Cristian Pup

Senior Legal Adviser · Former Judge · Accredited Trainer of the NIM and the EJTN

A career magistrate with 27 years in the Romanian judiciary, Mr Cristian Pup unites a rare combination of strengths: the depth of a civil-law judge, the European outlook of a specialist in EU and international law, and the pedagogical vocation of an accredited trainer of Romania’s National Institute of Magistracy (INM) and of the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN). Over the course of his career he adjudicated thousands of civil and commercial cases, forging authoritative specialisations in civil procedure, employment law, environmental law and intellectual property.

For more than two decades, between 1999 and 2021, he headed the press and public relations office of the Timișoara Court of Appeal as its spokesperson — the public voice of one of Romania’s foremost courts — acquiring exceptional communication skills, the ability to render the most intricate legal questions lucid, and a refined understanding of the relationship between the judiciary, the press and public opinion.

Immediately upon concluding his judicial career, in 2021, he joined Alexandru, Andreas și Asociații — Lawyers and Certified Accountants, endowing the firm with an asset as rare as it is precious: the insider’s perspective on judicial reasoning — the capacity to examine every case through the eyes of the court that will decide it — coupled with a genuinely international dimension. A Community correspondent judge within the European Judicial Network in Civil and Commercial Matters and a speaker of five languages, he is the firm’s natural bridge to foreign clients and to cases with cross-border elements.

What he offers the firm’s clients

• Strategic counsel in complex civil and commercial litigation — case analysis from the magistrate’s vantage point, identifying the strengths and vulnerabilities of every matter before the court or the opposing party discovers them.
• Procedural strategy — the architecture of the firm’s defences and actions: selecting the optimal procedural avenue, constructing the evidentiary record, anticipating the judge’s reasoning and the dynamics of the hearing.
• Legal opinions of the highest authority — written opinions on questions of civil law, civil procedure, employment law, intellectual property and environmental law, drafted with the rigour of a career judge.
• Expertise in European and international law — counsel in cases with cross-border elements: international jurisdiction, recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments, European judicial cooperation in civil matters, application of European Union law in domestic litigation.
• Litigation risk assessment — a clear-eyed appraisal, grounded in thousands of adjudicated cases, of the realistic prospects of any judicial course of action, enabling clients to make informed decisions: litigate, settle or desist.
• Second opinion and stress-testing of arguments — subjecting the firm’s strategies and pleadings to prior critical scrutiny, in which counsel’s arguments are measured against the exacting standards of a career judge before they reach the courtroom.
• Strategic communication in sensitive cases — more than two decades of experience as spokesperson of the Timișoara Court of Appeal, placed at the service of clients in matters of public exposure: clarity of message, rigour of expression, and intelligent stewardship of the reputational dimension of litigation.
• Counsel for corporate clients and transactions — assistance, from a judicial perspective, in insolvency litigation, real-estate transactions and corporate advisory work for multinational companies.
• In-house professional training — as an accredited trainer of the INM and the EJTN, he imparts to the firm’s lawyers the standards of reasoning, drafting and argumentation honed over nearly three decades on the bench and in Europe’s judicial training programmes.

Professional path

Mr Pup’s career unfolded entirely within the Romanian judiciary, culminating at the Timișoara Court of Appeal, where he adjudicated civil and commercial cases at first instance and on appeal, applying European Community law and the instruments of judicial cooperation in civil matters in his judicial work. For over two decades he served as the Court of Appeal’s spokesperson, representing the institution publicly in cases of high visibility. In parallel, as an accredited trainer of the INM and the EJTN, he contributed to the training of Romanian and European judges in civil law, European Community law and international judicial cooperation.

Professional experience

Senior Legal Adviser

Alexandru, Andreas și Asociații — Lawyers and Certified Accountants · Timișoara · 2021 – present · 4 years

High-level legal counsel in civil and commercial litigation, employment law, insolvency, real-estate transactions and European law. Coordination of legal strategy for multinational and domestic corporate clients. Expertise in international law and cross-border cooperation.

Legal Counsel

AAA Premium Offices SRL · Timișoara · 2021 – present

Legal assistance and advisory work in fields ancillary to business activity, including property law and commercial contracts.

Judge — Civil Section

Timișoara Court of Appeal & Timișoara Court of First Instance · 1 July 1994 – 1 May 2021 · 27 years

Career judge in the civil section. Community correspondent judge within the European Judicial Network in Civil and Commercial Matters. INM trainer in EU law and EJTN trainer within the framework of the Council of Europe (2000–2021). Head of the press and public relations office / spokesperson of the Timișoara Court of Appeal (1999–2021).

University Assistant Lecturer

West University of Timișoara — Faculty of Law · 2000 – 2001

Subjects taught: Civil Procedure, Institutional Community Law.

Legal Counsel

Directorate of Labour and Social Protection / Labour Chamber · Timișoara · 1992 – 1994

Legal advisory work in labour law and social protection.

Education

Master of Laws in Public International Law, Environmental Law and Energy Conservation

Tulane University — New Orleans, Louisiana, USA · 1997 – 1998

Community Correspondent Judge

Specialisation programme — Paris, France · 2000

Degree in Law / Legal Sciences

University of Bucharest — Faculty of Law · 1993

Continuing education & international conferences

European Community law — Paris (Dec. 2000), Kraków (Oct. 2001), Warsaw (Jan. 2002) — co-author of a Manual of Community Law · Judicial management & communication — Prague (May–June 2001), Timișoara — Transforma Course (2002–2003) · European and Romanian intellectual property law — Bucharest (Jan. 2000) · International Environmental Law Conference — Eugene, Oregon, USA (March 1998) · Expert/Trainer in Community Law — CARDS Programme for the Western Balkans: Serbia/Montenegro and Croatia (2005)

Key competencies

• Civil law
• European Union law
• International law
• Civil procedure
• Employment law
• Environmental law
• Intellectual property
• Judicial cooperation
• Judicial training
• Legal public relations
• Complex litigation
• Corporate advisory

Languages

• Romanian — native
• Hungarian — native
• English — advanced (C1–C2)
• French — good command (B2)
• Serbo-Croatian — conversational (B1)

Contact

Alexandru, Andreas și Asociații — Lawyers and Certified Accountants
Calea Aradului nr. 8, 5th floor, 300008 Timișoara, Romania
Phone: +40 356 111 555 · E-mail: [email protected]