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The Lawyer: A Romanian Lawyer Becomes the First European Managing Partner of the Year

October 2012

Florentin Ţuca, founding partner of Ţuca Zbârcea & Asociaţii has triumphed at last week's awards ceremony held by The Lawyer in Monte Carlo. He became the first Romanian lawyer to be named European Managing Partner of the Year. The citation singled out "his tireless and inspiring leadership" (The Lawyer).

At the annual ceremony hosted by The Lawyer magazine in Monaco, 88 independent and international law firms competed for 19 trophies. The honours recognise those law firms that have demonstrated outstanding operational excellence in the course of the past year, as well as law firm partners with impressive management and leadership skills.

Florentin Ţuca, founding partner of Ţuca Zbârcea & Asociaţii has triumphed at last week’s awards ceremony held by The Lawyer in Monte Carlo. He became the first Romanian lawyer to be named European Managing Partner of the Year. The citation singled out “his tireless and inspiring leadership” (The Lawyer).

One of the biggest awards of the night was scooped by a Romanian lawyer, marking a first in the history of The Lawyer’s awards. Florentin Ţuca was chosen as the winner of the European Managing Partner of the Year award by a judging panel comprising managing partners at private practice firms and in-house counsel at multinational companies such as Caterpillar, Thomas Eggar, CBS Outdoor, Addleshaw Goddard, Travers Smith, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance, HBO Europe, Unisys, G4S, Rusal, Macfarlanes, Baker Hughes, Clyde & Co, InterContinental Hotels Group and Stephenson Harwood.

Florentin Ţuca edged out competition from five other senior partners at law firms from France, Germany, Italy, Finland and Ukraine. The citation singled out “his tireless and inspiring leadership” (The Lawyer).

The title of European Managing Partner of the Year is given to an outstanding leader, who has driven his/her firm forward with vision and judgement. Judges looked for evidence of initiatives led by the Managing Partner which have improved client service, won work or clients, or changed the culture of the firm.

Speaking on the night, Florentin Ţuca stated: “This truly is a great honour. Although it sounds like individual recognition, the prize is really a Team Oscar, the validation of my partners’ collective performance. It is not my award, but a gold medal for the team!”

Ţuca Zbârcea & Asociaţii was in the running for two honours at the 2012 edition of The Lawyer European Awards - the Law Firm of the Year: Romania and the European Managing Partner of the Year awards.

These nominations came after Ţuca Zbârcea & Asociaţii claimed the title of Law Firm of the Year: Eastern Europe and the Balkans at the 2010 awards hosted by The Lawyer magazine.

The European Managing Partner of the Year title is the second international award received by Ţuca Zbârcea & Asociaţii in recognition of its enlightened management style. In March 2012, the firm picked up the prize for the Best Managed Workplace during the annual MPF European Leadership Awards. In addition, the Romanian independent outfit was also twice named Best Employer in Romania in 2008/09 and 2010/11 by Aon Hewitt.

The Lawyer European Awards are a unique gala celebrating excellence in the legal profession across Europe, and attracting hundreds of guests. This year, the awards gala coincided with the first day of The Lawyer European Conference, which focused on management strategy for independent firms. The summit took place in Monte Carlo on October 25th-26th, 2012.

About Florentin Ţuca, Managing Partner, Ţuca Zbârcea & Asociaţii:

Dr Florentin Țuca is a Managing Partner at Ţuca Zbârcea & Asociaţii.

With a legal career spanning 19 years, he has a wealth of experience in corporate and banking law, as well as project finance, concessions and other forms of PPP projects, notably in the fields of infrastructure and energy. In addition, he has a reputation for handling complex domestic and international arbitration, particularly in relation to privatisation and cross-border disputes, having been involved in no fewer than three international arbitration cases brought against Romania at the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes – ICSID, while currently coordinating a fourth one before the same international arbitration court.

Florentin Ţuca has also conducted, as co-ordinator, numerous privatisations, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions in various industries. He is also highly skilled in drafting laws and regulations, having been involved in the development and implementation of the legal framework relating to privatisation, concessions, banking and other areas. In 2011, he acted as a Team Leader of the consortium retained by the Romanian Ministry of Justice in relation to the TA project for the Preparation of the Enforcement of the New Civil Code, Criminal Code, Civil Procedure Code and Criminal Procedure Code.

Florentin Ţuca is a regular speaker and writer on topics related to corporate law, PPPs, concessions and other legal matters. He is also a founding member and General Secretary of the French-Romanian Chamber of Commerce and holds a PhD in PPPs and Concessions.

For more information, please visit www.tuca.ro

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