Nestor Nestor Diculescu Kingston Petersen (NNDKP) has won the Future Lawyers Programme of the Year award at the 2025 Legal Benchmarking Group Social Impact Awards, for its programmes dedicated to future generations of legal professionals. The award reaffirms NNDKP’s commitment to supporting young legal professionals, through educational initiatives adapted to their needs that combine theoretical knowledge with hands-on learning experiences, providing them with the resources and mentorship they require to develop their skills.  Shailyn Tirado, Head of Research for the Social Impact Awards shared the reasoning behind the decision to offer the award to NNDKP: “Nestor Nestor Diculescu Kingston Petersen was awarded Future Lawyers Programme of the Year at the 2025 Legal Benchmarking Group Social Impact Awards for its programmes dedicated to future generations, recognising the firm’s sustained investment in supporting and developing the next generation of legal professionals in Romania.  In 2024, the programmes engaged over 60 law students through structured academic initiatives, hands-on learning experiences across the firm’s Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca and Timișoara offices, and national educational projects.  By combining practical exposure, skills development, and ongoing dialogue with law students and their representative organisations, the programmes continue to create meaningful pathways into the legal profession for students from diverse backgrounds.” “We believe that students need real support, not only formal opportunities. NNDKP’s programs have grown organically, out of a desire to stay close to the younger generation and to offer them hands-on experience, mentorship, and an honest perspective on the legal profession.

CMS has advised a syndicate of banks comprising Erste Group Bank AG, Banca Comercială Română SA, Raiffeisen Bank International AG and Raiffeisen Bank SA on the refinancing of the Palas Iasi mixed-use portfolio. The refinancing has consolidated several Iulius Group companies that form part of the Palas complex's retail and office assets.  The CMS team has provided comprehensive legal assistance across all stages of the transaction, from conducting the due diligence process to structuring the transaction, drafting and negotiating the financing documentation and fulfilling the conditions precedent for drawdown. The project featured a complex financing structure, both in terms of the number of entities involved and the nature of the real rights held by these companies for the development of the real estate project, as well as efficient adaptation of the security package and corporate documentation for each entity.  Alina Tihan, Finance Partner at CMS Romania, said: “It was a privilege to have advised the financing banks and to work together with Palas’ team on this landmark financing in the Romanian market.