Salans associate trio joins Paul Hastings corporate lawyer to create Romanian boutique

Three lawyers from Salans' Romanian operation have quit to launch a new independent Romanian firm.

Highly rated Romanian tax lawyer Gabriel Biris, corporate/competition lawyer Gelu Goran and real estate lawyer Victor Constantinescu were all associates at Salans.

They will be joined by corporate lawyer Dan Visoiu, who quit Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker for a small M&A boutique in 2004.

"We all really felt that this was a great opportunity to step out on our own in this small market," Visoiu said. "We're already off the ground and operating and I'm very pleased to say that we've already closed our first deal with a real estate transaction on Friday [28 April].

"The firm will be small, but we're ambitious. It will be built around the three pillars of real estate, corporate and tax law."

Biris Goran Constantin-escu, as it will be known, expects to have seven associates hired from leading international law firms by June.

The departures leave Salans' Romanian operation with 13 associates and two counsel, along with the two office partners. A firm spokesman said it expected to fill the vacancies quickly.