At the end of October 2014, DLA Piper's Bucharest office hosted a workshop for non-government organizations (NGOs) on the topic of "Legal and fiscal treatment of individual employment contracts and services contracts".
The workshop was organized in collaboration with Fundatia pentru Dezvoltarea Societatii Civile (the Foundation for the Development of Civil Society), one of the most important resource centres for non-government organizations in Romania. With the help of twelve law firms, by means of a clearinghouse program, FDSC offers pro bono legal counselling to NGOs.
During the interactive seminar, several issues that NGOs frequently encounter were addressed, among which: the differences between individual employment contracts and services contracts, specific legal issues in connection with the performance and termination of employment agreements, the overlapping of functions with the same employer and fiscal aspects of employment and services contracts.
The presentations were held by DLA Piper Dinu representatives from the Employment and Tax practices: Monica Georgiadis - Partner, Andra Trantea - Managing Associate, Monica Preotescu - Managing Associate, Paula Boteanu - Associate, Amalia Musat - Associate and Lidia Dutu - Tax Manager.
30 NGOs representatives attended the event and evaluated it as highly useful and informative. Raluca Simbotin, project coordinator with FDSC, stated: "The lack of funds and the difficulty to hire and maintain personnel are some of the main challenges faced by civil society organizations in Romania. In this context, most organizations collaborate with volunteers and do not have the capacity to contract legal services. There are cases when organizations that work with beneficiaries, children with autism, provide social services and possess the necessary expertise to propose legal changes to help improve access to education, but do not own the resources to pay a lawyer to perform the legal analysis.
In this respect, the ONGLex seminar organized by DLA Piper Romania helped the participants understand the legal situations which they are confronted with, and ensured a better understanding of the rights and privileges stated by the legislation. I want to thank the DLA Piper Romania team for the quality of the information they provided and for their commitment in supporting the pro bono practice in Romania."
Paula Corban-Pelin, Counsel with DLA Piper Dinu and coordinator of pro bono activities, reaffirmed that involvement in the community is an integrated part of DLA Piper's culture and added: "We believe that it is the professional responsibility of every lawyer to improve access to justice, promote equality, and use their professional skills to address unmet legal needs and contribute to the community. At DLA Piper, pro bono work is treated the same as all other legal work undertaken by our lawyers, and our pro bono clients receive the same high standard of service as our commercial clients."
More seminars and events dedicated to non-profit organizations will follow in the Bucharest office, in the spirit of DLA Piper's commitment to improve access to justice and help local and global communities.
ENDS
For further information:
Iulia Bertea, Marketing Manager DLA Piper Dinu, 0723 600 041, iulia.bertea@dlapiper.com
Notes to editors:
1. DLA Piper is a global law firm with 4,200 lawyers located in more than 30 countries throughout the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East, positioning it to help companies with their legal needs anywhere in the world. DLA Piper has been present in Romania since November 2008 and has a team of 45 internationally-trained lawyers and tax consultants.
2. In 2013, the firm donated over 207,000 hours of pro bono legal work globally. This is the equivalent of 133 lawyers working full time for one year.
3. For further information about our organisation and services, please visit our website: www.dlapiper.com
