Bulgaria > Legal market overview
2010 has been a difficult year for law firms, and for many a period of consolidation at best. However, while real estate, banking and finance, and M&A have all been negatively impacted, this has been mitigated to some extent by an increase in countercyclical areas of work, such as restructuring, debt recovery and litigation. Energy and natural resources work also continues to flourish, with Bulgaria becoming one of the fastest-growing markets for wind energy in the world.
Domestic leviathans Borislav Boyanov & Co and Djingov, Gouginski, Kyutchukov & Velichkov continue to dominate the legal landscape, though firms such as Spasov & Bratanov, Tsvetkova Bebov & Partners (Landwell) and Kambourov & Partners are increasingly viewed by domestic and international corporates as viable alternatives. Of the foreign law firms in the market, CMS Cameron McKenna in cooperation with Petkova & Sirleshtov Law Office continues to blaze a trail and has successfully embedded itself in the market, gaining mandates not only from clients of the network but also increasingly from domestic corporates.
The most notable change in the legal landscape was Austrian-based firm Wolf Theiss’ major expansion in January 2011 with the arrival of former Rizova & Partners Law Firm (part of DLA Piper) managing partner Anna Rizova-Clegg and her team of 11 lawyers following DLA Piper’s decision to exit the Bulgarian market. Fellow Austrian-headquartered firm Schoenherr also continued to gain traction in the market.
The cloud of uncertainty hovering above the foreign law firms practising in the country has now been lifted following the ECJ’s recent ruling that the case brought by domestic firms was in breach of EU rules. Although this chapter deliniates rankings in discrete practice areas, in reality the majority of lawyers adopt a broad-based approach with a focus on numerous disciplines. As a result, a number of key lawyers appear in the editorial of many of the practice areas.