News

2025 – you were amazing! 2026 – we are ready for the new opportunities that lie ahead!

2025 was an amazing year for NNDKP, as we celebrated important achievements and added new chapters to our story. As we wrap up an incredible year, we are taking a moment to celebrate the progress we have made. Explore the highlights of our journey below.

We celebrated our 35^th anniversary

With a legacy spanning 35 years, we have actively contributed to the development of business law in Romania, adapting to the changes in the local business environment, constantly innovating, and being involved in some of the largest projects that have contributed to the growth of the local economy.

With 35 years of rewarding work behind us, we couldn’t be more excited about what the future holds and are ready to seize the opportunities that lie ahead.

More details about this important milestone are available here.

We were named for the 7^th time Romania Law Firm of the Year by Chambers Europe

NNDKP secured its seventh Romania Law Firm of the Year title at the Chambers Europe 2025 Awards. With this new distinction, NNDKP remains the most awarded law firm in Romania by the prestigious legal guide, and we couldn’t be prouder of it.

More details are available here.

We were named Romania Patent Firm of the Year at Managing IP EMEA 2025 awards

NNDKP won the Romania Patent Firm of the Year award at the Managing IP EMEA 2025 awards ceremony.  The Managing IP Awards are globally recognized as a landmark event in the IP sector and the legal industry, celebrating the outstanding work of IP firms and practitioners from more than 50 jurisdictions.

More details are available here.

We won two awards at the Benchmark Litigation Europe 2025 Awards

NNDKP received two awards at the Benchmark Litigation Europe 2025 Awards gala.

We received the Romania Firm of the Year award and Emil Bivolaru, Executive Partner, was named Romania Litigator of the Year.

The Benchmark Litigation Europe Awards recognize the most distinguished litigators in the region and their firms based on thorough research conducted by the Benchmark EU team.

More details are available here.

We were recognized once again in prominent international rankings

It is rewarding to see our team’s performance reflected in the latest international rankings, solidifying our position as one of the leading law firms in Romania.

The 2025 editions of Chambers and Partners, The Legal 500, and IFLR1000 have once again recognized our work and expertise, placing NNDKP at the forefront of the Romanian legal market.

• 18 Band 1/Tier 1 positions for our practices
  • Ranked first (Band 1) in 6 practice areas researched in Romania by Chambers Europe – more details here.
  • Ranked first (Tier 1) in 11 practice areas researched in Romania by The Legal 500 – more details here.
  • Ranked first (Tier 1) in 1 practice area researched in Romania by IFLR1000 – more details here.
• Further recognition
  • Included for the second year in a row in the Elite category of the GCR 100 2025 rankings, the annual listing of the world`s best competition practices and consultancies, among some of the most experienced firms across the globe – more details here.
  • Highly Recommended firm for Litigation and Transactions, as well as for Prosecution in the IAM Patent 1000 2025 guide – more details here.
  • Ranked firm in Romania for Patent, Trademark disputes and Trademark prosecution, by Managing Intellectual Property – IP Stars.
  • Ranked in the Gold category for Prosecution & Strategy and the Silver category for Enforcement & Litigation by World Trademark Review, in the WTR 1000 rankings, 2025 edition – more details here.
  • Ranked firm in Romania for General Corporate Tax, Tax Controversy and Transfer Pricing by ITR World Tax (2026 edition) – more details here.
  • Shortlisted for the Lawyer European Awards 2025, being nominated in the Law firm of the year: South Eastern Europe award category – more details here.
  • Shortlisted for the Benchmark Litigation Europe Awards 2025, being the only law firm in Romania earning two nominations in the Romania Litigator of the Year award category and nominations for the Romania Firm of the Year and Central & Eastern Europe Litigator of the Year awards – more details here.
  • Shortlisted for the Legal 500 Central and Eastern Europe Awards 2025, earning three nominations: Energy Firm of the Year, Energy Lawyer of the Year and Romania Lawyer of the Year – more details here.
  • Shortlisted for the ITR EMEA Tax Awards 2025, nominated for the Tax Disputes Firm of the Year in Romania award – more details here.
  • Shortlisted for the IFLR Europe Awards 2025 by IFLR1000, nominated for the Romania Law Firm of the Year award – more details here.
  • Shortlisted for the Managing IP EMEA Awards 2025 by Managing IP, nominated in two categories, Patent and Copyright & Design – details here.
  • Shortlisted for the LMG Life Sciences Awards 2025 by LMG Life Sciences, in the South East Europe Firm of the Year award category – more details here.
  • Shortlisted for the 2024 CEE Deals of the Year Awards by CEE Legal, having received nominations for two transactions in which our teams have been involved – more details here.
• 96 appearances of our lawyers and counsellors in individual rankings and listings:
  • 17 professionals listed by Chambers Europe
  • 45 professionals included in The Legal 500
  • 16 professionals recognized by IFLR 1000
  • 6 professionals ranked by Lexology
  • 2 professionals ranked by IP Stars
  • 3 professionals recommended by IAM Patent 1000
  • 2 professionals recommended by WTR 1000
  • 5 professionals ranked by ITR World Tax

