Ban, S. Szabo, Rausch & Partners has advised Talentis Group Zrt on its acquisition of a 100% interest in Brendon Holding Kft. Deloitte Legal reportedly advised the seller.

Glatzova & Co has advised Bohemia Properties on the sale of land in Strizkov to be used for a residential project to Daramis.

Wardynski & Partners has advised merchant acquiring services company Centrum Rozliczen Elektronicznych Polskie ePlatnosci on the spin-off and transfer of its full customer portfolio and all company processes to national payment institution Polskie ePlatnosci and supported the latter in obtaining bank financing for its ongoing settlements with merchants. Clifford Chance reportedly advised the lender.

PHH has advised RGreen Invest on its EUR 50 million financing for the CCE Group to start construction of a 400-megawatt portfolio of photovoltaic projects. Dentons and Dumfarth Klausberger advised CCE.

Greenberg Traurig has advised Bielenda Kosmetyki Naturalne on the acquisition loan facility provided by BNP Paribas Bank Polska and mBank for its acquisition of Miya Cosmetics brand owner Kanani Europe. Allen & Overy reportedly advised the lenders.

Cytowski & Partners has advised Collabwriting on its USD 1.1 million seed financing with Smok Ventures, Credo Ventures, Fiedler Capital, Underline Ventures, Startup Wiseguys, and several CEE angel investors. Schoenherr reportedly advised Collabwriting as well. San Diego-based Komorowski PLLC reportedly advised lead investor Smok Ventures.

Taylor Wessing has advised a syndicate of international banks on their EUR 600 million facility agreement for Wienerberger AG to refinance its acquisitions of the Terreal and Creaton groups. E+H reportedly advised the borrower.

Soltysinski Kawecki & Szlezak has advised AniCura AB on its acquisition of Poznan-based veterinary clinic Centrum Zdrowia Malych Zwierzat. Roedl & Partner reportedly advised AniCura as well.

Dorda has advised the Czech RSBC Investment Group on its strategic acquisition of Austrian firearm manufacturer Steyr Arms.

Taylor Wessing has advised the shareholders of the international Denkstatt Group on its integration with EY in Austria, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia. EY Law reportedly advised EY.

Binder Groesswang, working with Hengeler Mueller and Baer & Karrer, has advised private equity investor Trill Impact on its partnership with cleanroom plastics manufacturer TT Medic.

Kinstellar has advised Dig Ventures on its strategic investment into Czech mobile application security start-up Talsec.

Former Domanski Zakrzewski Palinka Partner Rafal Hajduk has moved in-house, joining R.Power Renewables as the company's Chief Commercial Officer.

Havel & Partners has announced it opened an office in Frankfurt am Main on May 1, 2024. The new German office will be managed by former Squire Patton Boggs Partner Philip Smitka.

DLA Piper has promoted Ekaterina Larens to Partner in Austria, effective May 1, 2024.

Former Schoenherr Local Partner Gergely Szaloki has joined Wolf Theiss to co-lead the firm's Banking & Finance in Budapest. 

Turunc's Yasemin Erden – a Partner at the firm for the past two years – has moved to an Of Counsel position within the Istanbul-based outfit. 

LSW Bienkowski, Laskowski, Lesnodorski, Melzacki and Partners has announced it hired eight new partners – Filip Badziak, George Havaris, Marcin Huczkowski, Piotr Leonarski, Krzysztof Marzynski, Adam Piwakowski, Aleksandra Polak, and Piotr Szelenbaum – all coming from B2RLaw, alongside a group of associates, administration, and marketing support.

Lakatos, Koves and Partners has announced Richard Lock is stepping up to become Senior Partner while former Senior Partner Peter Koves becomes Partner Emeritus and Honorary Senior Partner.

Clyde & Co has recently announced that Michal Kalicki, formerly of WKB Lawyers, joined its Warsaw office as a Counsel and the Head of the Banking and Finance team.

Tihana Posavec Vlasic and Marko Mecar have teamed up to launch the Posavec Vlasic & Mecar Joint Law Office in Zagreb.

CMS has appointed Tomas Matejovsky as the new Managing Partner of CMS Prague and Juraj Fuska as the new Managing Partner of CMS (CMNO) in Bratislava, effective May 1, 2024.

Clifford Chance has appointed Milos Felgr as its new Managing Partner of its Prague office, effective May 1.

Former Counsel Michal Synowiec has been promoted to a Partner position in DLA Piper's Warsaw-based Employment Law team.

It has been a long time coming and is among the most requested changes in criminal procedure law. Finally, on 24 April 2024, the Austrian government presented a draft bill aimed at increasing the contribution to legal costs for suspects acquitted in criminal proceedings. While it is a giant step forward, serious doubts remain about whether it goes far enough.

In the realm of modern politics, where every move is meticulously calculated and every tactic scrutinized, the strategic employment of intellectual property (IP) has emerged as a potent tool for political parties. From catchy slogans to iconic logos, intellectual property has become integral to shaping public perception and garnering support during election seasons. However, the fine line between legitimate use and exploitation of IP often blurs, raising ethical and legal questions about the (ab)use of intellectual property by political entities.

On January 1, 2024, the amendments to the Law on Fees for the Use of Public Goods, published in the Official Gazette of RS No. 92/2023 (“the Law”), came into effect.

This Top 10 Corporate Law Judgments 2023 summary provides a clear and concise overview of key Supreme Court decisions in corporate law for 2023.

As of 1 April 2024, the decree of the Hungarian National Bank on the processing of payment transactions has been amended, which particularly affects the process of immediate transfers.

We continue to deal with court decisions that creatively interpret the provisions of the Labor Law concerning the termination of employment contracts, thereby introducing significant legal uncertainty in practice.

In the ever-evolving landscape of legal technology, two notable players, SauLM-7B, and Harvey AI, have emerged with the aim of revolutionizing legal assistance through artificial intelligence. SauLM-7B and Harvey AI compete for prominence in the legal tech arena, their names both carrying a subtle nod to the realm of popular TV series – from Saul Goodman's legal antics in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul to Harvey Specter's suave maneuvers in Suits.

Recently, Law No 414/2023 on the conduct of representative actions for the protection of the collective interests of consumers (hereinafter Law 414/2023 or the Law), transposing Directive 2020/1828/EU on representative actions for the protection of the collective interests of consumers and repealing Directive 2009/22/EC (hereinafter Directive 2020/1828), entered into force.

Convenience fee is the part of our everyday life that seems to be a usually small but inconvenient price to pay for shopping online. But is it indeed a necessity? The Prosecution Service of Hungary intends to find out exactly that.

Following the development of the EU legislation and reflecting market needs and increasing interest in trading with guarantees of origin, the Bulgaria’s Ministry of Energy adopted new Ordinance No. Е-РД-04-2 of 2 April 2024 on guarantees of origin of energy from renewable sources. The new Ordinance was promulgated in State Gazette No. 32 on 9 April 2024.

As technology advances, it becomes easier and easier to record any conversation. Today, anyone with a smartphone can easily record business meetings - even in secret. There are many reasons for making a secret recording: for some it may be a security measure to avoid disputes, for others it may be an ulterior motive to use it later. But is it legally permissible to make an audio recording in secret? And what are the consequences of using a secretly made audio recording in a civil or criminal case?

On 15 February 2024, the Albanian Parliament adopted law no. 18/2024 “On some amendments and addendums on law no. 155/2015 ‘On gambling in the Republic of Albania’, as amended” (the “Gambling Law”). The amendment overturned a five-year ban on sports betting activities in Albania and entered into force on 27 March 2024.