Ion Nestor: The law firm market has a 30% personnel deficit

Ion Nestor, Managing Partner of the Nestor Nestor Diculescu Kingston Petersen (NNDKP) law firm, the main local player in this field, said that it is increasingly more difficult for law firms to make the most of their success, due to a lack of personnel.  The phenomenon has worsened in the past 12 months. “In conservative terms, we are talking about a 25-30 percent deficit.  I am referring to the type of collaborators we, the top ten companies in the area, are looking for,” Ion Nestor told Business Standard. Nestor added that the deficit is being felt by the top 10-15 law firms, as well as by international companies with local operations, due to the fact that the industry has developed, bringing with it a need for legal counsel.

“We are constantly experiencing a crisis in terms of taking full advantage of success, and there are insufficient collaborators to manage the large number of contracts,” explained Nestor.

NNDKP presently has 80 lawyers (12 Partners, 12 Senior Associates, and 56 Associates), and is targeting an increase to 90 this year. In addition to the lawyers, the company has a fur­ther 60 full-time employees.  NNDKP’s human resource policy has two components: the first the hiring of young recent Law School graduates, and the other that of lawyers leaving other legal firms. Young graduates are brought to the company where they have the opportunity to specialize in a variety of areas.“There is a permanent coming and going of lawyers, which is something new for us, and a sign that the market is maturing,” said Ion Nestor.  In order to hold on to a lawyer already employed by the company, or to attract new lawyers, the most important elements are, not in any order of importance the opportunities for professional development (company atmosphere), as well as models within the company (powerful professional lawyers).

NNDKP registered a €12.5 million turnover in 2006, and has budgeted a result this year of €13.5 million.

“The business of legal firms is much less predictable than a commercial operation, where there are stable parameters which, depending on the evolution of the economy, move up or down,” said NNDKP’s Managing Partner. Nestor added that a law firm may experience an unwitting downward business trend, as circumstances play an important part.  “A household appliance company is able to predict at the beginning of the year how many televisions and plasma tvs it will sell.  Law firms are not quite able to predict how many clients will require various services,” added Nestor.

The law firm market was evaluated last year at over €100 million. Top players are Musat & Asociatii, Tuca, Zbarcea & Asociatii, Bostina si Asociatii, Linklaters, and Popovici & Asociatii.