Interview with Alina Iozsa, Partner, Hategan Attorneys

• Crises have become the rule, not the exception: the real estate market functions as an ecosystem in which those who know how to negotiate, be flexible, and include the unexpected in their strategy survive.
• Western Romania is consolidating its position as a regional hub for cross-border investments—from logistics and industry to green energy and ESG-compliant sustainable projects.
• Digitalization, legal tech, and AI will redefine real estate law, but the competitive advantage remains human: understanding the client's business and the ability to create customized solutions.

Ms. Iozsa, in your 19 years at Hategan Attorneys, you have gone through several cycles of the real estate market. How would you describe this evolution from a lawyer's perspective?

During my early years at Hategan Attorneys, between 2005 and 2008, the real estate market was experiencing a period of rapid growth. I coordinated transactions involving agricultural and forestry land, logistics park developments, residential and industrial construction, historic building renovations, and natural resource exploitation. The pressure to capitalize on opportunities quickly led to projects with significant legal vulnerabilities—uncertain property titles, concessions with procedural flaws—where essential verification steps were omitted. Many transactions failed in the due diligence phase for this reason.

In 2009, the financial crisis affected all sectors: financing bottlenecks, foreclosures, delivery delays, insolvencies. The market demanded renegotiation and restructuring. The legal response to the 2008 shock consisted of more rigorous contractual regulations: flexibility clauses, deadline extensions, protection mechanisms, and additional guarantees.

The recovery was gradual, with the maturity of the market. Residential and office space demand increased, supported by forward contracts securing bank financing, customized build-to-suit logistics developments, and the rapid expansion of the renewable energy sector, fueled by green certificates and Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), generating a considerable volume of legal activity.

The SARS-COVID-19 pandemic of 2020-2022 represented a new shock, structurally changing market behavior and directly affecting real estate investments. Investments in the office sector declined after the pandemic, and the repercussions of supply chain congestion for construction materials, which impacted all sectors, made it impossible to meet deadlines. Once again, negotiation was the order of the day. For example, in lease agreements, many landlords actively sought subtenants to occupy the spaces left vacant after the pandemic, found ways to restructure contracts, reduce leased areas, etc., realizing that they are part of an ecosystem and that strict enforcement of contractual clauses would have led to payment blockages and potential insolvencies, with an impact on everyone. I believe that solution-oriented behaviors of this type are likely to generate further business and maintain the ecosystem in balance.

Looking back, I have noticed that economic cycles are shorter; there used to be talk of 10-year cycles, which then decreased to 5 years, and now operating in conditions of crisis and unpredictability has become the new normal. However, companies are better prepared to face these challenges, having incorporated at least one "black swan," in the sense described by Nassim Taleb, if not a whole range of unforeseen situations, into their business scenarios. It is the lawyer's role to include the unforeseen in contracts so that they become as adaptable as possible.

Where do you think the market in western Romania is moving?

Western Romania remains "first on the list" for cross-border projects: the Timișoara–Arad–Oradea corridor attracts industrial/logistics and renewable energy parks. We are also seeing retail developments in the western region becoming important transnational hubs, attracting consumers from Serbia and Hungary.

We are seeing an increase in ESG compliance requirements and investment in sustainable projects, alongside the integration of AI into real estate development and management processes. Local licensing requirements (e.g., for the approval of a PUZ) are stricter, which, in my opinion, is beneficial because, on the one hand, it gives coherence and long-term sustainability to urban developments and, on the other hand, it allows for higher quality projects, differentiating professional developers from opportunistic ones. The distinction is also made through the financing capacity and proven experience of developers.

I anticipate the development of mixed-use projects and urban redevelopment. Western cities are facing increased traffic congestion during rush hour and a shortage of parking spaces, factors that complicate daily life. Therefore, any development must come with appropriately scaled traffic solutions. Local authorities are increasingly making approvals conditional on the presentation of viable mobility solutions.

The overall outlook points to market consolidation and the development of sustainable projects aligned with European standards.

What are the main legal obstacles faced by foreign investors in Romania and how have you overcome them together with your clients?

Multinationals often come with practices and solutions that have been tested in other markets. Instead of responding reflexively that "it doesn't work that way here," we preferred to implement their proposals where there were no absolute legal impediments, but only reluctance toward unconventional approaches that were perfectly valid from a legal standpoint. In most cases, we identified points of compatibility between the contractual structure desired by the client and the requirements of local authorities, regardless of the sector—real estate, corporate, or others.

