Record round of promotions at Țuca Zbârcea & Asociații: Three new partners and 16 other internal appointments

Țuca Zbârcea & Asociații announces one of the biggest promotion rounds in the firm’s history.Following this year’s performance appraisal process, 19 lawyers will advance in their careers effective as of January 1, 2026.Manuela Gornoviceanu, Ana Popa and Sergiu Crețu will be joining the firm’s Partners group next year, after having previously held the position of Managing Associate. With these additions, the total number of Partners at Țuca Zbârcea & Asociații will increase to 32. . . 

Manuela Gornoviceanu heads the firm’s white-collar and business crime practice, specialising in cases involving corporate crime, corruption, occupational crime and money laundering, intellectual property crime, tax evasion and accounting law, crimes involving EU funds, public procurement and capital markets. In addition, her expertise extends to fields such as European Union Law and human rights. 

Ana Popa has a solid track record of successful dispute resolution cases, covering a wide spectrum of litigation matters, in particular disputes pertaining to public procurement, construction law and contentious-administrative and tax matters, being involved in cases with values exceeding 1 billion euros. 

Sergiu Crețu has a rich experience in corporate/commercial law and mergers and acquisitions, being also the coordinator of the Gaming Law practice within the firm. Other areas include data privacy and intellectual property, e-commerce and consumer protection, cybersecurity and dual-use.

In addition to the promotions to Partner, 11 lawyers were appointed to a Managing Associate role and 5 lawyers to the level of Senior Associate. 

“I congratulate the firm’s new Partners - each has demonstrated exceptional talent, drive and a strong commitment to the firm. I would also like to congratulate the other 10 lawyers who will join the elite group of Managing Associates as of January 1, 2026, and the 5 new Senior Associates. As I said before, we have come so far mainly due to the professionalism, dedication and perseverance of every single member of our team; thank you, each of you; we are grateful. This year’s round of promotions, likely the largest in our history, coincides with our 20th anniversary celebration, which is yet another occasion to reconfirm the value, professionalism and dedication of our entire team. I am extremely proud to have everyone by my side!”, said Florentin Țuca, Managing Partner.

The newly promoted Managing Associates at the firm are Mihaela Băiculescu, Vlad Bîrta, Bianca Cercel, Cătălina Ionescu, Daniela Manolea, Constantin Matei, Cristian Mitescu, Lucian Moroi, Maria Olteanu, Evelina Popa and Șerban Sârbu. 

The new Senior Associates at the firm are Maria Avram, Iulia Barbu, Tudor Bonifate, Ioana Pătrașcu and Andrada Petrariu.

Founded in March 2005, Ţuca Zbârcea & Asociaţii is one of the largest law firms in Romania, with a team of 175 lawyers, tax consultants and administrative staff. Currently, the firm has 29 partners, 9 of whom equity, 20 non-equity. As of January 1, 2026, the firm will have a total of 32 Partners, representing the largest number of Partners in a law firm in Romania.

Ţuca Zbârcea & Asociaţii operates a secondary office in Cluj-Napoca in association with Şomlea & Asociaţii and, starting March 2019, cooperates with Andersen Global in legal and fiscal areas.

Țuca Zbârcea & Asociații provides legal services in all practice areas and is recommended by the most prestigious directories for corporate and commercial law, mergers and acquisitions, litigation, domestic and international arbitration, energy and natural resources, finance and banking, competition, labour law, real estate, public procurement, intellectual property, IT/AI and cybersecurity, telecom, data privacy, white collar crime, pharma and medical services etc.

The firm has so far successfully assisted and represented over 4,800 multinational and Romanian companies, banking and financial institutions, investment funds and start-up companies in implementing their business objectives in Romania. also participated in the most significant, billion-euro investment projects developed in Romania and in high profile litigation, obtaining ground-breaking court decisions in complex cases. 

Țuca Zbârcea & Asociații is one of the most awarded law firms, having received hundreds of awards in Romania and abroad in recognition of its lawyers’ remarkable expertise in key areas of business law.