Raluca Mihai

Raluca Mihai

Partner

“We are passionate about our work and always interested in knowing and understanding our clients’ business. This is the key to our approach, translating into proactive solutions for any legal matter.”  

Raluca Mihai is a partner of Voicu & Asociatii. Her main practice focuses on public procurement, litigation, employment, general corporate and commercial, as well as administrative law and FIDIC contracts. A particularly relevant area of her expertise refers to advising consortia or legal entities in all phases of public procurement procedures, up to the award and implementation of public contracts, as well as providing successful representation in the administrative contestation procedure and in disputes in front of the court of laws in connection with such tenders. She also provides expert advice on a wide variety of employment related matters, protecting employers’ interests throughout the contractual relationship with their employees, as well as in labor disputes.

Raluca Mihai is also an appreciated litigation lawyer representing clients in front of courts of law on all stages of their files on various matters such as civil litigation, employment, administrative, commercial disputes among others.

Contact: raluca.mihai@voicu-asociatii.ro
Education LL.M. Business Law – University Nicolae Titulescu (2010)
Law School – University of Bucharest (2004)
Bachelor Degree Companies Management Academy for Economic Studies, Bucharest (2004)
Memberships Bucharest Bar Association (2006)
Languages Romanian, English and French

Primary practice focus:

Public procurement & PPP
Dispute Resolution
Arbitration
Employment
Corporate & Commercial

Representative projects ...

