub in helping Iberian investors do business in Romania, by acting as a point of contact for clients active internationally while also providing first-hand facts and information about key regulations and standards in Romania.

“There was a clear client-driven-need to open in Madrid. Spain and the entire Iberian region are strategic markets for us and our decision is a natural extension of the firm’s already strong presence in Romania. Investors will benefit from a potent mix of global outlook and local expertise and a powerful combination of the individual and collective expertise of our Spanish and Romanian teams”, said Florentin Ţuca, Managing Partner with Ţuca Zbârcea & Asociaţii.

Ţuca Zbârcea & Asociaţii and Fúster García-Berdoy also unveiled a plan to act actively to support the Iberian and Romanian business community through a set of business events and networking opportunities. A first of such a series of events was held in Madrid on the opening day, focusing mainly on the available investment opportunities in Romania in the light of the economic and financial turmoil.   

Ţuca Zbârcea & Asociaţii and Fúster García-Berdoy will provide services in areas such as corporate and commercial, mergers and acquisitions, energy, banking and finance, infrastructure (PPP/PFI and concessions) and real estate. 

[-]

Ţuca Zbârcea & Asociaţii has been acknowledged as the “Most Trusted Law Firm of the Year” – Romania in ACQ Country Awards 2009.

The award was presented by the ACQ Finance Magazine in recognition of the firm’s efforts to promote sustainable business practices especially during an economic downturn.

“We are delighted to win this award which acknowledges our commitment to achieving success in an ever-changing and increasingly complex business environment”, said Florentin Ţuca, Managing Partner with Ţuca Zbârcea & Asociaţii.

According to the firm’s Managing Partner, Ţuca Zbârcea & Asociaţii put together a medium term strategy aiming at helping companies weather the crisis. The strategy includes, among other measures, the creation of the Crisis Knowledge Team (CKT), the development of the firm’s blog www.ckc.tuca.ro, the setting-up of a specialized insolvency unit – TZA Insolvenţă S.P.R.L., as well as offering of a series of seminars and trainings to both internal staff and in-house lawyers.

“A close relationship with a client requires an enduring trust in each other and being on the same wavelength. We are, therefore, grateful to our clients for the trust they have put in our team‘s abilities to serve their needs and to assist in achieving their business aims”, added Florentin Ţuca. 

This year’s winners in the various categories of the ACQ Country Awards have been decided by more than 2,500 votes casted from readers, consultants and industry experts.

ACQ Country Awards are presented across 40 countries and aim to identify and recognize excellence in business. An ACQ Country Award is considered to be one of the most prestigious accolades that can be won, as it is based on independent industry peer research and winners are selected by an independent poll of the magazine’s readers and industry experts.

[-]

Ţuca Zbârcea & Asociaţii is the sole Eastern European law firm included in the Financial Times` Innovative Lawyers report and takes top ranking as the most innovative Continental European law firm in 2009.

On October 22^nd, the Financial Times launched its fourth edition of the Financial Times Innovative Lawyers report, in the presence of more than 400 lawyers and in-house counsels from law firms and leading companies across Europe.

The content of the 2009 report reflects the shift of focus onto lawyers’ activities in the light of the credit crisis and economic recession. It is an in-depth research into the ways lawyers have helped their clients adapt to changing market conditions and, implicitly, how the lawyers have adapted.

For the third year running, Romania has been represented among the elite of the European legal industry, alongside well-known firms such as Clifford Chance, Freshfields, Allen & Overy, Eversheds, DLA Piper, Linklaters, Slaughter and May etc.

Ţuca Zbârcea & Asociaţii received a total of 288 points for all entries submitted and secured the top slot in the FT Continental European table, followed by Garrigues (Spain), Portolano Colella Cavallo (Italy), Arthur Cox (Ireland), Cuatrecasas (Spain). A total of 18 law firms were ranked in the FT Continental European table from countries such as France, Germany, Turkey, Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Sweden, with scores ranging from 18 to 240 points.

„Ţuca Zbârcea & Asociaţii, the Romanian firm, moved quickly to develop and implement a firm-wide anti-crisis programme at a time when Romania was yet to be affected by the economic downturn”, stated the journalists from the Financial Times.

In the FT Law 50 index which listed the top 50 performers in Europe (including the London-based international law firms), Ţuca Zbârcea & Asociaţii ranked 7^th as it surpassed a range of notable players such as CMS, Ashurst, Garrigues, DLA Piper, Simmons and Simmons, Norton Rose, Cuatrecasas, White & Case, Shearman & Sterling, Noerr Stiefenhofer Lutz, Wolf Theiss. It is for the first time that an East European law firm holds a top slot in these prestigious awards, alongside the traditional leaders of the law league tables, including the Magic Circle ones.     

“The negative effects of the financial crisis and resulting world-wide recession forced lawyers to rethink their client service and management models. With no exception, all of the players in the European legal market have reacted to the tougher market conditions. For many, innovation became the key to weather the crisis”, said Florentin Ţuca, Managing Partner at Ţuca Zbârcea & Asociaţii.

The efforts and the creativity of the Romanian law firm were recognised in various categories of the report, thus confirming its unequivocal commitment to apply robust and long-lasting principles of professional business conduct.

Ţuca Zbârcea & Asociaţii was ranked in the following areas of the report:

• Standout in Law Firm Management, for having assembled a range of measures to address the economic crisis, from discounting fees to setting-up an insolvency practice and a Crisis Knowledge Center www.ckc.tuca.ro;
• Standout in Billing and Fees and Highly Commended in the same category of the report, for implementing a risk-sharing billing method with banking clients and, respectively, for offering fixed-fees in Romanian Lei in time of currency fluctuations;
• Commended in Financial Crisis and the Downturn, for setting-up TZA Insolvenţă S.P.R.L., a separate specialist insolvency unit;
• Commended in Financial Services, for having successfully managed and implemented the reshaping process of Erste’s Romanian asset management company;
• Commended in Changing the Rules, for putting together Romania's most complex memorandum of understanding to facilitate the country's largest foreign direct investment to be undertaken by Austrian company Voestalpine AG;
• Commended in Government, for successfully defending, on a pro bono basis, the Romanian Government in a file before the Constitutional Court of Romania initiated by a local party that challenged the uninominal Parliamentary elections of November 2008.

According to the Financial Times’ representatives, a number of 600 submissions were received from law firms across Europe and the top 50 performers were presented in the FT Law 50 index. Each submission is then thoroughly assessed by the Financial Times’ journalists for its originality, rationale and impact of the innovation. More than 500 telephone and face-to-face, qualitative, in-depth interviews with lawyers, referees and expert commentators were conducted.

[-]