Balint Halasz and Pal Szabo have been promoted to Partner at Bird & Bird Hungary.
Halasz's and Szabo's promotions are part of the firm's global promotions round, which included another seven partners, one senior counsel, and 14 counsels. The promotions became effective on May 1, 2018, except for three of the partners, who were appointed in November last year.
Halasz becomes Partner and Head of the Intellectual Property group in Budapest. According to Bird & Bird, "in the past, he has advised on a range of contentious intellectual property matters for both national and international clients from various industry sectors, including electronics, pharmaceuticals and IT. He has extensive experience in relation to patents, trade marks, designs, copyright, unfair competition and customs measures. Halasz joined Bird & Bird in 2008 after having worked at Sar & Partners in Budapest for four years.
Szabo becomes Partner and Head of the Corporate/ M&A and Employment practice groups in Budapest. Bird & Bird describes him as having "significant experience in cross-border and domestic mergers & acquisitions and joint ventures, including acting for both private and public vendors, private purchasers and private equity firms across a range of industry sectors, such as financial institutions, energy, telecommunications and media, chemistry, life sciences, technology and retail & consumer. He has also advised on competitive auction bid processes. Prior to joining Bird & Bird, he worked as part of the M&A, corporate and employment teams at other international law firms (including Weil, Gotshal & Manges, which merged with Bird & Bird in Budapest on February 1, 2018 (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on January 11, 2018)).
David Kerr, CEO, Bird & Bird said: "Congratulations to all on taking their roles at Bird & Bird to the next level. I am thrilled such a talented group of our lawyers are becoming Partners and Counsel. Each person has a huge amount to offer, and I anticipate their passion and ability will play a large role in driving forward our strategy in coming years."
