Legal 500 awards Ana-Maria Baciu as “Romania Lawyer of the Year” at its inaugural CEE AWARDS gala; BACIU PARTNERS Named “CEE IP Firm of the Year”.

BACIU PARTNERS announced that Ana-Maria Baciu, Managing Partner, has been recognised as “Romania Lawyer of the Year”, becoming the first lawyer active in Romania to ever receive this distinction under the Legal 500 CEE Awards.At the same gala, BACIU PARTNERS was named “CEE IP Firm of the Year”, likewise being the first Romanian business law firm to receive this recognition in the inaugural edition. 

“Such awards make consistency visible. They confirm that what is built over time – with courage and determination - can be verified, not merely stated. To me, that remains the strongest form of professional legitimacy” mentioned Ana-Maria Baciu. 

Scooping the much-coveted “Lawyer of the Year” award for Romania, Ana-Maria Baciu was also shortlisted in two individual categories: CEE Partner of the Year and IP Lawyer of the Year, being the only lawyer active in Romania nominated across this breadth in the inaugural edition. 

“A distinction such as ‘Romania Lawyer of the Year in Romania’ validates one essential thing: trust is not earned in a moment, but through consistency, presence, and the discipline of doing things differently for the direct benefit of the team and clients. The standard it imposes is clear: to deliver clarity and rigour consistently and have the courage to think differently, understanding the stakes” noted Ana-Maria Baciu.

This award follows a series of international independent recognitions earned by Ana-Maria Baciu in recent years, including being named Managing IP “Romanian Practitioner of the Year” for two consecutive years (2023 & 2024), nine consecutive inclusions in the Top 250 Women in IP, and being one of only two lawyers in Romania recognised as Global Market Leader in Gaming by Chambers & Partners.

Recognized as the regional reference in IP, BACIU PARTNERS was shortlisted for CEE IP Firm of the Year in a line-up including leading firms across the region, reflecting the firm’s long-standing leadership in IP protection, strategy, transactions and disputes, delivered through an integrated model that combines boutique-level depth with full-service firm capability across industries.

This double recognition, at individual and firm level, comes in one of the most competitive award environments in the region, with the Legal 500 CEE Awards convening, for the first time, market-shaping firms and practitioners across multiple jurisdictions and practices.

Beyond the titles themselves, this moment reaffirms a professional philosophy central to BACIU PARTNERS: excellence and success are cumulative, not episodic; trust precedes recognition and recognition merely confirms it. Such distinctions confirm a standard, not a result.