ESSENTIAL INTERVIEWS | Dr. Cosmin Vasile, Managing Partner – ZRVP: In a legal market marked by numerous spin-offs, ZRVP stands out as the only major law firm born from a merger and later consolidated through a second merger

In a Romanian legal market that has been consistently marked over the past decade by numerous spin-offs—some highly visible, others more discreet—even from firms considered stable and well-established, Zamfirescu Racoți Vasile & Partners (ZRVP) is the only significant, large-scale law firm that was born out of a merger and later consolidated through a second, smaller merger. The firm is celebrating 30 years this year—coinciding with three decades of modern legal practice in Romania. “In 2025, the firm remains in the privileged position of being able to deliver exceptional services, as it always has along this journey, while being adapted to what today’s market requires. And in terms of size, we are larger than ever—even though size has never been something we have pursued,” said Dr. Cosmin Vasile, Managing Partner at Zamfirescu Racoți Vasile & Partners, in a video interview with ^BizLawyer focused on the firm’s evolution at a milestone moment both for the legal market and for the few firms that reach the 30-year mark.

Looking back, in brief, at the firm’s trajectory, the ZRVP head recalled the significance of 1995, when Călin Zamfirescu și Asociații was established—known as one of the most highly regarded litigation firms of the time, whose professional reputation was closely associated with founder Călin-Andrei Zamfirescu—and Racoți Predoiu și Asociații, a firm focused from the outset on advisory work, founded by two very young lawyers at the time, Ioana Racoți and Cătălin Predoiu. Ten years later, the two firms—each with lawyers capable of handling the sophisticated projects of the day—merged. “The idea was simple and obvious. Together, the two entities had the size, experience, and recognition—all the ingredients for Zamfirescu Racoți and Partners (ZRP), the resulting unified firm, to handle any type of mandate at the highest level. This complementarity was the fundamental premise, alongside compatible specializations and a strong fit between the founders and their teams,” explained Dr. Cosmin Vasile.

He added another milestone in ZRP’s upward trajectory: in 2020, just before the pandemic, the firm merged with (and absorbed) the practice founded by Andrei Dumitrescu and Mihai Băjenaru, two younger lawyers who joined with their 10–11-strong team under the structure led by Dr. Vasile. “For reasons of compatibility and shared views about the profession and about life, we completed this second merger as well—and it too was a success. That’s how we reached today’s configuration,” the ^BizLawyer interviewee added. 

The advantages of focusing on the practice of law—rather than the business of law

What have been the key factors behind ZRVP’s success over these three decades? What distinctive elements have defined and durably consolidated the firm’s position on the market? A firm that has become, over time, a true school for lawyers, it is today ranked in international legal directories such as Chambers, The Legal 500, Global Arbitration Review, among others, and its work is highlighted by The Lawyer and other relevant publications producing national rankings.

First, the ^BizLawyer interviewee emphasized, ZRVP’s philosophy is one of legal excellence and perfection, instilled by the founding partners into the working methods of a team that today numbers 65 lawyers. “What defines a ZRVP lawyer—whether we are talking about the most straightforward dispute or the most complex arbitration, the simplest Articles of Association under Law 31 or a sophisticated syndicated credit—is the obsessive pursuit of the legally perfect solution that best meets the client’s needs in that context,” explained Dr. Vasile.

Second, managerial prudence, in the most positive and constructive sense, has had beneficial effects. “Never, for as long as I can remember, has this firm wanted to grow at any cost, or to post overnight some eye-catching financial performance or figures designed to trigger ‘breaking news’ headlines. No. Our constant aim has been to serve the clients we have under optimal conditions—the best for that client,” the ZRVP head stressed. This approach has led to a diversification and growth of the client base and, implicitly, to more projects and higher fees.

This “sobriety”—focusing on the practice of law and not on the business of law—which Dr. Vasile describes, as a business vision, as prudence, also came with many advantages. “The greatest of these, I would say, is remarkable stability. In our case, stability primarily means at partner level and among key lawyers in general; on the other hand, the same stability applies to our client portfolio,” he underlined. 
 

Evolving toward the future-fit model—in the best configuration for the firm

The firm’s leaders are constantly focused on optimizing how the legal teams work. “That means we want all our lawyers to feel good—really good—and to love what they do, as we do. We have evolved in how we define teams, how we define roles within teams, and I think it is clear and predictable for a trainee, for a lawyer who has just become—or is about to become—senior, and for one who has just become—or is about to become—managing, what that opportunity entails and what is expected of each person,” Dr. Vasile explained.

In sociology, the ZRVP coordinator notes, thirty years equals a generation, and any law firm reaching that “age” must ensure that, as time passes, the inevitable maturation—aging in a positive, professional sense—and the rise of younger cohorts are integrated into the team’s functioning, including the partnership structure, in a way that not only precludes any disruption to the firm’s good running, but clearly aims at a better, more efficient operation. In ZRVP’s case, there is a plan being implemented; the growing number of partners, visible to anyone, is part of the answer.

“Moreover—speaking of being focused solely on legal practice and letting growth be the natural result rather than an obsession—the way experience levels are arranged in our firm strikes me as optimal. Even the founders are not the same age or on exactly the same tier. Then comes the second level of seniority and experience—the first lawyers who were the right hand of, and were mentored by, each partner; they too are not the same age and are staggered differently. And what followed, as the legal market grew, allowed successive waves of lawyers—who have already reached partner level—to be naturally staggered across different experience tiers. From my perspective, this is the perfect premise. We have this plan, we are implementing it, and I have no doubt that this evolution toward the next-generation model will happen in the best possible way for the firm,” the ZRVP managing partner noted. 
 

What will truly matter: passion, determination, and dedication to the practice of law

He added that he has no doubt ZRVP will maintain the level and standards for which the firm is known. “It cannot be otherwise, as long as our DNA—what we do—is unchanged over time and will remain the same. So, in this respect—namely that we will do what is up to us and what is necessary to maintain our standing—there is no doubt,” said Dr. Vasile. He admits to fears today about things he would not have thought possible a few years ago—referring to the war in Ukraine, the global geopolitical context, rising tensions, and the intensity of turbulence in Romanian society. “I would like to believe there will be wisdom and that, where outcomes are not driven by political decisions or the like, God will continue to look kindly on us, so that Romania is not knocked off its remarkable economic and state-building trajectory,” the BizLawyer interviewee added.

What will the legal market look like in 10, 15, or 20 years? “The honest answer is that neither I—nor anyone else—can have a precise picture of what will happen. What truly matters are the passion, determination, and dedication with which the practice of law is pursued. If these essential ingredients remain in place, and the other premises are favorable, there is no way the individual future of Lawyer X, the future of Firm Y where they work, and the future of the profession will be anything other than encouraging—if not outstanding,” Dr. Cosmin Vasile told our publication in his video interview.