David Hanis joined Oppenheim in Budapest to specialize in energy fresh out of law school, and has never looked back. 15 years later, just before Christmas 2023, CEE Legal Matters reported on his appointment to a Partner position at the same firm. Demonstrating you can move forward by staying in the same place, he shares his story below.

Oppenheim has recently announced the appointment of Peter Virag – formerly of DLA Piper – as Head of its Antitrust, Competition, and Trade team.

In The Corner Office, we ask Managing Partners at law firms across Central and Eastern Europe about their backgrounds, strategies, and responsibilities. With 2023 marching to an end, we looked ahead and asked about strategies for next year: As the budgeting period is around the corner, compared to 2023, what are the main budgeting lines you expect to increase for 2024 and why?

David Hanis has been appointed as a new Partner with Oppenheim.

Oppenheim has advised the China National Machinery Import & Export Corporation and China Power International Holding on the acquisition of a project company developing a photovoltaic project with an installed capacity of 53.9 megawatts in Tiszafured, Hungary. Schoenherr advised the ID Energy Group on the sale.

In The Corner Office, we ask Managing Partners at law firms across Central and Eastern Europe about their backgrounds, strategies, and responsibilities. Shifting our focus to the financial aspects of legal work, we asked: What percentage of your issued bills end up being overdue, what percentage end up never paid, and what is your firm’s/office’s standard methodology to handle both cases?

Wardynski & Partners, working with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, has advised the Bauer Media Group on the merger of its online comparison platform business with that of the Netrisk Group.

Not even half a year has passed since ChatGPT’s AI-supported chatbot started its public career in the online space and we have already heard of the first (?) lawyer who got in trouble in court for using AI to do background research. For those who missed the story, the chatbot “created” some fake case law examples, and upon several follow-up questions, the AI even confirmed that the cases were real. The references to these cases were then submitted to a US court where it quickly became clear that the cases never existed. Apart from the procedural problems this caused for the lawyer involved, this was an eye-opener for many in the legal industry.

Oppenheim has advised Colliers on the lease agreement for its new Budapest headquarters in the Bem Center building located in the city's first district.

Zsolt Farkas has been appointed a Partner in Oppenheim's Dispute Resolution group in Budapest.

2022 brought many changes in competition law in Hungary and, as far as we can see, 2023 will not be any different. Here is a short summary of what was on the table in 2022 and what the consequences are.

On July 7, four leading lawyers from Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Ukraine sat down for a virtual round table moderated by CEE Legal Matters Managing Editor Radu Cotarcea to discuss the increasing prominence of ESG issues and their impact on M&A transactions, due diligence procedures, and the role of the lawyers themselves.