Mariana Popa

Mariana Popa

Partner, Head of Insolvency Practice

“Insolvency drastically affects businesses and individuals. The huge range of options can be difficult to understand and navigate. Contacting an experienced expert on time is crucial. The first step in insolvency is like the first step of the rest of your business life. We take the right steps.”

Mariana Popa is the head of Voicu & Asociații group’s insolvency specialized company VF Insolventa SPRL and also a managing associate of Voicu & Asociații.

She focuses her practice on insolvency administration/liquidation and restructuring and is an experienced trainer and speaker in specialized events. Before taking on her current position, Mariana Popa had coordinated for eight years the insolvency and restructuring team of a reputed market player.

With more than fifteen years of experience in the field of insolvency administration and liquidation, she is a licensed insolvency practitioner as member of UNPIR since 2004, as well as a proficient attorney-at-law, member of the Bucharest Bar.

Contact: Mariana.Popa@voicu-asociatii.ro
Education Law School University of Craiova (1999)
Memberships Bucharest Bar Association
Romanian Insolvency Practitioners Association (UNPIR)
Languages Romanian, English

Primary practice focus:

Insolvency & Debt recovery
Dispute Resolution
Corporate & Commercial

Representative Projects ...

Assisted a well-known medical institute on national and international name, where the reorganization plan envisaged the full coverage of the assets. The method of fulfillment of the obligations undertaken by the debtor company is currently monitored/under supervision. The objective pursued by the insolvency administrator consists of the reinsertion of the debtor company into the business circuit, by the successful performance of the reorganization plan.
 Assisted a company which developed a renowned Shopping Park in Oradea, with an area of 65,700 sq m and notorious anchor tenants – Carrefour, Bricostore, Mobexpert. The insolvency administrator was selected by an international bank consortium for the purposes of implementing a reorganization plan ensuring the careful management of the debtor company’s business.
 Assisted the oldest industrial unit in Romania and one of the oldest in Europe. The innovative economic and managerial approach of the company’s organizational and operational restructuring led to a significant cost reduction. In the first year of insolvency, the company returned to profits, after 10 years of recorded losses. The maintenance of social balance, by successfully mediating potential labor disputes, allowed for the dismissal of over 1,000 employees, for streamlining purposes, to be performed without strikes. Since the main creditor was a state authority, a creative communication strategy was implemented, strategy whereby a constructive dialogue was ensured between the participants in the procedure, without delays and procedural incidents.
 Assisted a company listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, the oldest Romanian travel company, established in 1936. Full coverage of the assets within a record 6-month period of time. Approximately € 17.5 million distributed to creditors entitled to participate in the distributions resulting from the liquidation of the debtor’s assets and to shareholders.
 Assisted a real estate company having as main scope of business the lease and sublease of own or rented real estate. The creditor banks, together with the insolvency administrator, have implemented a reorganization plan which consisted in a combination between regular business restructuring and partial asset liquidation, done in record time.
 Drafting legal opinions and memorandum in different law fields, such as the protection of the employees, unfair competition, consumer protection, personal data protection, and intellectual property.
 Assisted an international company active in the human foods and pet foods industries, in the registering procedures of its industrial property rights with the Romanian Trademark Registry (State Office for Inventions and Trademarks) and before all other Romanian authorities in order to enforce the client’s rights.
 Asissted the Romanian subsidiary of a multinational meat processing company, in the registering procedures of its industrial property rights with the Romanian Trademark Registry (State Office for Inventions and Trademarks).
 Successfully represented clients in various legal procedures (including before Romanian courts) against producers, importers, distributors and sellers of products with packaging that was confusing to the point of similarity with protected trademarks.
 Drafting legal opinions related to labor issues faced by some public authorities.
 Part of the legal team assisting one of the biggest Romanian producers of mineral water, in merging with another producer on the same market.
 Assisted one of the largest Italian producers of electrical power in participating to privatization of a Romanian state-owned company.
 Part of the legal team retained by a foreign investor in connection to a real estate project – acquisition of a Romanian state-owned company’s land.
 Advised various important foreign investors on day-to-day matters, particularly on labor issues, such as reviewing and drafting individual employment agreements, collective bargaining agreements, Internal Regulations; assistance on the procedure regarding individual and collective dismissals; legal advice on the implementation in Romania of the EU Directives, including analysis of the relevant EU case-law, etc.
 Legal assistance and representations in Courts of Law, preparing law suits, other legal actions to safeguard and preserve rights of claimants or defendants.
 Assistance of important Romanian companies in commercial, business, corporate and employment matters (drafting agreements in relation with their activities, drafting legal opinion regarding commercial, employment, fiscal and real estate issues), negotiating and drafting agreement provisions.
 Legal assistance and counseling in trademarks registration procedures and representation in front of the Romanian Trademark Registry (State Office for Inventions and Trademarks). Drafting and negotiating assignments and licenses of rights in trademark agreements.
 Advised on general company and corporate matters, including incorporation, dissolution, restructuring, increase and decrease of the share capital; involvement in legal due diligence investigations.
 Drafting and negotiating international commercial agreements, lease agreements, supply of services agreements, advertising, barter, loan and sale and purchase agreements. Advised companies on issues related to their ongoing contractual relationships with domestic and international customers, distributors and suppliers.