Business law firms eye private sector

Business lawyering in Romania will see strong structural changes in the next years. Sustained privatisation will be gradually replaced by legal counseling granted to the public-private partnerships, complex financial projects, private transactions and real estate projects, Ion Nestor, senior partner at Nestor Nestor Diculescu Kingston Petersen (NNDKP), one of the largest law firms in Romania, told Ziarul Financiar.

The privatisation of companies comprised in the portfolio of the State Ownership Fund (SOF) and, afterwards, the Authority for Privatisation and Management of State Ownership (APAPS) represented the main segments of business law in Romania after 1990. Another significant component was the legal counseling granted to multinational groups, which came to Romania following acquisitions or green field investments.

However, the significant privatisation deals closed by SOF or APAPS, which have generated millions of dollars for the law firms in the past years, are likely to end as of next year, leaving a void that cannot be filled only by the sale of companies in the portfolio of the Economy Ministry (Petrom, Electrica, Distrigaz). The Romanian business law market will thus be able to “sense” exactly how dynamic and developed the economy’s private sector is, for the first time after 1990.

However, Ion Nestor claims that the end of APAPS’ huge privatisation campaign will not significantly influence the market trends. “There were not many significant privatisation deals this year, and still the business lawyering market posted, according to our estimates, the most outstanding growth since 1990. Another reason for optimism lies in the emergence of several projects, whose complex nature shows the market is beginning to mature: privatisation will be successfully replaced by private projects,” Ion Nestor mentioned. laurentiu.ispir@zf.ro