Bulboaca: We'll remain independent

Law firm Bulboaca & Asociatii, created earlier last year by 6 former lawyers of the domestic office of UK-based Linklaters, was in negotiations to form a possible alliance with an international firm, but failed to reach an agreement.
“There were talks with other firms, but we don’t want to be the domestic office of an international firm; staying independent is our policy. Should we not be able to remain afloat, we may rethink our policy in the future,” says Adrian Bulboaca, managing partner at the firm.
On the legal services market there is speculation about the arrival of several international players such as White & Case, Allen & Overy and DLA Piper.
“We set our targets each year, unlike Magic Circle firms, which have five-year plans. We do not rule out a merger domestically,” the lawyer adds.
Bulboaca & Asociatii generated revenues worth above 1m euros in 2007, and exceeded its targets both in terms of turnover and the number of employees.
“Last year, we received more contracts than we expected, considering we were a new firm on the market. Early last year, when we set up the firm, we estimated turnover worth 1m euros in 2007, but we exceeded it by a considerable mark at the end of the last fiscal year,” explains the lawyer.
The firm now has 20 lawyers, with a new lawyer expected to join at the beginning of March. “By the end of last year we targeted 10-12 lawyers, but actually had 18 by late December,” adds Bulboaca, who believes the firm will have at least 25 lawyers at the end of this year.
The company’s most important customers include powerful banks such as Deutsche Bank, Barclays and Goldman Sachs.
“The firm’s main objective is to retain its constant customers. Moreover, we plan to approach some long-term customers,” says Bulboaca. Hitting the financial target for this year may drive turnover to 2m euros.
“For the new fiscal year, in line with a balanced, consistent growth policy, we want to reach 15% higher turnover against last year,” states Bulboaca.
The domestic legal services market is dominated by domestic firms, such as NNDKP, Tuca Zbarcea, Musat, Popovici Nitu, Bostina, Voicu Filipescu and Stoica, as well as international players such as Linklaters and Clifford Chance.