GUOZUN CATHAY ASSOCIATES’ Romania Office was officially inaugurated in July 2025 in the central business district of Bucharest, the capital of Romania. As a core service institution under GUOZUN CATHAY ASSOCIATES’ globalisation strategy, it focuses on the Central and Eastern European (CEE) market and connects Chinese-funded enterprises with the EU’s economic and trade system.
Leveraging GUOZUN CATHAY ASSOCIATES’ service network covering 106 countries and regions worldwide with 113 overseas offices, the office has built a full-time service team composed of elite Chinese foreign-related lawyers, Romanian registered practising lawyers and EU cross-border legal experts. All core members have over 10 years of practical experience in China-Romania bilateral and EU legal services, with in-depth familiarity with Romania’s local legal system, unified EU regulatory rules and the CEE business environment. Focusing on core demands such as Chinese-funded enterprises’ investment in Romania, cross-border commercial exchanges, compliance and risk control system establishment, and cross-border dispute resolution, it provides full-process, multi-jurisdictional, one-stop professional legal services.
This document sets out the official unified benchmark fee standards of GUOZUN CATHAY ASSOCIATES Romania Office for 2026. All quoted prices are exclusive of value-added tax (the current standard VAT rate in Romania is 19%), and settlement is available in three currencies – Euro (EUR), Renminbi (CNY) and US Dollar (USD) – at the client’s discretion. All fee rules and pricing are formulated with reference to the 2026 Practice Fee Guidelines of the Uniunea Națională a Barourilor din România (UNBR, National Union of Bar Associations of Romania), Bucharest foreign-related law firm industry benchmarks and EU cross-border legal services market practices, and fully comply with local regulatory requirements.
ARTICLE 1
COMPLIANT FEE MODELS OF GUOZUN CATHAY ASSOCIATES ROMANIA OFFICE
The firm’s fee system strictly abides by the Romanian Law on the Legal Profession, the UNBR Code of Conduct on Lawyer Fees and relevant EU regulatory provisions on cross-border legal services. Taking into account the operational habits of Chinese-funded enterprises for cross-border services, five standardised fee models are established, aligned with Romanian judicial regulatory requirements and international commercial service conventions:
Section 1.1 Fixed Fee Model
Applicable to basic legal services with standardised processes and accurately quantifiable workload. The total service price is locked at contract signing, with no hidden charges beyond those agreed in the contract. It covers standardised matters such as Romanian commercial entity registration, basic compliance filing, standard legal document drafting and routine qualification applications.
Section 1.2 Hourly Rate Model
Applicable to major cross-border investment projects, complex dispute resolution cases and customised special compliance consulting. Fees are charged based on lawyers’ actual effective working hours, with detailed monthly time statements provided. The entire service process is verifiable and traceable.
Section 1.3 Percentage of Subject Matter Value Model
Applicable to property-related legal services such as cross-border mergers and acquisitions, large-value asset transactions and commercial claims. Fees are charged on a tiered basis according to the case’s subject matter value, in line with the general practice of the EU’s high-end commercial legal services industry.
Section 1.4 Contingency Fee Model
Within the framework of Romanian lawyer practice regulations, this model applies only to debt collection, commercial recovery and tort claim cases. Fees are charged conditional on case success / actual fund recovery, with the fee ratio not exceeding 30% of the actual recovered amount, complying with UNBR requirements on the scope and upper limit of contingency fees.
Section 1.5 Annual Retainer Model
Provides enterprises with year-round full-scope legal support for a fixed annual service fee. A dedicated trilingual (Chinese-English-Romanian) service team is assigned, with priority response to requests within 48 hours, covering compliance management and risk prevention throughout the enterprise’s daily operations.
ARTICLE 2
LAWYER HOURLY RATE STANDARDS OF GUOZUN CATHAY ASSOCIATES ROMANIA OFFICE
All practising lawyers at GUOZUN CATHAY ASSOCIATES Romania Office hold valid practising licences issued by the UNBR. The core team is proficient in Romanian domestic law and EU regulatory rules, and delivers seamless trilingual services in Chinese, English and Romanian. Senior partners all hold multi-jurisdictional practising qualifications across the EU, with deep expertise in core areas such as cross-border investment, international commerce and EU compliance regulation. A tiered pricing system is implemented.
