Berechet Rusu Hirit > Bucharest, Romania > Firm Profile
Berechet Rusu Hirit Offices
10 I.C Visarion St. 1st floor
Romania
Berechet Rusu Hirit > The Legal 500 Rankings
Romania > Dispute resolution Tier 3
Boutique firm Berechet Rusu Hirit specialises in dispute resolution, and has recognised expertise in medical malpractice and public procurement claims. The team has also been kept busy advising on disputes in the energy and real estate sectors. Mădălina Berechet and Valentin Hiriț co-head the practice; Berechet has an excellent track record in handling civil and administrative litigation, and Hirit's workload includes administrative litigation, corporate disputes, and contentious IP work.Practice head(s):
Mădălina Berechet; Valentin Hiriț
Testimonials
‘Excellent mobilization of the team when the client is in need, with a good knowledge of the industry. Good and dedicated professionals.’
‘Valentin Hirit is an outstanding researcher and solution provider of the legal problem at hand, with good knowledge of our industry. Always happy and comfortable when he is handling our legal files.’
‘The base of legal knowledge. Taking a short period of time for analyzing the situation. React quick if needed. Making the necessary research if needed. Giving good advice.’
‘Partner direct involvement and detailed knowledge of the industry issue at hand. Madalina Berechet is a dedicated and with strong principles.’
‘Dedication to the client’s needs.’
‘With an experienced team of partners and a continuous exploration for legal innovation that stems from the profound knowledge of the legal profession, BRH will impress clients in dispute resolution cases by the fresh and accurate views of the situations they encounter. On several occasions when the case seemed almost lost, BRH’s lawyers didn’t give up and found original solutions that, by the end, led us to success.’
‘Madalina Berechet is an experienced and well regarded litigator, with an excellent track record that is achieved by a unique combination of deep legal knowledge and restless seeking of the approach that maximizes winning chances even in the toughest situations. Client communication is always great: timely, accurate and empathic.’
Key clients
Nexte Renewable
4 P Renewables
Industrial Energy
Stradal SA
Monsson Group
Adrem Engineering
DECA
BCI Automatica Industriala
AG Steel Building & Cladding
Karoly Borbely
Marvin Nicodemus
Mutu Ayan Valentin
Work highlights
- Advised a victim of the Colectiv nightclub fire on a compensation claim.
- Representing Nexte Renewable and 4P Renewables in disputes concerning the building of power stations.
Berechet Rusu Hirit > Firm Profile
Berechet Rusu Hirit is a fresh presence in the professional legal services area, set up by experienced lawyers acknowledged for their in-depth approach of legal matters and unparalleled readiness for case solving.
BRH has a demonstrated track record in representing local companies and entrepreneurs, international corporations and private individuals before the local and international litigation and arbitration courts. The firm’s practice also includes assistance and representation in notable cases before the Constitutional Court of Romania and the European Court of Human Rights.
Valued by clients for their know-how, commitment and work ethics, the firm’s lawyers provide effective advice across a range of practice areas, in both dispute resolution and consultancy.
Main areas covered include: tax, energy, property and real estate, human rights, medical malpractice, construction, corporate disputes and contract claims, land planning, competition law, IP and information society services.
We provide integrated, practical legal advice covering criminal law matters when required by joining forces with a highly regarded white-collar crime practitioner, Andrei Adrian Georgescu.
Dispute resolution:The firm provides assistance and representation in all stages of disputes and litigations, supporting clients from the early assessment and strategy development to the advice and assistance in enforcing the court decisions. Corporate disputes, contract claims, insolvency proceedings, construction, property and real estate rights, as well as copyright and information society services litigations are among the multiple areas covered by the firm’s civil litigation practice. Clients also rely on the team in administrative litigations in complex cases in energy, land planning, tax, public procurement and competition cases. The lawyers are acknowledged by clients and peers for their notable practice in subtle cases before the European Court of Human Rights.
White-collar crime:Through the distinctive synergy with Andrei Adrian Georgescu, clients benefit also from BRH expertise in fields such as tax, corporate, real estate and ECHR proceedings as a solid foundation for the criminal cases before the courts.
Corporate/M&A: The team advises in all aspects of corporate law, including corporate governance, restructurings and reorganizations. With a sound understanding of the client’s sector, the lawyers’ assistance in share and asset deals and joint ventures translates into pragmatic and commercially driven solutions.
Energy and natural resources: The firm advises large and mid-sized companies on the regulatory compliance of their projects, on legal matters related to electricity retail and natural gas supply, upstream and downstream oil and gas operations, renewable and unconventional energy, transportation and distribution, as well as on specific agreements in these fields.
Real estate and construction: Based on an outstanding practice, the firm is best positioned to provide a broad range of transactional and dispute resolution legal services. The lawyers advise a diverse client portfolio in connection with ownership title due diligence and assistance in all types of real estate deals and lease agreements.
