Țuca Zbârcea & Asociații has received the highest score in the Financial Times’ rankings of Central and Eastern European law firms

Țuca Zbârcea & Asociații received a total of 275 points and was ranked 3rd in the Continental European Firms featured in this year’s „Financial Times Innovative Lawyers” report

On the 16th of October, the Financial Times launched its third edition of the „Financial Times Innovative Lawyers” report, in the presence of 400 lawyers and in-house counsels from law firms and leading companies across Europe.

For the second year running, Romania has been represented among the elite of the European legal industry, alongside well-known firms such as Clifford Chance, Allen & Overy, DLA Piper, Linklaters, Freshfields, Eversheds etc. „In this year’s FT Innovative Lawyers report, Țuca Zbârcea & Asociații is the only eastern European firm to be recognised”, stated the journalists from the Financial Times.

„The mere fact that the name of a Romanian law firm was heard in the Royal Courts of Justice in London, in a room with 400 of the best legal minds in Europe is very gratifying”, said Florentin Țuca, Managing Partner with Țuca Zbârcea & Asociații.

Țuca Zbârcea & Asociații received a total of 275 points for all entries submitted, which marked the highest total report score for a continental law firm.

Based on the total weighted score, the Romanian firm ranked 3rd in the Continental European Firms table, after Garrigues (Spain) and De Brauw Blackstone Westbroeck (the Netherlands), founded in 1941, and 1871 respectively. A total of 17 law firms were ranked in the Continental European Firms table from countries such as Germany, Turkey, Denmark, Austria, France, Greece, Belgium, Poland, with scores ranging from 12 to 217 points.

„A consistent performer in the report in the past two years has been Țuca Zbârcea & Asociații of Romania. Founded only three years ago, the firm has innovated by local standards in every area of its operations”, remarked the journalists from the Financial Times.

The Romanian law firm was recognised in various categories of the report, thus confirming its unequivocal commitment to apply robust and long-lasting principles of business conduct. Țuca Zbârcea & Asociații was ranked in the following areas of the report:

• Highly Commended in the Legal Expertise category, for “its groundbreaking work in Romania’s first application of the European Union Electricity Directive”. The firm advised CEZ company in relation to the implementation of the unbundling requirements, involving the separation of electricity supply and distribution activities with Electrica Oltenia – the first unbundling project in the energy field successfully implemented before the deadline imposed by the European Commission;
• Commended in the Billing and Fees category, for the implementation of an original risk-sharing method in international arbitration;
• Commended in the Marketing and Public Relations category, in relation to the www.bizylawyer.ro media project;
• Commended in the Responsible Business category, for the firm’s pro bono contribution to the implementation of the first free legal assistance programme for Romanian nationals living in Italy.

Furthermore, in the Environment category, Țuca Zbârcea & Asociații „can claim to be ahead of some established City of London firms on climate change”, commented the Financial Times journalists.

For the first time, a Romanian attorney was nominated for the „Legal Innovator of the Year” award. Florentin Țuca, Managing Partner at Țuca Zbârcea & Asociații came to the attention of the Financial Times journalists for „having successfully created, in the space of only three years, the best law firm in Romania”, announced the organizers of the „Financial Times Innovative Lawyers Awards” ceremony.

The Romanian lawyer faced serious competition from 30 other candidates. The list was whittled down to 10 nominees of various law firms, such as: Eversheds, Allen & Overy, Slaughter and May, Simmons & Simmons, SJ Berwin, Field Fisher Waterhouse etc. The „Legal Innovator of the Year” award was presented to Stewart Room, Partner at Field Fisher Waterhouse, for cleverly applying his knowledge of technology and law to create a new product line for clients of Field Fisher Waterhouse.

Commenting on the nomination, Florentin Țuca, Managing Partner at Țuca Zbârcea & Asociații stated: „It has been an incredibly overwhelming night. I was honored to be shortlisted alongside the partners of some of the most powerful law firms in Europe. Our achievement tonight would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of our team of lawyers and office staff and I am very proud to see that the merits of these exceptional people have been recognised by the most prestigious financial publication in the world.”

According to the Financial Times’ representatives, the number of participating companies doubled this year compared to 2007. As such, 600 submissions were received from law firms across Europe and from legal teams working in top European companies. 82 law firms were actually published in the report and only the top 50 performers were presented in the FT Law 50 index. In this table, Țuca Zbârcea & Asociații ranked 18th, ahead other well-known names such as Simmons & Simmons, Noerr Stiefenhofer Lutz, Norton Rose, Wolf Theiss, Cutrecasas, Skadden Arps etc.