In the early '90s, business law equalled knowledge of the "fresh" law on trade companies, while the number of lawyers that could actually interpret this law was very small. In the meantime, legislation got more complicated, mergers, acquisitions and privatisations multiplied, complex financing projects emerged, whereas the market was suddenly full of multinational companies, which never sign anything before consulting their lawyers.
Consequently, the pioneers of the early years are now sharing a market estimated by all players at 25-30 million dollars annually. Just like any other market, it is dominated by big egos, fierce fights over large customers and by luring the good lawyers away from the competing firms.
Still, there is apparently room for everyone, since the number of business lawyers has doubled in the past few years, with the big law firms saying this is just the beginning.
Almost 12 years after the establishment of the first law firm specialised in business legislation, the market is beginning to display a rather clear structure. No law firm will disclose the total fees, but most players do say that the top three companies in this respect are Linklaters, Musat & Asociatii (Musat & Associates) and Nestor Nestor Diculescu Kingston Petersen (NNDKP).
The estimated annual fees cashed by these firms revolve around 4-5 million dollars, with each firm's areas of expertise covering almost all of the business law fields. The official fee ranges between 150-300 USD/hour, depending on the project, client and negotiations.
The number of lawyers and partners involved in each of the top three law firms differs, from 27 in the case of Linklaters, to 43 at NNDKP and 75 for Musat & Asociatii.
The "big three" are followed by a relatively compact platoon of medium-size firms, with annual fees estimated at 1-2 million dollars annually, such as Bostina & Asociatii, Popovici & Asociatii, Voicu & Filipescu, Stefanica, Dutu, and Danescu & Asociatii. The "medium-size" segment is also covered by international firms, such as Gide Loyrette Nouel, Hayhurst and Moore, Vartires & Associates/Altheymer & Grey.
There are some 10-15 medium-sized law firms, where the number of lawyers and partners sports significant variations (between 14-15 and 40), depending on the areas of expertise and the respective strategies.
However, the law firm with the most attorneys does not necessarily have the biggest revenues.
The fees levied by the medium-size law firms are just as flexible, from around 5 USD/hour to almost 300 USD/hour.
In terms of structure, the market has been dynamic enough in the past years. In 2003, for instance, two associates from the Musat & Asociatii law firm, Virgil Popovici and Florian Nitu, together with other attorneys from the same firm decided to start up their own practice: Popovici & Asociatii.
This move has indirectly influenced the market structure, as Musat & Asociatii attracted key associates or lawyers from other firms to fill the void. Another market-altering move was the arrival of Ana Diculescu-Sova at Nestor Nestor Kingston Petersen, as an associate.
laurentiu.ispir@zf.ro
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