In 2008 Satoshi Nakamoto published a white-paper outlining electronic cash peer-to-peer transactions known as Bitcoin, the first virtual currency based on a technology known as blockchain. Virtual currencies present a new digital asset class that is still in a grey area in terms of defining the actual asset. This creates difficulties and uncertainty in the area of taxation of profits arising from the owning, holding, or disposing of the given assets. 

Increase in R&D Premium

Almost four years ago, under pressure from its European partners and the IMF exercised by means of economic adjustment programs and loan agreements broadly known as “memoranda,” the Greek State adopted a new tax procedural code.

French lawyer Bruno Leroy is the Founding Partner of the highly-regarded Leroy si Asociatii law firm in Bucharest. Leroy, who is a member of the Paris and Bucharest Bar Associations, has been working in Romania for almost twenty years, specializing in M&A and real estate transactions and on sensitive European law and competition matters.

On July 29, 2017, a new regulation regarding the reception of construction projects (the “New Regulation”) was enacted by means of Government Decision no. 343/2017. The New Regulation, which replaced the former procedure (which was regulated by Government Decision no. 273/1994) in its entirety, provides a number of notable changes impacting the real estate and construction industry in Romania.

On July 29, 2017, a new regulation regarding the reception of construction projects (the “New Regulation”) was enacted by means of Government Decision no. 343/2017. The New Regulation, which replaced the former procedure (which was regulated by Government Decision no. 273/1994) in its entirety, provides a number of notable changes impacting the real estate and construction industry in Romania.

A number of modifications to Romanian fiscal legislation implemented on January 1, 2016, have had significant effects on both taxpayers and competent authorities. The most important of these modifications target the transfer pricing policies and the VAT payment mechanism and have had a direct effect on fiscal litigations.

Romanian Government Ordinance no. 23/2017 regarding split VAT payment entered into force on October 1, with its provisions being optional until the end of 2017. On January 1, 2018, the Ordinance becomes mandatory. 

The Deal: On June 20, 2017, CEE Legal Matters reported that the Esin Attorney Partnership and Baker McKenzie had advised Turkven Private Equity, the Akarlilar Family, and Mavi Giyim Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S., the Turkish jeans and jeans-wear company, on Mavi’s IPO, with White & Case advising underwriters Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, and Is Yatirim. 

The Deal:  In July 2017, CEE Legal Matters reported that Romania’s Leroy si Asociatii law firm had advised France’s Lactalis group on its acquisition of Romania’s Covalact S.A. dairy producer from the SigmaBleyzer private equity firm, with Schoenherr advising SigmaBleyzer on the deal.

Although Romania claims the highest GDP growth rate in Europe and a low unemployment rate, all is not rosy in the seventh most populous member state of the European Union, and prominent lawyers in the country admit to profound dissatisfaction with the country’s leadership and concern about its long-term prospects.

Recent years have seen a remarkable increase in the number of international arbitration disputes involving Romanian parties. In light of its flexibility, of the freedom parties have in constituting the arbitral tribunal and choosing the seat and language of the arbitration, and the perceived speedy and effortless enforceability of arbitral awards, international arbitration has become a widely-used dispute settlement mechanism. 

Law firm marketing and business development experts apply skills honed over many years and often in other industries. To explore their backgrounds, we asked them: What was the last job you had before joining a law firm, and why did you make the change?

I vividly remember my first deal ever. It was a debut Eurobond from a Russian corporate after the financial crisis in 1998. I was interning in the “summer boot camp” of a major ILF in Moscow right after the fourth year of my law studies. A first grip at a due diligence exercise, trying to understand what it was like to be a lawyer in private practice – not least to see if I actually wanted to be one.

Every October, for some reason, even as we lunge for the end of the year like a marathon runner approaching the tape, we find ourselves overcome with the urge to increase our output, expand our platforms, and grow our company. Last year, for instance, we decided the time had come to move to a monthly from a bimonthly publishing schedule.

On August 17, a gathering of Dispute Resolution experts from many of the leading domestic and international law firms in Ukraine gathered in Baker McKenzie’s Kyiv offices for a Round Table conversation. 

For many in this world the legal profession is nothing but an appealing vocation. One has to work hard for several years to get a law degree/admission only then to obtain a lavish lifestyle and earn big bucks.  

Hungarian lawyer Peter Paroczi is the Director Counsel at Harman International, the US-based consumer electronics company. He joined Harman in Budapest earlier this year, after spending four years in private practice and then another seven in-house, first with Samsung Electronics, then at E.On. He agreed to answer some of our questions about his career.