An in-depth look at Cristina Filip of Filip & Company covering her career path, education, and top projects as a lawyer as well as a few insights about her as a manager at work and as a person outside the office.
Career:
- Filip & Company, Founding Partner, 2008-present
- Nestor Nestor Diculescu Kingston Petersen, Partner, 2003-2008
- Nestor Nestor Diculescu Kingston Petersen, Senior Associate, 2002-2003
- Nestor Nestor Diculescu Kingston Petersen, Associate, 1998-2002
Education:
- University of Bucharest, Faculty of Law, 1998
Favorites:
Out of office activity: Reading, playing with my son, being in nature
Quote: “What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead” – Nelson Mandela
Book: The Five Invitations by Frank Ostaseski
Movie: Anthony Minghella’s The English Patient
Top 5 Project The privatization of power distribution and supply companies in the regions of Banat, Constanta, Oltenia, and Moldova: legal assistance to the Government of Romania in the pilot privatizations in the power sector in Romania, which resulted in the regulatory reform of the power distribution sector and the entrance of Enel, Cez, and Eon as strategic investors on the local energy market (between 2000 and 2005);
- Advising the Tiriac Group on the merger with the Bank Austria Group (subsequently UniCredit) of the Tiriac Bank (in 2005) and then its exit from UniCredit Tiriac Bank (in 2015): coordination of sale side assistance in a very complex multi-jurisdictional transaction, including the release of multi-layer options and joint-venture and security arrangements in one of the largest M&A transactions in the banking sector in Romania;
- Advising Kameran Ltd. on the sale of participations in a leading integrated packaging and paper group in Romania comprising the EcoPack and Ecopaper companies to DS Smith plc (closed in 2018);
- Advising Banca Transilvania in its successful acquisitions, through separate competitive tender processes, of several banks and other financial institutions which accelerated BT becoming the leading institution in the financial sector in Romania (three subsequent transactions between 2014 and 2023);
- Advising Super Slam Limited on the sale of the sanction rights over the combined tennis tournament ATP Masters 1000 / WTA Premier Mandatory in Madrid, Spain, and various ancillary assets and participations to IMG UK / the Endeavour Group (closed in 2022).
What would you say was the most challenging project you ever worked on and why?
Filip: The undertaking, together with my partners and colleagues, of building and growing the law firm Filip & Company. It is the longest continuous project I have been involved in and it challenges me every day on how to keep the balance between focus and dedication to our clients and focus and dedication to our team members.
And what was your main takeaway from it?
Filip: As we build a law firm for a century, I learned to test and measure and select relationships, issues, opportunities, and solutions always by applying the long-term view.
What is one thing clients likely don’t know about you?
Filip: What clients do not know about me will be, on reflection, congruous with what they do know.
Name one mentor who played a big role in your career and how they impacted you.
Filip: I was very fortunate to work with many excellent lawyers when I started in the legal profession at NNDKP, and I learned a lot from each of them. The person whom I identify as my mentor is Ion Nestor. He is a man who achieved the highest professional stature and recognition while being connected with his authentic wisdom and inspiring the people around him with his vision and moral values, his passion, courage, openness, generosity, warmth, and fairness.
Name one mentee you are particularly proud of.
Filip: I really enjoy seeing my colleagues grow and succeed in what they plan for themselves – sometimes this means they progress with their career in our law firm, and other times they follow with studies and careers abroad or in other companies. Paying it forward is, for me, a way to express gratitude for all the support I received along the way in my life.
What is the one piece of advice you’d give yourself fresh out of law school?
Filip: Know and grow yourself; study and respect the legacy of the legal profession; and stay open and curious and keep learning about the larger-than-law environment. The legal profession is under tremendous pressure to adapt and evolve and the new generation of legal practitioners will be called to find solutions for changes and challenges never before experienced.
This article was originally published in Issue 10.4 of the CEE Legal Matters Magazine. If you would like to receive a hard copy of the magazine, you can subscribe here.