We received outstanding individual recognition

In 2025, members of our team were honored with prestigious accolades and recognition for their exceptional work and achievements:

• Adina Chilim-Dumitriu was recognized as a leading practitioner for Romania in the Lexology Index: Telecoms, Media & Entertainment report, being Highly Recommended for the Telecoms & Media category – details here.
• Sorina Olaru was recognized as a top professional in Arbitration for Romania by Lexology, alongside experts in the field from over 150 jurisdictions worldwide – details here.
• Manuela Nestor, Adina Chilim-Dumitriu, Adriana I. Gaspar, Alina Radu, Gabriela Cacerea and Ruxandra Bologa were recognized as Women Leaders by IFLR1000 2025 guide, among the most prominent women lawyers across the world, with outstanding reputations within their markets – details here.
• Sorina Olaru and Florina Firaru have been recognized as global leaders in the IAM Global Leaders list for 2026, alongside world`s top private practice experts in the patent field – details here.
• Alina Timofti, Marius Ionescu, Lucian Barbu, Silviu Bădescu and Alexandru Aparaschivei were singled out as top professionals in the International Tax Review (ITR) World Tax 2026 rankings. Alina Timofti was listed as Highly Regarded and included in the Women in Tax Leader category, Marius Ionescu and Alexandru Aparashivei were listed as Highly Regarded, and Silviu Bădescu and Lucian Barbu were rated as Notable Practitioners – details here.
• Sorina Olaru and Florina Firaru were recognized as leading professionals in the 2025 edition of the IP STARS guide. Sorina Olaru was rated as a Trade mark star and Florina Firaru as a Notable practitioner – details here.
• Emil Bivolaru won the Romania Litigator of the Year award at the Benchmark Litigation Europe 2025 Awards Gala. Emil was also nominated in the Central & Eastern Europe Litigator of the Year award category – details here and here.
• Sorina Olaru was shortlisted for the Benchmark Litigation Europe Awards 2025, earning a nomination in the Romania Litigator of the Year award category – details here.
• Ruxandra Bologa was shortlisted for the Legal 500 Central and Eastern Europe Awards 2025, earning two nominations: Energy Lawyer of the Year and Romania Lawyer of the Year – details here.
• Gabriela Cacerea and Ruxandra Bologa were recognized once again as leaders in the energy field for Romania, in the 2025 Lexology Index, Energy edition, by Lexology – details here.
• Sorina Olaru and Florina Firaru were included in the 2025 WTR Global Leaders guide by World Trademark Review – details here.
• Ana Diculescu-Șova received the Award of Excellence at the tenth edition of the Lady Lawyer Gala, organized by Portalul Universul Juridic, for her performance in the legal field throughout her career – details here.
• Sorina Olaru, Florina Firaru and Răzvan Banța were recommended in the IAM Patent 1000 2025 edition – details here.
• Sorina Olaru was nominated for the Managing IP EMEA Awards 2025 in the Practitioner of the Year award category – details here.
• Sorina Olaru and Florina Firaru were included in the Gold category of the WTR 1000 guide, 2025 edition – details here.
• Ana Diculescu-Șova, Adriana I. Gaspar and Alina Radu were included once again in The Legal 500 Hall of Fame.
• Lavinia Ioniță-Rasmussen was included for a fifth consecutive year among The 50 Most Influential People in Romania’s Real Estate Market, a Property Forum annual guide.
• Iurie Cojocaru received the Award of Excellence for outstanding performance in the data protection field in 2024, at the fourth edition of the Romanian Magazine for Personal Data Protection and Security (RRPSDCP) Awards Gala organized by Universul Juridic.

NNDKP also received local recognition

At local level, the NNDKP Competition practice was named Competition Team of the Year for the Automotive Industry at the 2025 Pria Competition Gala – details here.

We added new deals to our track record

In 2025, we further expanded our track record with a series of high-profile transactions. NNDKP:

• Assisted a syndicate of banks comprised of Banca Comercială Română S.A., ING Bank N.V. Amsterdam – Bucharest Branch, CEC Bank S.A., Intesa Sanpaolo Romania S.A., UniCredit Bank S.A., Exim Banca Românească S.A., Raiffeisen Bank S.A., Garanti Bank S.A. and PKO Bank Polski S.A. Warsaw, Bucharest Branch, on approximately EUR 500 million financing to Carmistin The Food Company, the new national leader in poultry meat and feed production (details here).
• Assisted, as part of an international legal team, Metinvest, an international, vertically integrated mining and metals company, in connection with the acquisition of the majority shareholding in ArcelorMittal Iași (details here).
• Assisted PetStar group, the largest PET preform producer in Romania and the Balkan area by production volume and format variety, in the transactions involving, on re-acquiring sole control of the two packaging manufacturing companies within the group, and obtaining a new EUR 50 million financing (details here).
• Assisted MedLife, the largest private healthcare network in Romania in increasing its syndicated loan by up to EUR 50 million, thus reaching a total of EUR 330 million (details here).
• Assisted Grodiusz Private Equity Fund, an investment fund managed by the Hungarian company Gránit Asset Management, in the acquisition of Equilibrium 1 office building from Skanska Commercial Development in a EUR 52 million transaction. (details here).

