In The Corner Office, we ask Managing Partners at law firms across Central and Eastern Europe about their backgrounds, strategies, and responsibilities. This time around we asked: If you have a formal partnership track, how do you handle lawyers on it who do NOT end up living up to the requirements to make a Partner?

Recent court decisions in the technology, media, and telecommunications sector are expected to influence the way in which businesses manage, protect, and enforce their intellectual property rights and trade secrets in Bulgaria.

CEE Legal Matters is proud to introduce the latest in our Comparative Guides series. This one focuses on Real Estate in CEE.

Contributed by Schoenherr.

By judgment from 9 January 2025 in Case C‑394/23 the Court of Justice (CJEU) rules that the processing of personal data relating to the title of the customers of a transport undertaking is not necessary and might even be not legally grounded.

Cerha Hempel has advised the shareholders of Semantic Web Company and the company itself on a collaboration with Ontotext which resulted in the formation of Graphwise. Djingov, Gouginski, Kyutchukov & Velichkov advised Ontotext.

CMS has advised Solar Park Trakiya on a EUR 32 million financing from EuroBank Bulgaria for the 57.6-megawatt-peal Sinitovo photovoltaic project.

Kinstellar has advised Paradox Interactive on its acquisition of Haemimont Games.

Boyanov & Co. has advised Generali CEE Holding in the acquisition of United Health Insurance Fund Doverie. Djingov, Gouginski, Kyutchukov & Velichkov advised the seller.

Our team achieved significant success defending a client before the Supreme Court of Cassation (SCC) in an employment dispute related to the amount of remuneration in the event of reduced working hours established by the employer in the event of a declared state of emergency or emergency epidemic situation (Article 138a, para. 2 of the Labour Code).

Kinstellar has advised TSH Investment on the acquisition of the Park Center shopping mall in Sofia from Revetas Capital Advisors. Schoenherr advised Revetas on the deal.

At the beginning of each year Bulgarian Competition Protection Commission announces (the “CPC”) its priorities. The priorities for 2025 do not differ very much from those set in the previous years and show consistency.

Kinstellar has advised UniCredit Bulbank as the lead manager on the private placement of a EUR 25 million corporate bond issuance by Minimart. Djingov, Gouginski, Kyutchukov & Velichkov advised Minimart.

As the first publicly listed Bulgarian company in the gaming industry, Telematic Interactive Bulgaria has set its sights on aligning employee engagement with corporate growth through an ambitious Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). Being part of the team that advised Telematic on this project, in this article, I’ll provide a detailed look at the motivations behind this decision, the structure of the ESOP, and the intricate legal challenges faced during its implementation.

The Bulgarian Parliament has recently adopted an Act to amend and supplement the Bulgarian Commercial Act[1] implementing the requirements of Directive (EU) 2019/2121 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2019 amending Directive (EU) 2017/1132 as regards cross-border conversions, mergers and divisions.

In The Debrief, our Practice Leaders across CEE share updates on recent and upcoming legislation, consider the impact of recent court decisions, showcase landmark projects, and keep our readers apprised of the latest developments impacting their respective practice areas.

In The Corner Office, we ask Managing Partners at law firms across Central and Eastern Europe about their backgrounds, strategies, and responsibilities. This time around we turn our attention to setting up new practices and ask: When launching a new practice, what is your go-to strategy – do you look at internal team members to spearhead it, or are you more likely to turn to lateral hires? Why?

The European Union’s Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, launched in October 2021, marked a significant shift in the EU’s foreign policy. It represented a comprehensive approach to engaging with the region of the Indo-Pacific, which is increasingly recognized as a global economic and strategic hub. Together, the Indo-Pacific and Europe hold over 70% of global trade in goods and services, as well as 60% of foreign direct investment (FDI) flows.