American lawyers Theodore Caminos, Obie Moore and Bryan Jardine have come a long way from their first impressions of Romania through the stories about Nadia and Dracula, to participating in transactions such as the takeover of Petrom, Sidex, BRD and Dorna, deals that have set the course of the Romanian economy for the medium and long term.
The three American lawyers who are now running the local offices of Linklaters, Salans and Wolf Theiss came to Romania well over ten years ago, when consultancy law was in its infancy.
In the meantime, all three have developed the their respective firms, although none of them was American-based, and have also participated in key transactions, which include the takeover of Romcif Fieni by Heidelberg Cement and the privatisation of Petrom.
"The business law market was less mature back then. The quality of lawyers, the experience with sophisticated transactions and the clients' expectations have tremendously increased since that time," says Bryan Jardine, managing partner of Wolf Theiss. In Romania, Jardine has participated in Raiffeisen Bank's takeover of Banca Agricola and has also provided counselling for Coca-Cola during the acquisition of Dorna, the mineral water bottler.
The arrival of Jardine and the other two lawyers appointed to run the domestic offices of Linklaters and Salans were related to the operations of the USAID agency, which created a programme in 1990, appointing lawyers to the CEE countries in order to assist these countries in adopting a legal structure focused on capitalism, after the political changes in the region.
Salans' start in Romania is connected with the names of Obie Moore, Anda Tudor and Dana Vartires- three key people in the firm. The company started out by working for foreign clients and then hired Romanian lawyers to work for companies such as Heidelberg and Procter & Gamble, which were expanding into the country.
The Romanian business environment has witnessed a significant development over the last few years, which has also led to the development of law services.
"The more sophisticated the legal system is, the more evolved the lawyers become. The business environment and the transactions take the local market close to the standards of a Western market. The listing of A&D Pharma, for instance, was a transaction I could not have thought possible ten years ago. As a lawyer, you have to know when the market is ready for all of the types of services you provide," Moore says.
His personal highlights include the takeover of Romcif Fieni by Heidelberg Cement and also the merger of the breweries controlled by SAB Miller; which are among his fondest memories.
On the other hand, the local office of Linklaters and implicitly Cominos took part in some of the most important privatisations in Romania, such as the sale of BRD, Sidex, Petrom and Distrigaz.
The Linklaters official also noted the progress the Romanian law market had made, as well as the entire business environment.
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