CEE Legal Matters is the leading source of news and information about Central and Eastern Europe’s legal markets. The Deal of the Year awards were conceived by CEE Legal Matters to honor the skilled lawyers who make the most complex, significant deals happen. The final three nominees in Romania will be announced in the February issue of the CEE Legal Matters magazine. The winner will be announced at the annual Awards Banquet that concludes CEE Legal Matters' Dealer’s Choice conference in Prague on June 6, 2018.
The CEELM Romania Deal of the Year Award is unique in being exclusively peer selected, with both final nominees and final award winners being chosen by leading legal experts in the country. According to CEE Legal Matters Executive Editor David Stuckey, this makes them especially valuable. “We are proud of the reputation CEE Legal Matters has established for integrity, independence, and impartiality,” Stuckey said, "and in organizing these awards we were committed to inviting only lawyers who are themselves highly regarded dealmakers to employ their expertise and knowledge in evaluating the many submissions we have received and in selecting the final nominees.”
According to Stuckey, selecting the Shortlist Selection Panel for Romania was an important process, but ultimately not a difficult one. "We’ve reported on a number of deals these select lawyers have worked on over the years, and in our many conversations and interviews with them in that time, we have found them each to be insightful and perceptive analysts, knowledgeable both about the Romanian market in general and about the particular client management and negotiating skills necessary to bring these deals to fruition. We are delighted that Maravela|Asociații has accepted our invitation to join the Shortlist Panel, and we look forward to thanking him in person at the June 6 Awards Banquet."
“We are honored to be part of CEE Legal Matter’s Deal of the Year Award and happy to be judging this year’s entries from the Romanian market with utmost objectivity and with the professional insight required for evaluation. It is indeed an impressive number of both firms and deals (M&As, IPOs and financings). Our considerations when assessing a deal include value, timeframe, complexity, legal creativity/innovation shown, political and regulatory sensitivity, number of jurisdictions to which the deal relates, as well as the involved team’s depth, media coverage of the matter and impact of the deal on the country/region.” Gelu Maravela, Managing Partner of Maravela|Asociații
CEE Legal Matters is the premier publication about the region’s legal markets. The CEE Legal Matters website, which registers well over 40,000 unique visitors a day, carries daily updates of deals, disputes, and other client matters across CEE, as well as news about senior promotions, lateral hires, and other developments inside the 24 legal markets themselves. The widely-read subscription only monthly CEE Legal Matters magazine provides thorough coverage of the persons and trends driving the legal industry across CEE, with in-depth interviews, analysis, and commentary. CEE Legal Matters also hosts the annual regional GC Summit, the largest annual conference of senior in-house counsel in CEE. This year’s GC Summit will be held on June 7-8 in Prague.