When I was invited by the CEE Legal Matters team to write a guest editorial for the CEE Legal Matters magazine, I was initially perplexed, as my career path has been far from traditional. Upon deeper reflection, though, having a second profession alongside a law degree offers unique advantages, particularly when combined with the opportunity to provide both legal and business consultancy services, such as information security consultancy.
This multidisciplinary expertise enables a deeper understanding of clients’ needs by bridging the gap between legal frameworks and practical business realities. For instance, a background in fields like IT, finance, or engineering can offer valuable insights into industry-specific challenges, allowing for tailored solutions that go beyond standard legal advice. Offering business consultancy services alongside legal counsel not only enhances the value delivered to clients but also fosters a more holistic approach to problem-solving. It enables legal professionals to address strategic, operational, and compliance-related concerns in a cohesive manner, which is particularly beneficial in complex, highly regulated industries. Furthermore, this dual expertise can set legal professionals apart in a competitive market, positioning them as trusted advisors capable of contributing to broader business goals rather than merely mitigating risks. In essence, combining a second profession with legal practice not only broadens one’s skill set but also enriches the overall client experience, promoting innovation and efficiency in service delivery.
Since I started my career dealing with technology and digitalization matters, the CEE region has undergone significant digital transformation, driven by economic ambitions, technological advancements, and societal shifts. The region’s journey has been marked by the interplay of EU funding, a talented workforce, and investments in digital infrastructure, positioning CEE as a dynamic player in the global digital economy. The startup ecosystem in CEE has flourished, producing globally recognized companies, and cities like Warsaw and Bucharest have become innovation hubs, supported by accelerators, venture capital, and government incentives. The region’s tech-savvy workforce has also been instrumental in its digital evolution, and we saw countries like Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Romania becoming IT outsourcing hubs, thanks to their skilled professionals in software development, data analytics, and cybersecurity. Infrastructure development, including the widespread adoption of high-speed internet and mobile networks, has further accelerated the digital transformation. Many countries in the region have achieved high penetration rates for mobile internet and are early adopters of 4G and 5G technologies. This has also created significant work for both IT and legal professionals specializing in this field. Personally, I believe this trend will continue, with countries in the CEE region maintaining their investments in digital transformation, as it impacts every industry and sector.
EU membership has played a pivotal role in shaping the digital landscape across many CEE countries. While fragmented national legislation in areas such as telecommunications, data protection, and ePrivacy has created significant workloads for TMT practices throughout the region, this fragmentation has often posed an economic disadvantage for most countries, as it complicates cross-border operations and compliance for businesses. However, the EU, as one of the most active regulators in the digital economy, has been working to develop overarching and standardized regulations in line with its 2020 Data Strategy. This aims to ensure a coherent digital framework across member states, although these regulations can sometimes be cumbersome and impose requirements that may impact the competitiveness of companies operating within the EU.
In practice, EU-level regulations such as the Digital Services Act, Data Governance Act, Data Act, AI Act, and DORA, along with upcoming regulations in cybersecurity, including the Cyber Resilience Act, significantly streamline the work of lawyers specializing in digitalization and technology-related matters. These harmonized frameworks reduce legal complexity and facilitate more efficient cross-border operations, benefiting both businesses and legal practitioners. While differences at the level of Member States persist – for example, in the implementation (or, in many cases, the lack of implementation) of the NIS2 Directive – information security principles have increasingly become cross-border and unified, fostering greater consistency across the EU.
Therefore, my response to CEE Legal Matters’s question (“What is your personal opinion about lawyering in CEE? Is it good, bad, or getting better?”) is a resounding yes – it is definitely getting better and sought after.
By Tamas Bereczki, Partner, Provaris Varga & Partners
This article was originally published in Issue 11.11 of the CEE Legal Matters Magazine. If you would like to receive a hard copy of the magazine, you can subscribe here.