If you had to make a prediction: what will the real estate legal services market in Romania look like in 2030? Who will remain relevant?

There are already a number of legaltech tools that automate and streamline legal activities for the benefit of lawyers and clients. Hategan Attorneys currently uses digital tools to streamline various processes. Because we are convinced of the importance of digital transformation, we have set the tech direction by creating the Hategan digital strategy and the Hategan Digital platform (www.hategandigital.com), through which we assist clients in implementing tech tools in accordance with legal provisions or create the legal framework for IT companies in developing innovative technologies. The digitization of a company involves a whole package of measures that must be integrated into the company's processes.

I think that by 2030, it will be inconceivable to practice business law without digitization. AI will also generate increasingly complex content. However, I do not believe that lawyers will lose their relevance, but their role will probably be different. Knowledge of the client's business in order to come up with the most applicable solutions, strategy development, negotiation, adoption of particularities in legal constructs, and the ability to take an integrated view will continue to be an important differentiator.

Lawyers will also play a facilitating role, especially in real estate, where projects involve complex and lengthy approval stages. Mediation between the authorities and investors, analysis, and the provision of legal levers to break deadlocks are often essential.

What is the most valuable piece of advice you have ever received from a client and still use today?

Before signing the legal assistance contract, the CFO of an international transport company asked to visit the entire office, not just the conference room. He explained that his mentor had taught him to check what was behind the facade. We were surprised by the request, but we showed him all the spaces and introduced him to the team.

His approach surprised me: in a world where image is carefully orchestrated, the client can check whether reality matches appearance. He showed me that authenticity is not a marketing cliché, but a measurable selection criterion. That simple gesture—the request to see the entire office—became a standard of transparency that I follow all the time.

What was the most difficult or complex project in your career? How much money was at stake and what were the main challenges?

Every project comes with a distinct set of challenges, which makes the profession unpredictable and stimulating. One of my recent complex projects involved restructuring bank loan agreements with a consortium of banks across six jurisdictions: the US, UK, Poland, Slovakia, Germany, and Romania. I managed the upstream security package in Romania for a transaction with an aggregate value of €60 million. The project required intense negotiation and cross-border coordination throughout its implementation.

What is the most important lesson you have learned in your 19 years at Hategan Attorneys? Have you had any projects that did not end as planned?

We have managed projects that deviated from the initial plan but were successfully completed based on strategies adjusted along the way. In complex projects, recalibrations and adaptations are permanent, not exceptions. The most valuable lessons: flexibility in approach, constant focus on solutions, and the ability to listen—to clients, colleagues, and third parties.

After nearly two decades of practice in real estate, I find that the value of a lawyer is not measured in contractual rigidity, but in the ability to anticipate the unexpected, to adapt solutions to changing realities, and to maintain the balance of an increasingly volatile economic ecosystem.

Alina Iozsa, Partner / Leader Real Estate, PPP, Energy & Natural Resources la Hategan Attorneys, coordonează de peste 19 ani proiecte imobiliare complexe în vestul României, specializându-se în structurarea componentei imobiliare a planurilor de afaceri ale clienților. A gestionat achiziții publice industriale, dezvoltări rezidențiale, logistice, agricole și de energie, consolidându-și reputația de specialist pe piața regională.

Absolventă a Facultății de Drept din cadrul Universității de Vest Timișoara (1999-2003) și deținătoare a unui LLM în Drept European de la Universitatea Tibiscus (2003-2005), Alina activează în domeniile imobiliare, construcții, PPP, insolvență și compliance, oferind consultanță juridică în limba română, engleză, germană și franceză.

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Fondată în 2004, Hațegan Attorneys este o firmă de avocatură de tip butique, având sediul la Timișoara și este singura firmă de avocatură din România membră GGI Global Alliance. Avocații Hațegan Attorneys oferă consultanță juridică în limba germană, engleză, italiană și franceză.

Cu un leadership extrem de implicat în proiecte sociale, Hațegan Attorneys a lansat Fundația Hațegan, o fundație cu proiecte educative, culturale și sociale. Fundația Hațegan organizează de 11 ani Balul Vienez Timișoara, al 31-lea bal vienez recunoscut de Primăria Viena la nivel internațional.

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