Member Spotlight: Ilieva Voutcheva & Co. Law Firm, Bulgaria
Located in Bulgaria, a strategic crossroads between Asia and Europe, Ilieva Voutcheva & Co. Law Firm (IV Law Firm) has provided comprehensive legal services to corporate clients since its founding by managing partners Diliana Ilieva and Rossitsa Voutcheva. As a proud Globalaw member since 2007, the firm has established itself as a key player in the Southeastern European legal market.
"Our country may be small, but it's located in a very tactical position on the Balkan peninsula," explains Rossitsa. "Bulgaria can be considered a gateway to Europe from various directions, including Africa and Asia."
Comprehensive Corporate Legal Services
IV Law Firm specializes in corporate and commercial law, with a team of 12 lawyers offering expertise across multiple practice areas, including:
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Tax law (both structuring and litigation)
- Real estate and construction
- Medical law
- Energy and natural resources (particularly renewable energy)
- Competition law
- Data protection and GDPR compliance
- Labor law
- Litigation
"Having lawyers specialized in various legal areas allows us to provide comprehensive legal services to our clients," Rossitsa notes. "Our tax expertise makes it even more all-encompassing and thorough."
Litigation Expertise: A Competitive Advantage
IV Law Firm's expertise in litigation distinguishes it from many competitors. The firm’s litigation resources, strength, and professional capabilities provide clients with multi-disciplinary expertise, allowing them to access the services they need all within one firm.
"I’m proud of our skills as litigators," Rossitsa emphasizes. "Most of our big-law competitors prefer not to litigate. It's quite risky and demands significant resources, in terms of people and time involved."
Landmark Real Estate Projects
The firm has established a particularly strong track record in real estate development projects, handling everything from land acquisition to final property sales. One of their flagship projects is Paramount Gardens, a 50,000-square-meter residential and commercial complex in Bulgaria's capital city. The project presented unique challenges, including acquiring land from more than 50 different owners.
"We started from the beginning—structuring the entire transaction with many landowners involved as well as a group of investors," explains Rossitsa. "Various financial and legal interests had to be considered and adjusted.”
The firm's real estate portfolio also includes successful developments in Bulgaria's winter resort areas, including hotels and residences in the famous Bansko ski resort in the Pirin Mountains and Borovets in the Rila Mountains.
A Culture of Growth and Balance
The firm continues to grow, with the recent addition of Mariella Bogdanova-Kostova representing the next generation of legal talent. The firm takes pride in supporting work-life balance and professional development.
"We are very proud of having Mariella," says Rossitsa. "She's young but already rather experienced, both as a lawyer and as a mother, which is also important, and we very much encourage this."
Another point of achievement is that IV Law Firm is a “training law firm,” similar to a “training hospital” featured in one of the most popular medical TV shows. The firm teaches trainees on every case and paper from their first year in university. IV Law Firm attorneys are eager to transfer their perseverance, tolerance, professionalism and love for the profession to those coming behind.
Trusted Connections Through Globalaw
IV Law Firm values the Globalaw network for collaboration, knowledge exchange, professional credibility and instilling client confidence.
"The opportunity to provide an immediate reference to someone you know personally—I think it's invaluable, a precious advantage," Rossitsa says, describing the benefits of Globalaw membership.
This network has repeatedly proven valuable. Recently, Rossitsa was able to quickly connect a 15-year client with a trusted Globalaw colleague regarding a property purchase in the UK.
"It makes you look very good, capable and effective in your client's eyes as well," she notes. "He feels he can call me for everything, and it worked again."
Visit ivlawfirm.com for more information.
