Team size: >20

Robert Ionita serves as the group general counsel of NEPI Rockcastle group, CEE’s largest listed owner, developer and manager of shopping centres, with a total portfolio value of EUR 7 bn, consisting of over 2,200,000 m2 of high-quality modern retail space in nine CEE countries.

Robert manages a team of over 20 in-house lawyers and external counsel spread across 10 jurisdictions. In addition to his legal role, Robert is also in charge of the corporate affairs and corporate communications of NEPI Rockcastle group.

Prior to joining NEPI Rockcastle, Robert was a partner and led the real estate team of Deloitte legal – Reff & Associates, with whom he spent almost 10 years of his career. During this period, the law firm became recognised by all major legal directories as having a 1st tier real estate practice.

In the last decade, Robert has been involved in numerous landmark deals and development projects across CEE and, following NEPI’s merger with Rockcastle in 2017, he reorganised and strengthened the group’s legal, risk and compliance functions.

How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crises, and how does your legal strategy align with the broader business strategy to ensure the organisation’s resilience?

In times of crisis, companies may become more vulnerable, and it is essential to adjust our risk tolerance accordingly. A key part of managing legal aspects during instability is not just to protect the company but also to help it find new opportunities. While the 2008 financial crisis and Covid-19 brought significant challenges and hardship, they also created conditions that enabled many of today’s business successes. For the legal function, the challenge is to strike the right balance between protecting the company and enabling it to seize opportunities, while carefully managing the risks involved.

This balance is what distinguishes a great legal function from a good one. It is not just about ensuring compliance; it is about helping to shape the business objectives so that they are both achievable and legally sound, even in uncertain times. The legal team must be adaptable, providing solutions that support the company’s goals while keeping an eye on the changing risk landscape.

Crises also affect the behaviour of external authorities—regulators, lawmakers, and watchdogs may tighten their stance or, in some cases, become more flexible. This adds another layer of complexity to our legal strategy. We need to be aware of the broader economic, political, and regulatory environment to properly interpret legal requirements and assess risks.

In essence, the legal function must not only react to the immediate challenges but also anticipate and guide the business toward sustainable success, supporting both resilience and growth during turbulent times.

What emerging technologies do you see as having the most significant impact on the legal profession in the near future, and how do you stay updated on these developments?

I believe certain emerging technologies, particularly large language models (LLMs) and generative AI, will soon have a major impact on the legal profession and quickly become essential tools in our work. These technologies already demonstrate strong capabilities, especially in areas like contract drafting and negotiation, internal policy chatbots and e-discovery. While they will not replace lawyers in the near future, they will undoubtedly change the way we practice law. Lawyers who embrace and use these tools will have a distinct advantage over those who don’t.

At NEPI Rockcastle, we are actively exploring several AI-driven tools, and I am optimistic that we will adopt one or more of these in the near future. The potential to automate routine legal tasks allows us to focus on higher-value activities that require human judgment, while still ensuring accuracy and efficiency. I believe it’s important to adopt these technologies not just to improve efficiency but also to stay competitive in a fast-evolving landscape.

To keep up with developments in legal technology, I make it a priority to stay informed. I regularly follow industry trends, attend legal tech conferences, and engage directly with technology providers. This helps me assess which tools would be most beneficial for our specific needs. By embracing these advancements, we can continue delivering high-quality legal services while adapting to the future of the profession.