More details on our work can be found here.

We shared our knowledge and expertise

• 10 client-dedicated events organized by NNDKP, focused on knowledge exchange and driving meaningful dialogue. These included the 9^th edition of the NNDKP Legal & Tax Conference, organized in partnership with Ziarul Financiar, that reached its 9^th edition in 2025, the Employment SpotON webinar series, the NNDKP Labor Hub and the NNDKP Local Business Hub initiatives.
• Over 140 events attended by NNDKP, with more than 50 national and international events in which NNDKP participated with speakers, more details here.
• Over 50 written contributions (including articles, interviews, guides) – more details about NNDKP articles and briefings here.
• Our LinkedIn community has grown, reaching over 8,700 followers. We remain committed to sharing meaningful insights into our projects and firm initiatives, as well as informative legal updates. Thank you for your incredible support! We owe this growth to you.

We continued to support the next generation of lawyers

Our commitment to the next generation of legal talent continued in 2025 through our programs NNDKP Academic (dedicated to second-year law students) and NNDKP Summer School (dedicated to third-year law students). In total, 45 law students joined our programs in 2025 and got a chance to catch a glimpse into the day-to-day activity of our teams.

We also continued the Cluj Legal Talks series at our Cluj-Napoca office this summer. Tailored for law students, the program featured five in-depth sessions focused on the legal profession, the landscape of business law in Romania, and the essential skills required for a successful career in the field.

Our programs Inside NNDKP and Fridays@NNDKP continued at our Timișoara office.

• Inside NNDKP: On May 15, ten first and second-year law students visited our Timișoara office where our colleagues shared insights into the daily life at a law firm, discussing the challenges and opportunities that await them in their legal careers.
• Fridays@NNDKP: On May 16^th and May 23^rd we hosted workshops for 13 students curious about the reality of business law, centered on the following topics: Advisory and Consultancy in Business Law – Insights from Practice and Dispute Resolution – Assistance and Representation in Litigation.

We were excited to launch our new high school career exploration program this year. From August 5^th to 18^th, we held online sessions designed to give students a ‘behind-the-scenes’ look at real-world careers. Our team also enjoyed sharing what it is really like to practice law, offering students a candid perspective on the legal profession that goes well beyond theory.

In partnership with the Leaders Foundation, we organized an Open Day for students during which we were pleased to welcome 25 high school students from Bucharest, as part of the Start in Career program. The program is designed to bring students closer to the reality of different professions, and we were thrilled to show them firsthand what a career in law truly looks like.

We organized an Open Day for high school students at our Timișoara office, during which we welcomed a group of 29 students from the Dositei Obradovici Theoretical High School, as part of the Școala Altfel (School Differently) national program. In an open and engaging atmosphere, our colleagues shared valuable insights into business law, discussing the challenges and rewards of the profession, as well as the opportunities offered by law schools across the country.

Our Careers Facebook page that we launched in 2023 grew to over 1,300 followers. We invite you to join our community here.

We also launched our Careers Instagram page. Join the conversation and follow us for more updates here.

We remained committed to making a positive impact in our community

In 2025 we joined forces with Ius Laboris once again to support our communities beyond geographical borders during the third Ius Laboris Impact Week. Each year, over the course of one week, Ius Laboris firms across the globe organize various activities to support local communities, champion sustainability and drive meaningful change. Whether cleaning up forests, supporting children in need, fundraising or raising awareness on critical issues, our teams come together to make a tangible difference.

For this year’s edition, NNDKP partnered with Save the Children Association and donated supplies necessary for the daily activity of elementary and middle school students from disadvantaged communities, part of a social center opened by the Association at School no. 181 in Bucharest.

We also had the pleasure of welcoming 25 high school students to our headquarters in Bucharest, where they had the opportunity to discuss with our colleagues about the legal field, to learn more about the profession and to discover the importance of choosing a suitable career path that offers long-term development perspectives.

This December, we were also delighted to renew our partnership with Save the Children to support children at School no. 181 in Bucharest. Thanks to our wonderful colleagues who stepped up as Secret Santas, we delivered Christmas gifts and shared the magic of the season with children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

We also reaffirmed our commitment to support the vital work of several NGOs serving our community, including Fundația Regală Margareta a României, Asociația Invingem Autismul, Asociația Angel Dog, Asociația Familia SMA, Asociația Pacienților cu Afecțiuni Neurodegenerative – APAN, Fundația Inovații Sociale Regina Maria, SOS Satele Copiilor România, Asociația Prader Willi București.

See you all in 2026!