Voicu Filipescu: The times when lawyers left for an additional 500 euros are gone

The first year when law firms no longer reported 20-30% turnover increase also slowed down personnel turnover, so that lawyers are no longer willing to abruptly leave for a higher salary, being more cautious in making decisions that may have an impact on their careers. Moreover, not all firms continue to hire, so that there are fewer options. "The times when layers would leave for 500 euros more are gone. (...) There are no longer as many lawyers leaving because there's a rush only for very good people, who leave only for much more money and if they see themselves having a future at the new firm. We're receiving a lot of CVs during this period, from all firms, including top ten firms," says Mugur Filipescu, managing partner of Voicu Filipescu law firm, a top ten player on the market. In 2009, the number of lawyers remained relatively steady, around 40 people, but the falling number of deals drove the company's revenues down 10%, with the decline however offset by the newly set up firms within the consulting group. "We managed to keep our revenues at the level of 2008, around 4.6-4.7m euros, with the help of tax, intellectual property and restructuring firms. Strictly for the law firm, revenues were 10% lower," says Daniel Voicu, the other managing partner of the law firm.