Section 2.1 2026 Benchmark Hourly Rates
The official unified benchmark hourly rate range for 2026 is EUR 160 – EUR 590 per hour, covering all levels of service personnel. The final applicable rate is determined comprehensively based on case complexity, professional specialisation, project urgency and service team configuration.
Section 2.2 Additional Billing Provisions
(a)A 25%–50% travel and fieldwork surcharge for case handling outside the EU Schengen Area;
(b)A 50% expedited service fee for 48-hour urgent response and case handling on statutory holidays or weekends;
(c)A 20% rate uplift for EU multi-jurisdictional collaborative cases;
(d)A 15% rate uplift for exclusive trilingual court hearing support;
(e)A 10%–20% rate uplift for specialist cases involving EU financial regulation, export control and data compliance.
ARTICLE 3
SPECIFIC BENCHMARK FEE STANDARDS FOR CORE PRACTICE AREAS
These standards focus on the core practice areas of GUOZUN CATHAY ASSOCIATES Romania Office, match the essential demands of Chinese-funded enterprises investing and operating in Romania, and comply with the requirements of Romanian regulatory authorities including the Oficiul Național al Registrului Comerțului (ONRC, National Trade Register Office), Banca Națională a României (BNR, National Bank of Romania) and Oficiul de Stat pentru Invenții și Mărci (OSIM, State Office for Inventions and Trademarks), consistent with Romania’s local legal system and unified EU regulatory rules. Details are as follows:
Section 3.1 China-Romania Cross-Border Investment and EU Market Access Legal Services: EUR 1,100 – EUR 36,000
(a)Full-process agency for establishing wholly-owned subsidiaries, regional headquarters and representative offices of Chinese-funded enterprises in Romania, including EU foreign investment access compliance screening and Romanian ONRC commercial registration;
(b)Agency for Romanian industry operation permits and business qualification filings, plus design and implementation of compliant foreign shareholding structures;
(c)Legal due diligence for two-way China-Romania investment, investment path planning, and implementation of tax incentive applications such as Romania’s 16% corporate income tax and R&D expense super-deduction;
(d)Ongoing compliance maintenance for corporate entities, equity restructuring, qualification changes, and special legal services for cross-border enterprise deregistration and liquidation;
(e)Supporting legal services for settlement in China-Romania industrial parks and sci-tech enterprises, plus full-process support for policy coordination and compliance filing;
(f)Assistance with Chinese enterprises’ Overseas Direct Investment (ODI) filing, corporate governance system establishment and annual routine compliance review.
Section 3.2 Commercial Dispute Resolution and Cross-Border Award Enforcement Legal Services: EUR 1,400 – EUR 490,000
(a)Pre-litigation mediation for China-Romania commercial contract disputes and investment disputes, plus full-process litigation representation before Romanian courts at all levels;
(b)Full-process agency for arbitration cases before institutions such as the Bucharest International Arbitration Court (BIAC) and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), plus cross-border arbitration strategy formulation and execution;
(c)Cross-border recognition and enforcement of court judgments and arbitration awards between China and Romania, plus specialist services for cross-border property preservation and compulsory enforcement;
(d)Cross-border debt collection and arrears recovery, plus full-process agency for local Romanian compulsory enforcement procedures;
(e)Handling of various commercial disputes including equity disputes, intellectual property disputes and labour disputes, plus dedicated response to cross-border legal conflicts.
Special Note: For major cross-border economic crimes, transnational financial violations and serious criminal cases, there is no fixed upper fee limit. Quotations will be customised based on case complexity, scale of cross-border collaboration, evidence collection costs and case handling timeline.
