On July 3, 2020, CEE Legal Matters reported that Cerha Hempel, working alongside Deloitte Legal in Germany, had advised Germany's GBTEC Software + Consulting AG on the acquisition of all shares in Avedos. CEEIHM spoke with Sven van Berge Henegouwen, Partner at GBTEC, to learn more about the deal.

Arnold Koger has joined Novartis as Head of Legal.

On July 2, 2020, CEE Legal Matters reported that Herbst Kinsky had advised Viennese start-up GoStudent GmbH on its EUR 8.3 million Series A financing round, which was led by VC fund Left Lane Capital. We spoke with Felix Ohswald, CEO of GoStudent, to learn more.

Anton Petrov has been promoted to the position of Deputy Director Legal at First Investment Bank in Bulgaria.

Irina Vasilevska has joined Huawei as its General Counsel in Bulgaria.

Going beyond a purely legal role has been necessary for in-house lawyers for many years – but Stanimir Vlahov, Associate Counsel Bulgaria at Mondelez International, explains why the current COVID-19 outbreak has made this need even more pressing.

Former Clifford Chance Senior Associate Marian Husar has joined J&T Finance Group as its Head of Legal.

On September 22, 2020, CEE Legal Matters reported that DLK Legal in Poland and Kinstellar in Hungary and the Czech Republic, working together with Osborne Clarke as lead counsel, had advised Infosys on its EUR 30 million acquisition of GuideVision. CEEIHM spoke with Inderpreet Sawhney, Group General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at Infosys, to learn more about the deal.

Ivana Fara has been promoted to the role of Head of Legal Team for Tesco Stores CR in the Czech Republic.

“The past few months were hard on us,” says Stathis Mihos, Pfizer’s Legal Director for Greece, Israel, Malta, and Cyprus.

John Giannakakis, General Counsel of the Andromeda Group, shares his insights on data protection and cybersecurity compliance issues – made all the more pressing in a COVID-19 context – and the best practices he has developed for assessing risks and nurturing a compliance culture.

Mark Erdelyi has been promoted to the role of Chief Legal and Reputation Officer at Telenor Hungary.

On September 22, 2020, CEE Legal Matters reported that DLK Legal in Poland and Kinstellar in Hungary and the Czech Republic, working together with Osborne Clarke as lead counsel, had advised Infosys on its EUR 30 million acquisition of GuideVision. CEEIHM spoke with Inderpreet Sawhney, Group General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at Infosys, to learn more about the deal.

On September 30, 2020, CEE Legal Matters reported that Dentons had assisted the Austrian insurance group UNIQA and CHERRISK – UNIQA's Hungarian InsurTech subsidiary – enter the German market. CEEIHM spoke with the legal team of CHERRISK – consisting of Head of Legal Petra Turi, International Legal Counsel Mate Lapis, Legal Counsel Judit Reich, and Junior Lawyer Viktoria Tari – to learn more about the matter.

On November 18, 2020, CEE Legal Matters reported that Hedman Partners had agreed to serve as legal advisor to Solaride on its project to build a solar-powered car in Estonia. CEEIHM spoke with Kristel Leif, Chief Executive Officer at Solaride, to learn more about the matter.

On November 10, 2020, CEE Legal Matters reported that Cobalt had advised Passion Capital on its USD 1.4 million seed-round investment into Warren.io. CEEIHM spoke with Tarmo Tael, Co-Founder & CEO at Warren.io, to learn more about the deal.

On August 3, 2020, CEE Legal Matters reported that Sorainen had advised Montonio on its generation of EUR 500,000 from both Estonian and international investors. CEEIHM spoke with Rasmus Oisma, Director at Montonio Finance, to learn more about the matter.

On September 14, CEE Legal Matters reported that Sorainen had advised Brette Haus on the preparation of a sales contract template for prefabricated folding houses. CEEIHM spoke with Gennadii Bakunin, CEO of Brette Haus to learn more about the matter.

