Team size:  Five

What are the most significant cases, projects and/or transactions that you and/or your legal team have recently been involved in?

I had the honor of serving on the negotiating committee representing the Employers’ Association of the Insurance Industry in Romania (PIAR). In this capacity, we successfully negotiated and executed the first collective labor agreement in the Romanian insurance sector, in collaboration with the Federation of Trade Unions in the Financial Industry (FSIF). This landmark agreement represents a significant advancement in the formalisation of labor relations and the promotion of constructive social dialogue within the industry.

Since 2021 I have coordinated the legal team within the Mass Claims Project. The participants to this project are all insurers underwriting housing insurance in Romania. It is aimed to prepare the operational capacity of the insurance market in case of an extended natural disaster- especially in the event of an earthquake affecting over 200,000 homes. Such a scenario requires smart and efficient solutions for processing a very large number of claim files to accomplish the company’s purpose. To this end, the legal department offers continuous support to implement simplified rules and working procedures applicable to a Mass Claims situation, thus creating the adequate balance between compliance, risk mitigation and the social implications.

How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crisis to ensure the organisation’s resilience?

The risk profile of a Natural Catastrophe insurance pool is unique due to its high exposure to catastrophic events. Such events can be exceptionally high in severity and occur with a low frequency. Therefore, we conduct comprehensive risk scenarios and risk mitigation measures relevant to the company’s distinct profile. Strengthening the company’s resilience also implies contributing to the definition and revision of the legal framework impacting its activity.  The legal department has actively contributed to changes in the law regarding Romanian mandatory housing insurance.

The legal department also provides assistance in connection with the legal terms of the reinsurance treaties.  PAID benefits of the largest reinsurance programme in Central and Eastern Europe with a value of €1.4 bn., concluded with a consortium of over 50 top rated international reinsurers. Such programme will help build resilience in Romania’s economy and in the affected communities in case of occurrence of a catastrophic event.

What strategies do you employ to ensure the successful digital transformation of a legal department while maintaining compliance with your country’s data protection laws?

In summary, my strategy views digital transformation as a compliance-anchored evolution — one that strengthens both the efficiency and resilience of the legal department in line with GDPR, DORA, and the wider governance expectations of the EU insurance sector.

In leading the digital transformation of the legal department, I focus on three pillars: governance, technology alignment, and digital culture.

It begins by establishing a comprehensive digital governance framework that maps all legal processes and data flows, identifying where personal, sensitive, or claims-related data is processed.

In coordination with the Data Protection Officer and Risk Management functions, we ensure that all initiatives comply with GDPR requirements, while aligning with DORA’s ICT risk management and incident reporting obligations. This means embedding resilience and data protection into every digital workflow — conducting Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) alongside ICT risk assessments to ensure that operational continuity, confidentiality, and data integrity are protected simultaneously.

When adopting digital tools, we ensure that vendors comply with EU data protection and ICT security standards. To this end, we assess third-party service providers for their resilience, cybersecurity measures, and data-handling capabilities.

Together with IT and compliance teams, we implement robust access controls, encryption, monitoring, and audit trails that comply with applicable regulations. Automation tools are further evaluated for transparency, explainability, and bias mitigation, ensuring they support fair, defensible legal decision-making.

A key part of successful transformation is fostering a digital and compliance-aware culture. We are involved in regular training sessions to build understanding of applicable regulations among legal staff — ensuring everyone recognises their role in protecting data and maintaining operational resilience. I also promote a “digital-first but compliance-always” philosophy, implementing technologies that improve efficiency — such as digital workflows, or smart templates, without compromising regulatory requirements.

Looking forward, what trends do you foresee in the legal landscape over the next 5–10 years that companies should prepare for? 

Over the next five to ten years, I see both medium-term and long-term shifts. In the next five years, companies will continue to adapt to new EU regulations like DORA, the AI Act, and CSRD, and start integrating technology to improve efficiency and compliance. Looking further ahead, over the next 10 years, I expect legal departments to operate in a highly digitised and data-driven environment, where AI, predictive analytics, and fully integrated operational resilience become standard, fundamentally changing how we deliver legal value.

At the same time, when using legal tech, including AI, the practitioners need to identify the tasks that require creativity, oversight and judgement of a human, even if the machine is highly sophisticated.

To be prepared to work with AI, studies have shown that legal professionals must seek to develop combined technical and cognitive skills, in addition to lifelong improvement of legal knowledge. One of my priorities is to stay educated regarding the legal tech improvements, by following legal tech newsletters and engaging in peer-to-peer knowledge sharing.