Reff & Associates SCA

“BANKING & FINANCE Throughout our journey of becoming the largest bank in Romania, for the last couple of years, we collaborated with Reff & Associates – Deloitte Legal Romania on various important matters, from transactions to expansion, innovation and regulatory projects. Their Banking & Finance practice is extremely mature, knowledgeable and reliable and my key contacts, which I would definitely recommend, are Andrei Burz-Pînzaru, Andreea Șerban and Lorena Roșia. I value a lot their responsiveness, pragmatic approach, deep and thorough legal reasoning, as well as the out of the box manner in which they connect the dots every time and manage to accommodate our business constraints. Andrei Burz-Pînzaru, Managing Partner, is a well-known voice and a trendsetter in the Romanian legal market, with a vast and long-standing expertise in classical fields such as banking, finance, M&A and capital markets. He is also a researcher and a pioneer in fringe eclectic areas such as emerging fintech market, where he proved to be a great navigator and aggregator in the slalom among regulatory constraints, innovation drivers and opportunities and digital revolution disruptive factors. Leading by example, besides legal expertise, Andrei has nurtured and imprinted in his team essential qualities that make the difference when facing complex legal issues, such as sharp business acumen, fairness in relation to all stakeholders and diplomacy when approaching sensitive subjects. Andreea Șerban is a dynamic and business-oriented banking & finance transaction lawyer who dialectically explores the commercial side of each deal, in order to anticipate what solutions fit best the client’s objectives and how can be put in practice in a way that takes into account and satisfies the strategic needs of all the stakeholders involved. Each time Andreea brought value in our projects and we benefited of her broad experience and in-depth knowledge of the financial services industry, in particular of the non-performing loans market, gained upon coordinating over years many high-profile transactions in this sector. Once you started a project with Andreea by your side, be sure that she will always be there for you, very proactive, insightful and available for additional brainstorming that will upscale the initially desired outcome of the project.”

MIHAI ROTARU (Deputy Head of Legal)

BANCA TRANSILVANIA S.A. (the largest bank in Romania)

“Reff & Associates – Deloitte Legal Romania supported us on several specialized finance transactions and provided our teams with reliable and unparalleled advice needed in structuring the deals, understanding the complexities and identifying viable solutions. They are an innovative law firm, determined in focusing on their clients’ needs. They have involved highly knowledgeable people from Deloitte Legal Romania and Deloitte Audit international network and brought into discussions different perspectives which enabled us to design & fulfil our objectives. Andrei Burz-Pînzaru and Irina Dimitriu proved excellent expertise, very good leadership of the projects in which they were involved, provided prompt and specialized advice and showed due care in organizing the projects.”

IOANA VOINESCU (Head of Construction Large Corporate Department) and IULIAN CEZAR CRET (Legal Department)

BANCA COMERCIALĂ ROMÂNĂ (BCR), member of Erste Group, one of the most important financial groups of Romania

“Being proficient in regulated areas of business is like cooking. Anybody can read a cookbook, yet not everybody can bake the delicious macaroons. Understanding the sense, the needs, the challenges, capturing the perspectives and growing the potential in a business area requires that deep know-how built in years of experience consolidated by the questions, doubts, researches, surprises, frustrations and victories earned with each and every assignment. Andrei Burz-Pînzaru is definitely one of the most adroit banking experts who very naturally brings together the best mix of specialists in order to easily meet your expectations of getting the same professional grasp on identifying the challenges, setting the priorities and designing the roadmap of a project that an equivalent team of experienced in-house specialists conveys you. Beyond these, you also feel the confidence of a wider perspective solutions’ validation and of a sophisticated approach brought on by an inclusive and passionate team of professionals. The sound knowledge of the regulatory environment as well as the deep understanding of the business reveals the most pragmatical yet founded approach which takes further the premises of beneficial and reliable synergies when interacting with other industries and players on the market.”

