Bucharest,February 28, 2008 ... Global law firm White & Case LLP has openedits 37th office worldwide, with its formal entry into the Romanianmarket. The new office in central Bucharest is headed by ToddShollenbarger, formerly of a large international law firm, where he ledits Southeast Europe Practice Group before moving to a private equityhouse as the head of its Bucharest office. He leads a team of10 lawyers, with further expansion already planned. Initially, the teamwill focus on meeting existing client demand in the areas of realestate, finance, M&A, private equity, and energy, with additionalexpertise in other areas to be added as the office grows.
"We're very excited about opening in Bucharest. The market hasenormous potential and is also a gateway to southern Europe," commentedJan Matejcek, executive partner for White & Case in Prague, and oneof the lead members of the White & Case team organising the Firm'smove into Romania. "Moving into Bucharest is a natural extension of thelarge amount of work we've been doing in Romania for clients in recentyears, particularly in M&A, private equity and real estate. Anumber of our clients have been asking us for some time about thepotential development of on-the-ground capabilities in Romania, and tobegin with, we will focus on meeting this latent demand. Anticipatingand responding to what clients want is how we've built a leadershipposition in Central and Eastern Europe and our move into Romania is acontinuation of this process."
White & Case was one of the first international law firms toestablish a physical presence in Central and Eastern Europe, opening inBudapest and Warsaw in 1990, Prague and Moscow in 1991 and Bratislavain 1997, with more than 250 lawyers now on the ground. Today the Firm,which was named "Eastern European Law Firm of the Year" at the ChambersGlobal Awards in November 2007, is regarded as the leadinginternational law firm in the region.
"Romania is an important market for us and for our clients,"commented Hugh Verrier, Chairman of White & Case. "We hope to playour part in Romania's development as a new EU member, as we have donewith other countries in the past."
White & Case has been active in Romania for a number of yearswithout a formal physical presence there, working with a number ofleading Romanian law firms. A task force consisting of the heads ofWhite & Case's existing Central and Eastern European offices — RobIrving in Budapest, Michal Dlouhý in Bratislava, Jan Matejcek in Pragueand Witold Danilowicz in Warsaw — was responsible for the opening ofthe new office.
About White & Case
White & Case LLP isa leading global law firm with more than 2,300 lawyers in 37 offices in25 countries. Our clients value the breadth and depth of our US,English and local law capabilities and rely on us for their complexcross-border commercial and financial transactions and forinternational arbitration and litigation. Whether in established oremerging markets, the hallmark of White & Case is our completededication to the business priorities and legal needs of our clients.