Corwin Head of Legal Services Department Marek Kundrat discusses balancing legal precision with business agility, the realities of cross-border in-house work, and the shifting regulatory landscape in Slovakia’s real estate sector.
CEELM: Tell us a bit about yourself and the career path you took leading up to your current role.
Kundrat: I have built my career around providing pragmatic legal solutions that align with business objectives, with a particular focus on the construction and real estate sectors. For several years, I worked in private practice advising leading companies in Slovakia and abroad. Following this experience, I became an in-house lawyer in a multi-national construction company, where I supported major projects throughout all stages – from acquisition to dispute resolution. In 2022, I became the Head of the Legal Services Department at Corwin, where I manage a team of lawyers across Bratislava, Ljubljana, and Prague.
My role involves developing and implementing legal strategies that support the company’s growth, mitigating risks, and ensuring that legal advice is always practical, timely, and business-oriented.
CEELM: What was the biggest shock when transitioning to the in-house world? On the flip side, what was the most pleasant surprise?
Kundrat: Moving from private practice to the in-house world was eye-opening – it really is a different game. As an external counsel, you’re trained to deliver perfectly reasoned, detailed memos; in-house, no one has the time or patience for that. You quickly learn to distil complex issues into two bullet points and a clear recommendation. Similarly, while saying “no” might be the safest answer in a law firm, in-house, you need to chart a path to “yes” that aligns with the company’s goals without compromising on legal integrity.
That shift – from being an external advisor to becoming a strategist, operator, and problem-solver – was probably the biggest difference. You are not just interpreting the law; you are helping make business decisions under pressure, with the law being one of many factors to consider.
The most pleasant surprise was how rewarding this role can be. In-house, you are deeply embedded in the business, collaborating across departments, and seeing firsthand how your advice impacts the company’s success. It’s less about producing perfect documents and more about creating real value – and that makes the work far more dynamic and fulfilling.
CEELM: How large is your in-house team currently, and how is it structured?
Kundrat: I currently oversee a team of eight in-house lawyers spread across three countries – Slovakia, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic. It’s a strong, multidisciplinary group with senior colleagues specializing in key areas such as permitting processes, real estate and construction law, commercial and contract law, as well as ESG and compliance.
This diversity of expertise allows us to handle most of the company’s legal needs internally, while maintaining the agility to collaborate with external law firms when necessary. For highly specialized matters, such as complex due diligence or litigation, we partner with trusted external counsels both in Slovakia and abroad. This hybrid approach helps us stay efficient, responsive, and focused on providing practical solutions that support the business.
CEELM: What has been keeping you and your in-house team busy over the last 12 months? What about the upcoming 12 months – what are you keeping on your radar that you think will impact your workload the most?
Kundrat: Over the past year, we’ve faced pressure to optimize our costs, streamline processes for better customer experience, and find a suitable balance between in-house lawyers and external advisors. This required a thorough analysis of our task structure, responsibilities of team members, all the way down to the exact wording and length of each contract we create with our clients. Adjusting this way was certainly a challenge, but it was made much easier by the strong internal processes we’ve established and our regularly updated set of template legal documents across all three jurisdictions. These tools have been crucial in maintaining efficiency and ensuring consistent support for the business despite a leaner team.
Looking ahead, our main challenge will be responding quickly and effectively to the needs of colleagues in different countries. In both the Czech Republic and Slovenia, we will have several large-scale residential and office projects under construction simultaneously, which will demand careful prioritization and proactive engagement from our legal team. Ensuring that we can provide timely, business-focused advice across multiple jurisdictions is ultimately key.
One of the most significant external factors is the outdated nature of zoning plans and the extremely lengthy processes required for their amendments. In many cases, these plans are decades old and fail to reflect today’s realities, creating uncertainty for new projects. Additionally, the inconsistent and sometimes arbitrary interpretation of construction norms by authorities adds another layer of complexity. Both of these issues have the potential to significantly impact our workload, requiring close monitoring and adaptive legal strategies.
CEELM: How do you decide if you are outsourcing a project or using internal/in-house resources?
Kundrat: It largely depends on two factors: our in-house expertise and our current capacity. If a matter clearly falls within our team’s strengths and we have the available resources, we keep it internal – this allows us to stay closely aligned with the business and control the process more effectively.
That said, there are situations where outsourcing makes sense due to increased complexity or risk factors of the matter at hand. For example, highly specialized matters or complex cross-border issues may require external support. I also sometimes seek an external second opinion on strategic or high-stakes cases with outsized impact on the business. This combination of leveraging internal knowledge while knowing when to bring in outside expertise ensures we provide the business with both efficiency and high-quality solutions.
CEELM: When picking external counsel, what criteria do you use?
Kundrat: Expertise and a proven track record are always my starting points, particularly when selecting counsel abroad, where having proper references is crucial. But for me, it goes beyond just credentials on paper. I like to meet potential counsel personally, to get a sense of how they operate, communicate, and approach problem-solving.
It’s also essential to set clear rules for cooperation from the very beginning – expectations on responsiveness, reporting, and alignment with our business objectives. This way, we ensure that an external counsel becomes a true extension of our in-house team, not just a service provider.
CEELM: What do you foresee as the main challenges for GCs in Slovakia in the near/mid future?
Kundrat: In the real estate sector, one of the most significant challenges will be the implementation of the new Construction Act. Its goal is to simplify and streamline the permitting process by reducing administrative complexity and increasing transparency – a long-awaited reform for the industry.
However, it’s still too early to fully assess its impact. The key question will be how effective the responsible authorities are in adapting to and applying the new rules. In my experience, the intended effects of legislation often differ from how it plays out in practice. For GCs, this means a need to carefully monitor how new procedures are being implemented and quickly adjust strategies for ongoing and future projects. This challenge doesn’t just affect in-house lawyers – it impacts the entire industry, making collaboration and knowledge-sharing more important than ever.
This article was originally published in Issue 12.7 of the CEE Legal Matters Magazine. If you would like to receive a hard copy of the magazine, you can subscribe here.