White & Case: Romanian Lawyers From Abroad Have the Richest CVs and Speak Five Foreign Languages
October 2, 2008, Ziarul Financiar

Jan Matejcek, managing partner of White & Case’s Prague office, says the Romanian lawyers working in the Firm’s offices abroad are the most knowledgeable he knows.

"We have Romanian lawyers in the offices in Prague, Frankfurt and New York, and they are the most specialized that I know.  Each speaks five foreign languages and they have the richest CVs, with law degrees from universities such as Sorbonne", says Matejcek, one of the lawyers involved in the recent opening of White & Case’s office in Bucharest.

The Romanian local law market continues to be dominated by local firms, although the number of foreign players is growing.  "There are many big firms in the world, out of which only very few have an office in Bucharest.  The companies without a presence here would rather cooperate with local firms than with an international competitor. On the other hand, there will also be local firms planning to invest abroad or to enter into alliances in order to be accepted as international players," says Matejcek.

White & Case is one of the important names that entered the local market this year.  The office in Bucharest, headed by Todd Shollenbarger, comprises 20 lawyers, covering areas such as mergers & acquisitions, real estate, energy, finance, private equity and infrastructure. "We entered a little late, but, just as is the case with all markets where we have a presence, our target is to be in the top three.  Romania is a country that can support law firms of 250-300 lawyers.  If we find 100 good lawyers now, we could employ them all and business will come by itself.  In three to five years we might grow to 200 lawyers in Romania," says Matejcek.