MPR Partners is an internationally recommended and award-winning Romanian law firm with a client-orientated, innovative and creative approach. Felix Tapei answers our questions.
In your opinion, what is the future of your profession?
Advisory (legal and tax) services have gained more popularity nowadays. We have noticed that not even large corporations and major companies perceive professional advice as important, but larger numbers of small to medium-sized players, as well as private clients, seek advice. Therefore the future looks promising.
What is your growth strategy?
We aim to grow our client portfolio by adding new clients and retaining our longstanding and existing ones. We hold great pride in the large number of clients who retain our services for long periods, and we are happy to welcome new ones.
Where do you see your firm 5 years from now?
Our forecast, besides turnover increase, consists of the consolidation of our London office and opening of a second European office.#
What is your biggest challenge?
Although we (and our client) are very happy with our team structure and composition, in recent months, we have been finding the recruitment of new talent challenging.
What percentage of your work is international?
The percentage varies, but at least 50% of our workload generally has a cross-border and/or international component.
What business advisory services do you offer?
We offer the complete spectrum of Legal, Tax and Insolvency services. As per tax advisory business services, we provide general tax advice on corporate income tax, transfer pricing, VAT, withholding taxes, personal income tax and salary taxes, customs duties, excise duties and local taxes, international tax structuring services for Romanian investors, tax due diligence and tax reviews to identify tax exposures/risks and solutions to address them. We assist in obtaining advance binding rulings and Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs) from the Romanian tax authorities.
What was your main driver for being part of BOKS International?
We believe that by joining BOKS International, we have set the base for a mutually beneficial relationship, aiming to grow and consolidate our client portfolio whilst ensuring the highest client satisfaction standards are met.
Where do you see BOKS International 5 years from now?
MPR Partners: Hopefully, in Band 1 & Tier 1 ranking lists of most international professional directories.
How would you describe your typical client?
Our client profile is dynamic regarding the industry sector our client belongs to. As per their nature, most of our clients are either multinational companies with (the intention of opening) a Romanian subsidiary or major local companies with large amounts of activities on international and local levels alike. Although we cover most industry sectors, most recently, there was a consistent increase in the field of technology, life sciences and energy & natural resources.
Tell us about a recent international assignment
MPR Partners: One recent tax-related assignment involved a Dutch-based global software developer for the banking industry which requested assistance in drafting the transfer pricing documentation including Master File and local files for each of its subsidiaries (10 files in total). Work included preparing benchmark studies for numerous jurisdictions: Romania, Lithuania, Germany, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Singapore, USA, UAE & Brasil.
On the legal side, we have recently assisted a major healthcare services provider, with activity throughout Europe, in the sale of its business in Sweden. Our assistance included drafting the transaction documents, negotiation, and representation of our Client throughout the entire transaction (letter of intent, NDA, data room set up, etc.). It was an important high-value cross-border transaction developed under Swiss law, extremely interesting as the seller was Swiss, the target was Greek and the buyer was from Sweden.
How do you target clients who are looking for international services?
Through internationally placed communication and affiliating to international networks.
Do you specialise in a particular sector or service?
MPR Partners: No, throughout our professional journey we have dealt with virtually all sectors.