Environment: In a world continuously focusing on the challenges of the climate change, from government authorities to companies, investors and other stakeholders, the team assists clients on compliance related matters, specific contracts and regulatory issues.
Intellectual property: The firm has a demonstrated first rate expertise in the field, having assisted and represented clients in various copyright disputes and proceedings, from trademark registration and compliance aspects, to the holding, transfer and exploitation of rights, infringement including internet piracy cases.
Privacy and data protection: The lawyers offer clear advice on a wide range of legal services related to data mapping, processing and data transfer compliance, as well as e-commerce. The firm’s capabilities in this field also cover data privacy training, drafting and implementation of internal policies and procedures.
Main Contacts
| Department | Name | Telephone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dispute Resolution | Madalina Berechet | madalina.berechet@brhlaw.ro | +40 724 375 162 |
| Dispute Resolution | Valentin Hiriț | valentin.hirit@brhlaw.ro | +40 721 230 678 |
| Corporate/M&A | Anca Rusu | anca.rusu@brhlaw.ro | +40 743 074 459 |
Lawyer Profiles
| Photo | Name | Position | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Madalina Berechet | Partner | View Profile |
|
Valentin Hirit | Partner | View Profile |
|
Anca Rusu | Partner | View Profile |
Languages
Romanian English French ItalianDiversity
Since our firm’s creation in 2016, we aimed at making a difference in the Romanian legal landscape by committing to facilitate the access to legal services of people who otherwise wouldn’t afford legal representation and justice. Our law firm has a strong commitment to pro bono cases based on our belief that helping and supporting people in their causes and fights for justice is one of our primary roles as lawyers.
For instance, the health system in Romania has been marked by an inefficient dialogue between the involved stakeholders – patients, doctors, authorities, NGOs/medical associations – mostly due to numerous legislative changes, vague regulations, lack of clear norms and corruption in some of the Romanian institutions. For example, the health reform in 2006 in Romania has been amended 119 times, but no major changes have been brought to the issue of malpractice.
Under these circumstances, the problem of malpractice has remained a field where none of the stakeholders have clear opinions or coherent involvement in malpractice cases; therefore, many of the cases end with courts rejecting such accusations and leaving patients and/or victims with no chance for a fair trial (that would hold the responsible parties accountable and thus prevent similar cases).
In this context, Berechet Rusu Hirit has taken on several malpractice cases and has committed to bring light in this area, given our expertise and the problems we identified in our 15-year experience in this field, among which:
- Uneducated population when it comes to patients’ rights (according the Romanian Patients’ Association, 9 out of 10 patients are not familiar with their rights and they cannot know when their rights are violated);
- Excessive bureaucracy that discourages patients from accusing the responsible parties in case of a potential malpractice;
- Lack of transparency in this area (there is no centralisation of malpractice cases and the responsible doctors);
- Extremely high costs for a filing and supporting a case of malpractice;
- A long period of time for resolving malpractice cases.
This is a very complex problem to be addressed to all stakeholders, especially that the cases of malpractice involving negligent professionals also affects the vast majority of doctors whose reputation are intact due to their competence, professionalism and dedication.
One of the current cases that partner Madalina Berechet has embarked on is that of a one year old boy (Ayan Mutu – a perfectly healthy child, with no medical records before the misdiagnosis), who died following the doctors’ negligence and professional incompetence at the pediatric department of the Valcea City Hospital in Romania.
In 2019, our law firm has made one of its missions to support the family’s fight for justice, so that their struggle may prevent other similar cases – especially given that our research revealed seven other cases of malpractice that ended in young patients’ deaths at the same department of the hospital; they all remained unresolved in the past years.
This case, which is ongoing, has revealed a series of problems in the Romanian health system, which our law firm hopes to address on the long term:
- Lack of communication with the patient’s carers;
- Negligence and questionable professional competence of some doctors – thus affecting the good reputation of the entire medical guild;
- Lack of protocol in some specialised departments;
- Lack of protocol when transferring a critical patient;
- Negligence of certain emergency doctors (when the patient’s condition was worsening);
- The attempt to hide the premises of the case by modifying medical documents and false statements;
- Postponing the official proceedings, to the detriment of obtaining and preserving evidence.
In this context, our involvement in this case – and other similar ones – aims, in the long term, at saving lives, through responsible behaviours and solutions for both patients and doctors, by stating the problem, identifying and accepting the truth, educating society, initiating a constructive dialogue between stakeholders, as well as by finding, together, viable solutions to increase the quality of the medical actions and reducing the risk of malpractice.
Berechet Rusu Hirit also helped the family found the Ayan Association, which aims at supporting people take action in case they suspect an act of malpractice. We also plan to assist and represent all the individuals who will ask the Ayan Association for help in identifying and dealing with a medical error.
- Dispute resolution