I was quite dismayed to read your article on Sinclair Roche & Temperley and Romanian bar rules (The Lawyer, 4 September), not least because of its misleading banner headline.
I hope you will afford me the opportunity to redress the erroneous impression that may have been communicated to your readership. I would make the following points:
1. You will appreciate that as an international law firm it is a fundamental and founding premise for us to fully observe the local legislation in any country that we operate in. Our operations in Romania are no different and fall well within the structures permitted by Romanian law. In no sense, therefore, can Sinclair Roche & Temperley be said to be “defying” the Romanian bar, with whom we maintain good relations.
2. The law regulating lawyers is currently under review as part of the drive to harmonise Romanian law to European Union law. We are monitoring these developments and endeavouring to give our input into the process of the formulation of such legislation through the channels available to us, in order to ensure so far as possible that the law is adopted in a form in which it provides a workable framework for the continued operation of international firms in Romania.
Finally, may I conclude by saying that Sinclair Roche & Temperley has built an excellent reputation in Romania and elsewhere in the south east European region and we are very happy with the progress we have made. While we are confident that we can continue our progress, we trust that, in future, you will take more care before rushing to press with only part of what is an interesting and evolving, but complex story.
David Stabb, Sinclair Roche & Temperley, Bucharest
french bar needs new style
As someone who has worked for some time in Paris, I was interested to read your report on the turnover of French firms (The Lawyer, 25 September) and the dominance of the accountancy and the so-called Anglo-Saxon firms.
It was fascinating to see that only three of the top 10 were “traditional” French cabinets. And how much longer will they stay independent, I wonder?
The French bar only has itself to blame. If it had not been so protectionist in the first place, and so obsessed with championing the old-style ways of the avocat, then it might not have seen so many French lawyers leave in droves for UK and US firms. It looks to me like those foreign “invaders” have taken the cream of the corporate work in Paris. The chickens have come home to roost.
Name & address supplied
