Areas of expertise
In alphabetical order

Special Emphasis

In addition to providing a full range of legal services in Bulgaria, Penev & Partners has placed a special focus on the telecommunication, information and technology sectors. As a result Penev & Partners has developed a great deal of in-depth knowledge and expertise allowing it to become the leading Bulgarian law firm in this area.

A significant amount of new tech-related law has been recently introduced by the Bulgarian legislature. Although the government adopted largely statutes and provisions of existing EU legislation, implementation is problematic due to the low degree of corelation with other laws affecting the business of the companies in this sector. In addition, the specifics of the Bulgarian economic model as well as the lack of local experience in the general area further complicate companies’ business. In consideration of fluid situation our commitment to specialize in this area together with the expertise and comprehensive knowledge of our lawyers, attracted most of the largest international corporations investing in Bulgaria to become our longstanding clients.

In addition to providing corporate, commercial and other related law services to our clients, following are some more specific areas of our expertise:

· Regulatory

The firm provides advice on preparation of documentation from a justification and compliance stand point, filings with the regulator and obtaining of relevant approvals and licenses (individual and common) for the use of telecommunication and related equipment and provision of services subject to licensing.

· Contracts

Penev & Partners is extensively experienced in drafting and advising on agreements for dealership and distribution of products; hardware and software service agreements; internet provision, web hosting, administration and monitoring agreements, and satellite communication agreements.
In addition, we are experienced in the acquisition and transfer of telecommunication services and outsourcing agreements.

· Bidding/tender proceedings

Penev & Partners has significant experience and expertise with structuring its clients participation in bids and tenders, advising on bidding documentation and various procedural issues, communicating with the relevant regulatory authorities, and drafting contractual and related documentation.

· Insurance and tax treatment of activities in the
IT and telecommunication sector

Penev & Partners is uniquely experienced with advising our clients on rather specific matters such as tax treatment of satellite transfer of data, web hosting, administration and monitoring. Our clients in this sector include AT&T, NCR, Cisco Systems, SAP, Loral Cyberstar, Lucent Technologies and Avaya Communication. Mentioned below are some representative transactions that exemplify our experience in the area:

· Advice to AT&T on the Bulgarian segment of their US $ 5 Billion acquisition deal with IBM acquiring IBM’s global network business and entering into series of outsourcing agreements. In this transaction the relevant corporate, due diligence, transfer of contracts, licenses and type approvals work has been performed.

· Advice to Deutsche Telekom AG on the due diligence of the Bulgarian Telecommunication Company and its privatisation. This transaction involved review of documentation and preparation of analyses and reports on the whole range of activities of BTC, its corporate structure and licenses.

· Advice and actions on behalf of Loral Cyberstar Inc. on contractual structuring of transfer of data via satellite and agreements with local IP companies and other customers.

· Advice to Orbitel (the largest privately owned Bulgarian ISP) on tax deductibility and VAT levying on provision of internet, web hosting, administration and monitoring with regard to proceedings with the Head Tax Administration.