VASS Lawyers, law firm specialized in public procurement, announces over 90% increase of its turnover for the first three quarters of 2011, comparing to the same period of last year. Revenues are entirely based on contracts in the private sector and were mainly obtained from legal services provided in the fields of public procurement, litigation and arbitration, commercial contracts and employment law. These results further reinforce VASS Lawyers as one of the most dynamic law firms in Romania.
In 2011, the development of the law firm was achieved by expanding the client portfolio and increasing the number and complexity of undertaken projects. New companies in the country and abroad have extended the clients portfolio which currently covers not only major cities in Romania, but also countries such as Austria, USA, Turkey, Netherlands, Poland and Spain.
“In 2011, more than ever, we had the opportunity to undertake major projects with a high level of complexity and values of over 100 million EUR, in areas like energy, construction, infrastructure and oil & gas. The star field continued to be public procurement. Unlike previous years, we have significantly increased our activity in the areas of litigation and arbitration, commercial contracts and employment law “, Iulia Vass, Managing Partner VASS Lawyers.
The competencies of VASS Lawyers in the public procurement area were recognized at international level for the third time. Thus, at the Global Law Experts Awards 2011 event, VASS Lawyers won once again the “Public Procurement Law Firm of the Year” award. We owe this success to the strong team of lawyers with over 5 years experience in public procurement, as well as to the major projects in which it has been involved. Some of the most interesting projects, that also involved an important volume of work, sighted the awarding of utilities contracts in the oil field, with an aggregate value of over 400 million EUR, the awarding of wind turbines supply contracts of over 200 million EUR or the awarding of a works contract financed from European funds of over 10 million EUR.
Equally, the litigation and arbitration area had an extraordinary evolution in 2011, the team of litigant lawyers being involved in large-scale cases of public procurement, commercial law and labor conflicts. Thus, VASS Lawyers recently obtained the cancellation of successive decisions to exclude a tenderer from a procedure for awarding an infrastructure works contract of national interest, with an estimated value of over 100 million EUR. Similar decisions have been obtained for other companies in the utilities, food or energy sectors. The team of lawyers secured as well important successes in eliminating restrictive documentation requirements for the awarding of contracts in the areas of technical consultancy, utilities, energy or food.
In terms of commercial disputes, VASS Lawyers has successfully represented both national and international clients in litigations related to the execution of public contracts, as well as in cases of insolvency or debt collection. For instance, in early 2011, the company obtained a final and irrevocable arbitration decision regarding the recovery of a debt valued at about 1.5 million EUR resulting from the execution of a FIDIC contract, aimed to rehabilitate a wastewater treatment plant.
In the commercial contracts area, the law firm offered constant support to its clients for concluding and negotiating complex contracts, including under the new Civil Code provisions. Regarding the execution of commercial contracts, a notable success of the team of lawyers has been an amicable recovery of an over 600,000 RON debt, resulting from the implementation of a PHARE contract.
“Due to all these successes and new development directions, we managed to achieve the target set for 2011. This also led to the extensive rebranding process of our law firm, the change of headquarters and the expansion of our team. Clearly, the most important asset in our development process has been and will remain the team of lawyers. The passion for this profession, the quality standards and the efficiency in carrying out projects have helped us in the past three years to deal with the most demanding requirements. It is this impeccable professional conduct that significantly contributed to strengthening the position of VASS Lawyers among the most dynamic law firms in Romania “, Iulia Vass, Managing Partner VASS Lawyers.
VASS Lawyers foresees a turnover increase of 50% in 2012, the law firm targeting, on a medium term, to double the team of lawyers, diversify its services, launch new external partnerships and widen its clients portfolio.
About VASS Lawyers
VASS Lawyers is one of the most dynamic law firms on the Romanian legal market, offering its clients professional and competitive services in the fields of public procurement, public-private partnerships, companies, employment, competition, real estate transactions, commercial contracts, immigration and litigation & arbitration.
VASS Lawyers won the appreciation of its competencies in the fields of public procurement and competition from the international forums. Thus, in 2010, VASS Lawyers was chosen as the winner of the “Public Procurement Law Firm of the Year in Romania” award, by the Corporate Intl Magazine Award 2010, as well as by ACQ Country Awards 2010. The law firm is also recommended by the guide of world’s top lawyers- Global Law Experts – for public procurement in Romania.
VASS Lawyers team permanently informs its clients on relevant legislation news in Romania and assists them with specialized consultancy services, at a national and European level, through partnerships concluded with other law firms. The firm publishes a blog dedicated exclusively to public procurement and public private partnerships – www.avocat-achizitii-publice.ro.