Section 3.3 EU Financial Regulation and Corporate Capital Operations Legal Services: EUR 5,300 – EUR 79,000
(a)Full-process compliance legal services for bank lending, financing guarantees, bond issuance and private equity fund establishment;
(b)Compliance review of cross-border capital flows, adaptation to EU Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) anti-tax avoidance rules, and design of compliance solutions aligned with National Bank of Romania requirements;
(c)Compliance review of Romanian corporate financing and capital increase, plus risk prevention and control throughout the capital operation process;
(d)Full-process services for China-Romania cross-border equity M&A and asset acquisition, including legal due diligence of target companies, transaction document drafting and negotiation, and closing management;
(e)Compliance handling of corporate asset restructuring and division, plus full-process support for cross-border compliance of capital account items.
Section 3.4 Energy and Renewable Energy Specialist Legal Services: EUR 4,000 – EUR 63,000
(a)Full-process agency for development permits and approval filings of new energy projects such as photovoltaic and wind power in Romania;
(b)Investment due diligence for new energy projects, contract drafting and performance supervision, and specialist legal services for project M&A and restructuring;
(c)Design of compliance solutions aligned with the EU Green Deal and environmental standards, plus implementation services for Romanian energy regulatory rules;
(d)Compliance risk control and dispute resolution services throughout the construction and operation lifecycle of energy projects;
(e)Supporting compliance legal services for the transformation and upgrading of traditional energy projects.
Section 3.5 International Trade and EU Customs Compliance Legal Services: EUR 4,300 – EUR 71,000
(a)Full-chain compliance review of China-Romania cross-border trade, bespoke drafting and risk control of international trade contracts and supply chain agreements;
(b)Specialist consulting on Romanian customs compliance, import/export control and tariff planning, plus response and compliance handling for EU trade barriers;
(c)Compliant operation of cross-border e-commerce platforms in Romania and the EU, plus specialist services for merchant onboarding, product compliance and consumer rights protection;
(d)Compliance risk control for international commercial exchanges, review of cross-border transaction guarantees and settlement compliance, and commercial fraud risk prevention;
(e)Pre-litigation mediation of China-Romania bilateral trade disputes, plus full-process services for cross-border contract breach handling and non-litigation rights protection.
Section 3.6 Intellectual Property and EU Data Compliance Legal Services: EUR 280 – EUR 33,000
(a)Full-process agency for nationwide registration, renewal and change of trademarks, patents and copyrights of Chinese brands in Romania, plus supporting services for EU trademark registration;
(b)Intellectual property infringement investigation and cross-border evidence collection, plus full-case agency for Romanian administrative complaints and judicial enforcement;
(c)Handling of cross-border brand counterfeiting and domain name disputes, plus implementation of trade secret protection and non-compete compliance frameworks;
(d)Drafting of cross-border IP licensing and assignment agreements between China and Romania, plus compliance risk control for technical cooperation;
(e)Enterprise data compliance system establishment, including data governance and cross-border transfer compliance review aligned with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Romanian Law on Personal Data Protection;
(f)Global IP portfolio planning for sci-tech enterprises, and specialist services for building IP risk control systems for overseas brands.
Section 3.7 Labour & Employment and Cross-Border Immigration Legal Services: EUR 280 – EUR 23,000
(a)Bespoke trilingual (Chinese-English-Romanian) employment documentation aligned with the Romanian Labour Code, plus compliance review of employment contracts and corporate internal policies;
(b)Full-process agency for work permits, family visa applications, renewals and changes for foreign employees of Chinese-funded enterprises;
(c)Compliance planning of Romanian employment quotas, design of localised employment compliance solutions, and mitigation of illegal employment risks;
(d)Compliance handling of employee dismissal and labour disputes, plus full-process agency services for Romanian labour arbitration and litigation;
(e)Annual employment compliance audits for enterprises, response to labour inspectorate inspections, and compliance design for executive employment and equity incentives;
(f)Legal consulting and full-process agency services for business visas and long-term residence permits for personnel travelling between China and Romania.
Section 3.8 China-Romania “Belt and Road” Special Cooperation Legal Services: EUR 5,800 – EUR 83,000
(a)Specialist legal services for key bilateral cooperation areas under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) framework, including infrastructure construction, cross-border e-commerce, agricultural processing and information technology;
(b)Full-process services for China-Romania bilateral cooperation project negotiation, contract drafting and review, compliance management and risk prevention;
(c)Supporting legal services for China-Romania intergovernmental cooperation projects, plus policy coordination and compliance implementation support;
(d)Cross-regional one-stop legal services under the model of “one-place instruction, global response”, adapted to multi-sector cooperation demands between China and Romania.