Assistance to a member company a Polish-based group active in complex turnkey investment projects, acting as bidder, in a public procurement procedure organized by the Romanian gas transmission company for the purpose of awarding a project for the technical design of three gas compression stations in Romania, as part of a complex European gas infrastructure project for the development of a gas pipeline from Bulgaria to Austria, via Romania and Hungary (BRHA); the assistance also included representation of the client, as winning bidder, in litigation cases initiated by the second bidder in front of CNSC and in court, as well as advice in connection with a major subcontracting under this project.
Assistance to a Romanian waterway authority in a complex claim initiated by a former contractor asking for damages for conclusion with delay of the public contract (FIDIC contract) and restitution of delay penalties by the contractor, involving administration of two specialized expertise reports, good knowledge of the public procurement legislation before 2006 and afterwards, and invoking res judicata in relation with the restitution of the delay penalties, following a binding arbitral decision.
 Assistance to the global leader in water, hygiene and energy technologies and services in public procurement procedures and representation of the client in front of the CNSC and in front of the court of laws in complaints regarding the award of various public tenders.
Assistance to an important City Hall of a city in Romania with approx. 115,000 inhabitants, in relation to complex audit services for the period 2012-2016, including analysis of contracts, different commercial operations, implementation of Court of Accounts decisions, execution of court decisions, and others.
 Assistance and representation to a Romanian division of a German global diversified retail and wholesale/cash and carry group, in a complex labor litigation case, involving dismissal of a human resources manager, requesting for integration and payment of overtime and moral damages, amounting all to EUR 250,000. The dismissed employee’s complaint was rejected, and the plaintiff received only part of the overtime proved in court.
 Assistance to a member company of a Spanish-based group active in energy, construction and concession of large infrastructure projects throughout the world, acting as bidder, in a series of public procurement procedures organized by Romanian contracting bodies; relevant projects include advice on a build works FIDIC contract for the development of Transilvania Highway, as well as rehabilitation of section 3 of Curtici-Simeria railway; rendered services have covered advice on various public procurement aspects, as well as assistance in court in litigation cases arising in connection with such procedures and contracts.
Assistance and representation of one of the most important supermarket chain in Romania, in a liability claim against one former employee who launched accusations in public media regarding unhealthy practices of the company in relation with the alimentary products sold. The administration of the file included a complex evidence consisting of an accountancy expertise, interrogation of 14 witnesses and submission of criminal complaints against the former employee, including for the attempt of threatening our client’s witnesses.
 Assistance to  a major German based telecommunications group, providing professional and administrative HR, IT and accountancy services to the Group on various employment and data protection law aspects, including monitoring work activity of the employees, disciplinary investigations, dismissals, revision of policies and processing agreements prepared at Group level in accordance with GDPR Directive, drafting employment policies and regulations, revision of data protection clauses in various contracts concluded with external suppliers.
 Assisted one of the world’s leading suppliers of hydroelectric equipment, technology and services, on Romanian legal matters in connection with the international arbitration case between the client and a Romanian state-owned hydropower company (also representing Romania’s largest power producer) in connection with a contractual breach.
Successful assistance and representation of a global manufacturer of large diesel engines for use on ships and power plants in an arbitration procedure in front of the International Chamber of Commerce in the litigation initiated by Nuclearelectrica, the Romanian nuclear energy production company, that requested damages regarding so-called refusal of our client to conclude a subsequent contract to a public contract having as object procurement of maintenance and repair services for equipment in Cernavoda Branch based on the non-fulfillment of the obligations of a framework agreement assigned in the public procurement procedure, governed by Swiss law.
 Assisted a major healthcare equipment manufacturer in a series of public procurement procedures by which Romanian state-owned hospitals throughout the country have contracted the supplying, designing, installing and commissioning of medical devices, including magnetic resonance imagery equipment (RMN) and computer tomography equipment (CT).
Day-to-day assistance of an important manufacturer of diesel and alternative fuel engines and generators and related components and technology in corporate and employment issues, including in complex litigation cases with employees and with the local trade union following reorganization measures implemented by the company.
 Assistance to a well-known German company specialized in nuclear service, nuclear technology, magnet technology and environmental technology, in connection with a series of public procurement. Rendered services include assistance in preparation of the offers submitted in a series of public procurement procedures organized by major Romanian energy companies, as well as in the complaints filed in front of the National Council for Solving Complaints (CNSC) and the litigation files pursued in front of the Romanian courts related to the said awards, in cases worth more than EUR 300 million. Major projects outlined below:
Assistance in the tender organized for the award of a rehabilitation and desulphurization works contract for Deva thermal power plant, as well as in filing a complaint with CNSC against the tender documentation criteria; project value: EUR 203 million (2013).
 Assistance in preparing and submission of the offer, in the complaints filed by other bidders in front of CNSC and the competent courts of law and in the negotiation and conclusion of the public contract, all in relation with the tender for award of the works contract for construction of a desulphurization installation; project value: EUR 76.5 million (2010 – 2011).
 Assistance in preparing and submission of the offer, in the complaints filed by other bidders in front of CNSC and the competent courts of law and in the negotiation and conclusion of the public contract, all in relation with the tender organized by a local Council for the award of the works contract for construction of a desulphurization installation (prepared under FIDIC Yellow Book); project value: EUR 34.5 million (2012 – 2013).
Assistance in all complaints and legal claims filed in relation with the award of the public contract in the tender organized for the award of the works contract for construction of desulphurization installation in Craiova (2010 – 2013).
Assistance to a Municipality on all legal matters in connection with a series of public procurement procedures organized by the client, aimed at awarding contracts for the purpose of achieving its objectives under its multi-annual local thermal rehabilitation program.
 Assistance to a well-known Romanian engineering company and an active trader of electricity in a series of public procurement procedures, including advice in the complaints filed in front of CNSC and the litigation files in front of the Romanian courts related to three public procurement procedures organized by major Romanian energy companies, for the purpose of awarding works contracts with an aggregate amount of over EUR 200 million (2008 – 2014).
 Assisting the market-leading suppliers of products and services for the power generating industry, part of an important German company, in preparation of the offers, response to clarifications, negotiation of contractual deviations, complaints against the tender documentation in a series of public procurement procedures organized by major Romanian energy companies, as well as by Romanian municipalities, with the purpose of awarding works contracts for rehabilitation and modernization of power units and retehnologization of hot water boilers, contracts prepared under FIDIC Yellow Book (2012-2013).
Assisting a leading global maritime services company operating in the dredging, offshore energy and inland infra sectors, in connection with preparing complaints in front of CNSC and representation in front of the competent courts of justice in relation with all litigation files in the public tender for the award of the works contract for protection and rehabilitation of the Romanian sea coast; project value: approximately EUR 100 million.
 Assistance to the Romanian subsidiary of a worldwide company specialized in complex plant construction, industrial services, apparatus engineering, electrical instrumentation and control technology, energy and environmental technology and oilfield service, in winning a public tender organized by a Romanian entity valued at EUR 39 million; rendered services included successful representation in front of CNSC and the Romanian courts of justice.
 Assistance to the Bucharest Branch of a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, acting as bidder, in a series of procurement procedures organized by major companies for the award of consultancy services and implementation of customized software solutions. Rendered services cover assistance in preparing and submitting the offer, assistance in negotiating the contractual clauses and on concluding the services agreement with the respective beneficiaries.
Assistance to the IT services company of an important cash & carry retailer in all day-to-day legal issues related to employment, commercial aspects, contracts, data protection, adapting policies and procedures of the Group to Romanian legislation, revising and negotiating services contracts with external providers. A complex project consisted of transfer of part of business of the Romanian company to a new incorporated entity, including 400 employees and IT solutions; instructed managers to handle the transfer of people and addressed the employees’ inquiries and concerns.
Assistance to a considerable number of clients on employment projects, including employment handbooks and policies, dismissal procedures, labor disputes. Clients assisted recently include a pawn shop network, a developer and producer of mechanical pipe joining systems, a leading global tire and rubber company, etc.
Assistance to Romanian companies providing Biodiversity services – Forestry, Natural resources in complex litigation files valued at millions of Euro related to public procurement procedures having as object performance of biodiversity management services, consisting of preparing management plans, monitoring and evaluations studies for conserving the species, drafting and approving of the Integrated Management Plan and performing studies regarding the evolution and identification of the habitat of a certain species.