RALUCA GALCHIS (Chief Legal Officer)

CREDIT EUROPE BANK (ROMANIA) SA

“I started my collaboration with Reff & Associates - Deloitte Legal Romania more than 15 years ago and I can say that throughout all this period they remained the same excellent professionals and kind humans. I had the chance to meet and work with many members of the team and a constant characteristic of all is the proactive attitude combined with very good technical skills. They provided always excellent legal services and they assisted in complex cases, including assistance and legal representation in very sensitive litigations with very good results, taking into consideration that the Banking & Finance industry is a permanent source of very interesting situations. Alex Reff and Andrei Burz-Pînzaru are among the best professionals in the market with an outstanding capacity to understand client needs and always focused in giving, with diplomacy and accuracy, the best advises even in extremely challenging situations. The actual very good image of Reff & Associates - Deloitte Legal Romania is due to their permanent efforts and contributions, many times exceeding the borders of their organization and contaminating the whole industry. Especially in these difficult period generated by the pandemic, Reff & Associates - Deloitte Legal Romania team demonstrated to be very altruistic and stayed very close to the legal professionals in the financial services industry, including by organizing a series of very interesting events. It was always a pleasure for me to participate in such events perfectly organized, representing a very good source of information and ideas to think of. I consider that Reff & Associates - Deloitte Legal Romania has all the necessary ingredients to continue to remain one of the most reputable law office in the market, offering the best legal services to their clients.”

CIPRIAN CHIOREAN (Coordinating Director Legal Support)

VISTA BANK (ROMANIA) SA

“COMPANY: B2KAPITAL PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT (distressed bank loans investor and leader of the debt management market) I have collaborated with Reff & Associates – Deloitte Legal Romania in the last 15 years, as a peer in my previous legal practices, in some of the most complex banking, real estate, capital markets, white-collar investigation projects in the local market. In the last 2 years I had the opportunity to experience working with Reff & Associates team as a client while coordinating the legal department with a multi-national recovery and collection agency. The Banking & Finance team continues to hold a very special place in the top tier of the industry. Highly respected by both clients and peers, the team is recognized for being sharp, responsive and resourceful. A special thank you to Andreea Șerban, the banking-lioness, and to Andrei Burz-Pînzaru, for being a role model of balance and diplomacy in what is maybe one of the most competitive areas of practice. Finally, I would like to emphasize a quite unique feature to Reff & Associates - Deloitte Legal Romania and the law firms part of the Deloitte Legal network: the multi-jurisdictional presence at the highest professional standards. B2Kapital Portfolio Management has been involved in projects covering several European jurisdictions, where Reff & Associates provided a safe harbor for the entire project by coordinating the complex feed-back on the banking and the real estate due diligence process executed by the legal teams associated with Deloitte Legal in the relevant jurisdictions.”

DUTU FLORIN (Head of Legal)

“CAPITAL MARKETS Partners in every step. Business and product development is a long process, with questions and answers arising from both sides. Andrei Burz-Pînzaru has the excellent quality of making things look easy and the entire journey seems to be a perfect partnership. Excellent business understanding, along with his global view and experience made our new product development an easy task. Human approach, positive thinking, meanwhile performant risk assessment led us to a successful outcome.”

AUREL BERNAT (CEO)

BT ASSET MANAGEMENT SAI, an investment management company licensed by the Romanian FSA and managing 14 funds, part of Banca Transilvania financial group

“COMMERCIAL, CORPORATE AND M&A Our company has been working with Reff & Associates through the Corporate M&A team led by Georgiana Singurel for 2 years on a complex project with the scope of implementing corporate governance and cross-border mergers in our group of more than 10 companies with a total turnover of approximately EUR150M. Bog’Art Holding Management required an inter-disciplinary approach that Reff & Associates and Deloitte could provide, comprising HR-driven KPI’s for management alignment, transfer pricing, fiscal considerations, as well as drafting of corporate governance and legal documents for implementation. The team effort of Reff & Associates is held together by Mrs. Singurel who oversees the legal aspects but covers full-spectrum requirements adapted to suit our holding’s optimal corporate governance systems. We highly value the coordinated inter-disciplinary activity and find Reff & Associates to be a unique provider of this service for Corporate M&A.”

BOGDAN DOICESCU (Director of Development)

BOG’ART Holding Management

“The collaboration with Reff was connected to a very complex project we initiated under a re-organisation plan. They showed flexibility in finding the right set-up, understood our needs and were always able to gather the full competences required for a complete and in-depth review of the topics. As for individuals, Diana Fejer is a complete professional, the type of lawyer which finds solutions vs identify problems. I was impressed by the variety of business know-how, and the quality of the deliverables under discussion. I was very pleased with the outcome of our project and look forward to the next one.”

