Benefitting from the firm’s global network, CMS is a popular choice to aid international clients with competition matters related to significant transactions. The practice also stands out for its work in investigations, abuses of dominance, unfair competition and compliance matters. It regularly assists clients in the energy, telecoms, media and retail industries. The team is jointly steered by Nevena Radlova and Ivan Gergov, with Radlova focusing on merger control and merger clearance, whilst Gergov advises on competition issues related to M&A transactions. Anna Tanova is an additional lawyer to note in this area.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Accolades
Client satisfaction: Lawyer & team quality
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- Highly professional individuals, equipped with expertise across all legal areas that have been of interest or need to us to date. They consistently demonstrate rapid responsiveness, typically replying within 1-2 business days. When required, they provide ready-to-use draft text for official responses to our partners or institutions, in Bulgarian or English as needed.
- The company excels in comprehensive coverage of business-critical domains (e.g., corporate, contract, IP, and regulatory matters), backed by practical, precedent-driven insights. It stands out for its speed, pragmatism, and client-centric adaptability — delivering actionable outputs rather than prolonged analysis. The company evidently maintains a comprehensive library of varied legal cases, using it as a resource to propose effective solutions for a wide range of issues. Their multilingual drafting capability further streamlines cross-border collaboration, reducing our internal review time significantly. They also organize timely webinars on pressing issues, particularly new legal requirements affecting business operations. Billing is transparent, based on detailed, strictly maintained time recordings.
- 'Well prepared team, quick in asses a certain topic giving proper replies in a short time.'
- 'Very prompt in taking requests and responding. Can be relied upon.'
- 'Huge admiration for the team. They are very well-organised, responsive, precise, fast-acting with priorities and always meeting the deadlines set. Communication is easy - they quickly understand what needs to be done and execute it efficiently. They are very helpful and reactive when urgent matters arise. They are absolute professionals with a positive attitude!'
- 'Nevena Radlova is consistently positive, competent, engaged, and responsive - a true professional. As my primary contact, she set the high standard for CMS's services, and this excellent impression extends to her colleagues.'
Key clients
- EKO Bulgaria
- Avon Bulgaria
- HELLENiQ ENERGY Holdings S.A.
- CNNP Rich Energy Co., Ltd.
Work highlights
Advice to a multinational bio-industrial company on compliance with competition law of a number of promotional campaigns, contracts and practices.
Advice to EKO Bulgaria (part of HelleniQ Energy group) on merger clearance advice procedures in relation to renting of various petrol stations; advice in relation to advertising campaigns.
Advice to Avon Bulgaria on daily business matters, including competition law advice on the contractual structure and relations with various business partners and representatives.
Lawyers
Next Generation Partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.
Leading associates
Leading associates with regular involvement in their team's key work, and recognition from peers or clients as being ones to watch.
Practice head
Nevena Radlova; Ivan Gergov
Other key lawyers
Anna Tanova; Anna-Maria Spasova; Maxim Hristov