September 2025

I admire women who build – and share – confidence based on competence, who are generous in sharing their experiences and supporting other women.

WOMEN IN LAW initiative curated by Alina Matei on JURIDICE.ro meets Ileana Nicolescu.

Alina Matei: Thank you, esteemed Mrs. Ileana Nicolescu, Managing Associate at BACIU PARTNERS, for taking the time to speak with the readers of JURIDICE.ro. Women in Law is about women, about what they achieve in their professional lives and beyond. May I kindly ask you to share what defines you as a professional?

Ileana Nicolescu: Thank you very much for the invitation and for the opportunity to be part of this project, which brings to the public eye not only professional activity but also the stories behind it. I am honored to find myself alongside so many extraordinary women that in the legal community.

If I were to choose two traits that define me as a professional, they would be adaptability and an empathetic approach. In the eight years since becoming a lawyer, I have learned that this profession requires constant change – of legislation, of perspectives, of strategies – and that staying rigid means limiting yourself. There is always a new challenge, a regulation that changes, a client who needs a different approach. Even if it may sometimes seem exhausting, especially when it comes to legislative changes, I believe this dynamic brings with it the satisfaction of staying connected.

At the same time, experience has shown me that an open and empathetic approach greatly shortens the process of understanding and shaping the remedy needed by the person we work with, whether clients, colleagues, or other parties involved. And the remedy must be effective, aligned with the context, and, very importantly, fully understood and embraced by the person who will use it. At the beginning of my career, I saw empathy as a weakness. Now that I’ve learned how to use it, I consider it an essential tool – human, yet extremely practical.

Alina Matei: In your opinion, is the involvement of women in legal professions limited or unlimited?

Ileana Nicolescu: I believe opportunities do exist, and the difference lies in how we choose to make use of them. It is true that there are still situations where prejudices come to ligh – I too have experienced such moments – but I see them as rare and isolated. I choose to view them as remnants of an outdated mindset.

The best response, in my view, is performance (and, sometimes, a touch of humor). In the end, what truly matters is competence, not gender. I like to believe that this approach disarms stereotypes and brings the discussion back to a rational level.

Alina Matei: For women lawyers, the shift from the role of wife/partner/mother to that of legal professional – what “filters” should be applied to ensure that neither role suffers significant harm?

Ileana Nicolescu: I am the same person both in my professional and personal life. I try to follow the same values and not to fragment my identity. I believe I’ve reached a point where we no longer need to see these roles as parallel or opposing, but as different manifestations of the same person, in different contexts.

If I were to choose a key filter, it would be being ancored in the present: when I am with my family, I give them my full attention; when I work, I am fully present in that role. By stepping away from one context to honor another, you build bridges, not fractures.

It is not simple, nor do I think there is a universal recipe. But I believe the way we set priorities and the clarity in our relationships with those around us make these transitions natural, without major sacrifices.

Alina Matei: Does the legal environment offer women the opportunity to be what they want to be?

Ileana Nicolescu: Yes, I believe the legal environment offers women the opportunity to be who they want to be, but this freedom does not come automatically; it is something that must be built.

It is a field that, by its very nature, acts as a catalyst for many of the qualities women naturally bring: intuition, empathy, and attention to detail. But it is up to each of us to recognize and make use of opportunities, even where they are not obvious.

That is why I believe that the freedom to be who we want to be is, at its core, a personal exercise, one that requires conscious choices, perseverance, and consistent results.

I am glad to stress that, today, we do enjoy this freedom to choose from a wide range of opportunities, but it is essential to remember that it has not always been so. This freedom was earned through the courage and solidarity of women who, not long ago, fought for fundamental rights, including the right to education. It is worth remembering that each of our voices stands on the shoulders of the chorus of those voices that paved the way.

Alina Matei: From every perspective, I don’t know of a time more favorable to women’s development than the one we are living in. Every right, like every prejudice, has consequences. What role can women lawyers play in fostering the understanding that everyone is responsible for their own choices, both professional and personal?

Ileana Nicolescu: Yes, without a doubt we are living in the most favorable period so far. I think it is important to emphasize “so far,” because we are speaking of a relatively recent and still fragile normality, the result of a long journey, which today allows us to say that the set of knowledge and skills a professional brings to the table is more important than gender.

That does not mean that subtle pressures or hard-to-reach social standards have disappeared completely.

I find it essential for women in law to convey, through personal example, that every choice comes with responsibility. I do not believe that discrimination can serve as a universal explanation for any failure, just as success should not be attributed merely to luck. Choices come with responsibility, and I believe that resisting the temptation to put these choices down to fate, whether good or less inspired, is precisely what can truly inspire.

Alina Matei: Have you had a female role model who inspired you over the years?

Ileana Nicolescu: I have not had a single female role model, but rather multiple sources of inspiration at different stages of my journey.

I have learned valuable lessons – examples of what to do, but also what not to do – from people who played a significant and constant role in my development, as well as from those I only encountered briefly. I believe it is healthy not to idolize anyone, but to look lucidly at both the strengths and vulnerabilities of each person.

I admire women who build – and share – confidence based on competence, who are generous in sharing their experiences and supporting other women. Those who remain authentic and true to themselves, regardless of the context, and who have the courage to admit when something could have been done better.

Alina Matei: We have lived through the pandemic and COVID-19 strains. How was that period for you, both personally and professionally?

Ileana Nicolescu: The pandemic was a period that magnified many aspects of my life, both professional and personal. At that time, I was in my final year of traineeship, and the main challenge was to quickly adapt to the new way of working and to remain connected and engaged in the learning process, even remotely.

I remember reading a book then that made me reflect deeply on the idea of the butterfly effect – those choices or events, sometimes major, sometimes seemingly insignificant, that can radically change the course of things. With this thought in mind, I viewed that period and all its changes as a sequence of lessons about adaptability and the fragility of normality. For me, it also confirmed something very simple yet essential: that a touch of humor always remains necessary, no matter the context.

Alina Matei: A message, please, for all women in the legal community.

Ileana Nicolescu: The profession needs diversity – of styles, perspectives, and authentic voices – and each of us has unlimited ways to positively influence the world around us. If, through who we are and what we do, we manage to inspire even one person to believe more in herself, then we have already left a mark. And that, I believe, matters more than it seems.

Alina Matei: Thank you for this conversation!

Ileana Nicolescu: My thanks go to you for the opportunity to be part of this dialogue and for the questions that invited me to reflect. It has truly been a pleasure!

The original version of the interview, in Romanian, is available HERE.

WOMEN IN LAW MEETS BACIU PARTNERS. These conversations go beyond professional achievements. They are about values, about balance, about how personal journeys shape professional paths. At BACIU PARTNERS, we believe that questioning the status quo and searching for better answers to our clients’ needs must go hand in hand with recognizing the individuality, passions, and aspirations of each of our team members.

We find inspiration in the exchange of ideas, in the courage to stay authentic, and in the power of knowledge when amplified by diverse perspectives. Through these interviews, we celebrate the stories, the values, and the unique voices of our very own lady-lawyers.