Section 3.9 Personal Cross-Border Planning and Family & Commercial Legal Services: EUR 780 – EUR 4,900
(a)Full-process compliance agency for Romanian business visas, long-term residence visas and investment-based residence status applications;
(b)Compliance review of real estate purchase and leasing for foreign nationals in Romania, plus legal risk control for asset transactions;
(c)Legal consulting and dispute resolution agency for cross-border family disputes, inheritance and property division;
(d)Personal commercial compliance consulting, plus legal risk screening and compliance advice for cross-border asset allocation.
ARTICLE 4
CORE FACTORS AFFECTING LEGAL FEES
Section 4.1 Complexity of Cross-Border Compliance
For cases involving Sino-Romanian bilateral and EU multi-jurisdictional law application, cross-border evidence collection and multi-party coordination – especially specialist matters involving EU sanctions and export control – fees are uplifted according to case difficulty.
Section 4.2 Level of Industry Specialisation
Highly specialised fields such as financial regulation, energy infrastructure, cross-border investment and intellectual property carry higher fee standards than basic civil and commercial legal services, due to higher professional thresholds and stricter regulatory requirements.
Section 4.3 Case Complexity
For major litigation/arbitration, difficult cross-border enforcement, EU specialist regulatory response and group dispute cases, fees are dynamically adjusted based on actual workload.
Section 4.4 Service Response Urgency
For expedited project launch and case handling outside working hours or on holidays, an expedited service fee is charged in accordance with standard rates.
Section 4.5 Service Procurement Model
Compared with ad-hoc individual service instructions, the overall service cost of an annual retainer package can be reduced by 15%–25%.
Section 4.6 Service Team Seniority
For cases handled jointly by multi-disciplinary experts, with cross-border support from the Beijing headquarters, or with dedicated on-site multilingual teams, fees are adjusted corresponding to the team configuration.
Section 4.7 Case Performance Risk
The fee ratio for contingency fee engagements is directly linked to the likelihood of case success, difficulty of fund recovery, service timeline and enforcement risk.
ARTICLE 5
ADDITIONAL THIRD-PARTY EXPENSES TO BE BUDGETED
The following expenses are separate from legal service fees and are reimbursed at actual cost in line with Romanian official standards or real expenditure. The firm charges no agency markup on these items:
Section 5.1 Government Fees
Official charges including Romanian ONRC commercial registration fees, visa application fees, court filing fees, arbitration fees, OSIM IP official fees and licence registration fees.
Section 5.2 Notarisation and Authentication Fees
Local Romanian notarisation, apostille services (Romania is a member of the Hague Convention, and notarial documents between China and Romania follow apostille rules) and China-Romania consular authentication, settled at official rates on a reimbursement basis.
Section 5.3 Professional Translation Fees
Multilingual translation of legal documents and simultaneous interpretation for court hearings, charged per assignment / per word in line with Romanian translation industry standards.
Section 5.4 Expert Service Fees
Fees charged by judicial appraisal bodies, industry expert consultants and third-party due diligence agencies, settled at actual expenditure.
Section 5.5 Field Travel Expenses
Transportation, accommodation and fieldwork allowances incurred for domestic and international case handling, reimbursed against valid receipts.
Section 5.6 Financial Handling Charges
Bank fees arising from cross-border transfers and currency conversion are borne by the instructing party.
Section 5.7 Other Third-Party Expenses
Fees charged by professional institutions such as audit, valuation and compliance testing firms, settled according to actual entrusted expenditure.
ARTICLE 6
IMPORTANT NOTICE
The fee standards set out in this document constitute official benchmark reference prices for 2026 and do not constitute any form of service offer or invitation to instruct. The final fee for all legal services shall be specified in the written engagement contract signed by both parties, determined on the basis of the client’s specific requirements, actual case circumstances, service scope and project complexity.