Vienna, Sofia – On 7 March 2007 – LAWFUEL – Law Firm News – DLA Piper celebrated the official opening of its office in Sofia with a night of jazz at the city’s historic Military Club.
Over 300 guests form international organisations were welcomed by Dr Karl Diem, Head of the Austrian Embassy in Bulgaria and Doyen of the Corps Diplomatique in Bulgaria; Michael B Humphreys, Head of the European Commission Representation in Bulgaria; as well as General Joseph W Ralston, Vice Chairman of the Cohen Group and former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe.
Ivo Deskovic, Regional Managing Partner for the CEE, explained that there has been a strong interest from international companies which do business in Bulgaria and said: “Thanks to the enormous demand for our services, we expect the number of employees in Sofia to double within the next 18 months. Although our office has opened only recently, we have already managed to secure clients such as Warner Brothers, Carrefour and Salamanca Capital.”
The Sofia office will strengthen the presence of DLA Piper’s 11 other offices across Central and Eastern Europe (“CEE”) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (“CIS”).
Peter Valert, DLA Piper’s Office Managing Partner in Sofia said: “Bulgaria’s upcoming EU-accession opens a new market not only for us but also for our clients. By establishing our own office in Sofia we are able to make sure that our clients are provided with high-quality advice in the most cost effective way directly on location,”
Further guests at the opening celebration were: James Rigassio, of US Commercial Services in Bulgaria; Marc C Johnson of the US embassy in Bulgaria and Jurai Melioris of the embassy of the Czech Republic in Bulgaria.