FLORIN ZECA (CFO)

Siemens Energy SRL

“We have been working with Reff & Associates – Deloitte Legal Romania since 2019. Their know-how is really sharp and their engagement is going an extra mile to make sure that all the client’s needs are successfully answered. We have always found the expected support in Reff & Associates – Deloitte Legal Romania and received top quality tailor-made solutions. We are very pleased with the support provided by entire team, especially by Georgiana Singurel (Partner) and Diana Fejer (Senior Managing Associate), their solid knowledge and experience in projects dealing with corporate M&A aspects.”

MIHAELA STRATILA

HS TIMBER PRODUCTIONS SRL

“We take the opportunity of this testimonial to thank you once more for the support you have provided and continue providing to our business. Reff & Associates is our first choice when it comes to M&A transactions for a long list of excellent qualities. Just to name a few, besides the high standards and professionalism, we highly appreciate the goal oriented and client friendly approach, and last but not least, we see in Reff & Associates not only a law firm, but a long-term partner that is a key success factor in any M&A project.”

MIRELA METEA (Head of Legal)

PLATFORMA ROCA SA, private equity

“We are very pleased with the quality of the legal advice we have received from Reff & Associates - Deloitte Legal Romania so far over the last six years. We have collaborated with different lawyers all way through on different fields such as real estate, corporate, and recently in a complex M&A transaction led by Diana Fejer. The entire Deloitte team has been really dedicated and focused, with a remarkable understanding of the internal needs of our business. They have proven to be very flexible, with an in-depth knowledge of technicalities, and I would point out with a great personal commitment with the success of the transaction.”

Pablo Martínez

GRUPO ANTOLIN, global supplier of technological solutions for car interiors with the most complete and wide range of solutions on the market

“Ms. Singurel and Mr. Balaceanu proved to be very professional, always there for us, helping us in every step of the way. We've been more than happy in our collaboration with Reff & Associates. We built up a solid and trustful relationship and we look forward to working together with them in the future as well.”

VALENTIN HEREA, Owner

Enigma Trading 2000 S.R.L., one of the most appreciated suppliers for polyethylene and polypropylene household products in Romania

“DISPUTE RESOLUTION Testimonial: We work with Reff & Associates – Deloitte Legal Romania on various legal topics including Dispute Resolution, on a variety of maters (real estate, consumer and data protection etc). I am very pleased with their work, as we built up a solid and trustful relationship. The litigation partner working for us, Mihnea Galgoţiu-Săraru, has a business approach and a strategic vision, that helps us resolve the matter in line with our commercial interest and with as little disruption as possible.”

CRISTIAN STROE (Legal Manager IKEA Southeast Europe)

IKEA ROMANIA, Scandinavian chain selling ready-to-assemble furniture

“In 2020, I had the chance to start a collaboration with Reff & Associates – Deloitte Legal Romania in an intricate cross-border taxation issue. Our collaboration was later extended to several other tax related projects and disputes in which their prompt and knowledgeable help was instrumental in finding early solutions, which were later endorsed by the tax authority. Emanuel Bondalici is a dynamic and proactive lawyer, whose client-oriented approach has proven to be essential in anticipating the best available legal solutions. I strongly recommend Reff & Associates’ team, for their deep expertise in tax litigation, insightful advice, their willingness to explore solutions and their commitment to the success of our projects.”

LAURENȚIU ZAHARIA (General Manager)

DEUTSCHE LEASING ROMANIA IFN S.A, part of Deutsche Leasing Group, one of the largest and strongest financial organisations in the world

“I have been working for many years on various and very complex litigation matters with Mihnea Galgotiu-Sararu and Ana Galgotiu-Sararu, from Reff & Associates, that helped our company in many challenging projects. They proved excellent litigation know-how, strategic vision and a commercial approach, that made them one of our trusted advisors.”

LAJOS CSISZER (General Manager)

GRÁNIT PÓLUS ROMANIA

“TESTIMONIAL The Reff & Associates’ team working on our tax disputes has been hands-on in dealing with litigations which were both intricate and requiring a high degree of specialisation. I would like to mention Emanuel Bondalici, who is an up-and-coming attorney with a pragmatic approach in the disputes his team is handling for us. As mentioned above, Emanuel makes a great team with his Deloitte colleagues. They have become our go-to people whenever we are dealing with any tax related issues and disputes.”

Steluta Olaru (CFO)

Berlin Chemie

“I have been working with the Reff & Associates litigation team run by Mihnea Galgotiu-Sararu for the past two years and their legal services are exceptional, combining thorough legal expertise with business approach and industry insight based on their integration in the Deloitte network. They are in contact with our most senior management and deliver clear and strategic directions in very delicate disputes. Ana Galgotiu Sararu is the manager of the litigation project and she is efficiency-driven, pragmatic and very responsive.”

