CMS has appointed regional head of corporate Horea Popescu as managing partner of its Bucharest office.

He will succeed disputes partner Gabriel Sidere, who is stepping down in November after a decade in the role, and lead a team of 30 lawyers, including eight partners. Popescu said he had been working with Sidere and CEE regional managing director Dora Petranyi over the last year to ensure a smooth handover. 

Popescu joined CMS from KPMG in 2004, becoming a partner in 2008. In May he was promoted to the role of regional corporate head after six years as the Bucharest office’s head of transactions.

He takes on the role at a difficult time for the Romanian deal market. In an interview with Romania-insider.com last month, he predicted the total deal value would halve this year to €2bn in the absence of any major deals in the final quarter.

In April, Bucharest real estate and construction partner Roxana Fratila was promoted to the partnership as part of a 41-partner promotions round, the first local promotion since 2018, when corporate lawyer Rodica Manea was made up.

In January, the office’s lead Romanian banking partner, Simona Marin, joined Dentons, along with veteran finance partner Simon Dayes.

Elsewhere in the region, earlier this month CMS hired a team of four lawyers from life sciences boutique Danevych.Law in Ukraine while in April it secured a five-strong private equity team in Poland from Clifford Chance.

In March, UK magic circle firm Allen & Overy ended its longstanding alliance with its Romanian ally in a move that saw six-partner Radu Taracila Padurari Retevoescu relaunch as a standalone practice.