Ţuca Zbârcea & Asociaţii announces the recruitment of Cătălin Băiculescu as a Partner, effective from June 22nd, 2013. His legal career spans 15 years with law firm Muşat & Asociaţii, where he had held various top management roles since 2008. He started practicing law in the early days of the business legal market in Romania, having been a “veteran” at Muşat & Asociaţii, and served the longest period as a non-founding partner with this law firm.
Ţuca Zbârcea & Asociaţii representatives said the hire would further strengthen the firm’s mergers and acquisitions, banking and IT&C capabilities. “Given the professional experience that we shared with Cătălin for seven years, his choice is a natural one: he joins former teammates, those lawyers who, 15 to 20 years ago, dreamed of changing the ‘face’ of the legal market. We are happy to welcome Cătălin on board – an impeccably professional and prominent lawyer and a key asset for our law firm”, said Florentin Ţuca, Managing Partner.
With no new partners joining the ranks in almost three years, Ţuca Zbârcea & Asociaţii representatives say further moves in this regard can be expected in 2013. “At least two more lawyers will be promoted to partnership by the end of this year. We have entered a new phase of development, one in which we will not only look to strengthen specific areas of practices within the firm, but will also remain alert and seize opportunities for business growth, including by way of investing in human talent”, added Gabriel Zbârcea, Managing Partner.
“For the past 15 years at Muşat & Asociaţii, I have built up the relevant knowledge, experience and skills for a long-standing career in the legal market. The past has had its inherent ups and downs, just like any other long-term relationship, but I am looking forward to the future with excitement. I wanted to pursue a new opportunity in my career, so the firm’s solid client portfolio, high-calibre projects, fresh and innovative approach to legal practice have been the driving factors behind the decision to join my friends and the talented team of lawyers at Ţuca Zbârcea & Asociaţii … I hope that my experience as a lawyer and manager will also benefit the firm”, said Cătălin Băiculescu, Partner of Ţuca Zbârcea & Asociaţii.
Cătălin Băiculescu has advised on many high-profile mergers & acquisitions and Romanian privatisations, and is recognised as an expert in the due diligence process, the negotiation of assets and share-purchase agreements, as well as post-acquisition restructuring matters. His expertise in the banking and finance area includes advising on banking regulatory legal issues and compliance, syndicated loans, project finance transactions, and bank restructuring and privatisation. Cătălin has also assisted international aircraft owners and financing banks in connection with aircraft lease agreements and mortgage agreements signed with local airlines. Furthermore, he is a skilled and resourceful lawyer in electronic communications & IT, where he has advised on licensing issues, telecom service agreements, software development agreements, data privacy and outsourcing agreements. His expertise includes the area of entertainment and media, providing legal assistance services to broadcasters and production companies on commercial contracts relating to television shows, betting and gaming, advertising agreements and regulatory issues.
As recognition for his legal publishing activity, Cătălin Băiculescu has been admitted as Honorary Fellow of the Centre for International Legal Studies, Salzburg, Austria. Prior to becoming an attorney, he was a Parliamentary advisor and has also acted as legal counsel to the World Bank.
About Ţuca Zbârcea & Asociaţii:
Ţuca Zbârcea & Asociaţii is a full-service firm in Romania, employing cross-disciplinary teams of lawyers, insolvency practitioners, tax consultants, IP counselors and EU structural funds consultants. In addition to Romania, the firm operates a representative office in Spain and has a “best friend” agreement with another law firm in neighbouring country – Republic of Moldova.
Ţuca Zbârcea & Asociaţii offers the whole range of legal services, and has been recommended by prestigious specialised international directories in areas of practice such as: corporate & commercial; mergers, acquisitions & privatisation; litigation & international arbitration; energy & natural resources; banking & finance and others.
In addition, Ţuca Zbârcea & Asociaţii has garnered a string of local, regional and international accolades, having been named the “Law Firm of the Year” for four consecutive years and the “Most Innovative Continental European Law Firm” in the Financial Times’ Innovative Lawyers Report. The firm is a winner of the “Law Firm of the Year Award: Romania” (IFLR European Awards 2012) and the “Best Managed Workplace Award” (Managing Partners’ European Leadership Awards 2012). It also received the “Law Firm of the Year Award” (Chambers Europe Awards for Excellence 2010), the “Law Firm of the Year in Eastern Europe and the Balkans Award” (The Lawyer European Awards 2010).
Ţuca Zbârcea & Asociaţii’s client portfolio comprises many local and international companies, prominent financial institutions, as well as public authorities and government institutions. A selective list of clients includes: Erste Bank / Banca Comercială Română (BCR), NIS-Gazprom, Expur S.A. – a member of French group Sofiprotéol/Saipol, OMV Petrom, CEZ group, Rompetrol Rafinare, ArcelorMittal, Carrefour, Romtelecom, Colgate Palmolive, Bursa de Valori Bucureşti (Bucharest Stock Exchange), BRD-Groupe Société Générale, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Philip Morris, Alstom Transport, Siemens, Ericsson Telecommunications Romania etc.
Ţuca Zbârcea & Asociaţii now boasts 100 lawyers, including 21 partners.