Valentin Timis (Legal Manager)

BT Leasing, member of Banca Transilvania Group

“EMPLOYMENT I like to work with Reff & Associates because of their comprehensive approach to the work. I can always be sure that every angle of a legal topic is covered and they point out topics to take into consideration even not directly connected with situations we discuss. This makes me feel secure when I make decisions for my company.”

SEBASTIAN CHOMIAKOW (HR Generalist GTS CZ/SK/HU/RO/BG/SR/SL)

STANLEYBLACK & DECKER ROMANIA S.R.L.

“The employment team of Reff & Associates, led by Florentina Munteanu and having Gabriela Ilie coordinating the day-to-day assistance, is very professional and responsible. The team is highly dedicated, committed to find the right answers for our needs. We are very satisfied with the professionalism the team constantly displays, their understanding of our business and their capability to adapt. We truly value the timely, sound and objective advice and the day-to-day involvement provided in every step of our activity. We would definitely recommend and look forward to continue working with them.”

ANTOANETA VACAROIU (Legal Consultant Romania & Moldova)

AVON COSMETICS (Romania), the fifth-largest beauty company and the second largest direct-selling enterprise in the world

“EU AND COMPETITION We have been assisted by the competition team during the investigation of the Romanian Competition Council on the market for financial leasing and consumer credit, whereby three of the companies from our group (Banca Transilvania group) were investigated for an alleged cartel on exchange of sensitive information. They managed very professionally the defense, the team was fully involved in understanding the industry/activities and to find creative explanations. We praise Florentina for being very pragmatic, she adapts the theoretical advice to our business needs. We appreciate very much Andrea’s commitment and dedication to our project; she is also a very nice person to work with.”

VALENTIN TIMIS (Head of Legal)

BT LEASING TRANSILVANIA IFN S.A., part of the largest Romanian banking group

“REAL ESTATE AND CONSTRUCTION Reff & Associates team has been our go-to legal advisor in the past years and we have counted on the real estate team for assistance on our most complex projects. In particular, Irina Dimitriu and her team offered their support on a variety of legal situations and provided sound legal reasoning and substantiation to the unexpected developments occurring on our project. Their significant contribution on the matters entrusted to them always indicated a thorough understanding of the real estate industry and it has proven to be an invaluable support to us over the past years.”

OVIDIU SANDOR

Mulberry Group, real estate development firm

“Reff & Associates team has been our trustworthy legal advisor for almost a decade now. Irina and her team assisted us with a wide range of legal services during our expansion on the Romanian market, starting with due diligence analysis, continuing with the acquisition phases and last, but not least, with complex construction and operational matters. They are our go-to consultant. Irina and her team gained our confidence with their in-depth legal and technical knowledge as well as their commercial oriented approach while providing us with innovative solutions on complex aspects of law. Working with Irina and her team all along these years was an outstanding experience I truly enjoyed because beyond their focus on high professionalism, instilling a culture of perfectionism in all their deliverables and a top-notch work, the empathetic approach and invaluable in depth risks overlooking and analysis, Irina and her team helped IKEA to have a 360 degrees coverage of all possible situations encountered into the IKEA complex projects life span. I trust continuing being assisted by Irina and her team in our IKEA ambitious expansion plans for upcoming years, will strengthen even more the successful contribution of Irina and her team to IKEA projects.”

VIVIANA PAVEL (Real Estate and Development Manager)

IKEA ROMANIA, Scandinavian chain selling ready-to-assemble furniture

“Ms. Irina Dimitriu is an outstanding legal professional, with a very strong record of successfully closed transactions. Ms. Dimitriu excels in her ability to navigate intricate legal matters and due to her vast experience in real estate law, acquisitions, financing, business environment regulation, she enjoys a very solid profile in delivering large-scale projects. With her tenacity and indisputable competence, she is actively engaged in the most relevant and impactful public policy initiatives, contributing with her expertise and presenting the business perspective, thus enabling to advance the voice of the industry across a wide spectrum of stakeholders, ranging from the Prime Minister office to regional cities mayors. I strongly recommend Ms. Dimitriu as being a truly gifted strategist and one of the top legal and real estate professionals in Romania.”

VOICHITA LEFTER (Policy & Changemaking Partner)

Matei - Borbely + Partners, Public Affairs