On October 28, 2020, CEE Legal Matters reported that Triniti Jurex had successfully helped Termolink obtain damages from a general contractor for work the company performed on an unspecified project. CEEIHM spoke with Valdas Garmus, Director at the Termolink, to learn more about the dispute.

On September 8, 2020, CEE Legal Matters reported that the Lithuanian office of Cobalt had advised INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund on its acquisition of a 48% stake in MBL from Accession Mezzanine Capital III and the Lauritsen family. CEEIHM spoke with Nerijus Drobavixius, Partner at INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund, to learn more about the deal.

Lina Zolyne has joined the Sun Investment Group in Lithuania as Group General Counsel.

Robert Makowski has been promoted to Executive Director and Senior Counsel in Goldman Sachs’s Legal Department in Warsaw.

On August 25, 2020, CEE Legal Matters reported that Rymarz Zdort and Prica & Partners had advised Innova Capital on the sale of 100% of the shares of subsidiary Trimo d.o.o. to the Kingspan Group. CEEIHM spoke with Andrzej Bartos, Senior Partner at Innova Capital, to learn more about the deal.

On October 8, 2020, CEE Legal Matters reported that JDP had advised Trei Real Estate GmbH on financing of EUR 51 million it received for its Polish subsidiaries from pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank, a German specialist lender for commercial real estate finance. CEEIHM spoke with Matthias Schultz, CFO at Trei Real Estate GmbH, to learn more about the financing.

Former CMS lawyer Andreea-Paula Armanu has joined Bitdefender as a legal advisor in Romania.

Oana Todeila has been appointed to the role of Head of Legal & Compliance for APS Recovery in Romania.

On September 4, 2020, CEE Legal Matters reported that Herbert Smith Freehills and Reff & Associates had advised NEPI Rockcastle on the sale of six companies owning four Class A office projects in Romania. CEEIHM talked to Robert Ionita, General Counsel of NEPI, to learn more.

On October 15, 2020, CEE Legal Matters reported that Kachkin & Partners had successfully helped Russian general contractor STEP LLC reach a settlement with Pharmasintez-Nord JSC in a dispute regarding payment for work and related claims worth over RUR 100 million. CEEIHM spoke with Yulia Nikolaeva, Head of Legal Service at STEP LLC, to learn more.

Alexey Statsenko, the Regional General Counsel for Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe & Central Asia at EY, has been promoted to equity partner at EY.

On September 15, 2020, CEE Legal Matters reported that Debevoise & Plimpton had advised Norilsk Nickel on its USD 500 million Eurobond offering due 2025. CEEIHM spoke with Andrey Gavrikov, Head of Direction for Legal Support of Treasury Operations at MMC Norilsk Nickel, to learn more about the issuance.

On November 11, 2020, CEE Legal Matters reported that Karanovic & Partners had helped set-up Ventu.rs, the first Serbian crowd-investing platform. CEEIHM spoke with Luka Pejovic, Director at Ventu.rs, to learn more about the matter.

Berlin-based APX Axel Springer Porsche has appointed Serbian lawyer Sonja Radovic as its Head of Legal.

Ana Banicevic has become Legal Counsel at the TMF Group in Belgrade.

On July 9, 2020, CEE Legal Matters reported that ODI Law had advised Hranilnica Lon on a new issuance of shares. CEEIHM spoke with Imre Balogh, President of the Management Board at Hranilnica Lon, to learn more.

Former Chief Legal Counsel and Head of Contracts at Havelsan Yavuz Selim Gunay has returned to private practice to launch Gunay & Erdogan Attorneys-at-Law (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on January 14, 2021).

Ayca Aydin Suzer has joined TEB Cetelem as Head of Legal in Turkey.

Former Esin Attorney Partnership Partner Birturk Aydin has left that firm — the Turkish member firm of Baker McKenzie International — to become the Head of Legal at Koc University in Istanbul.

On November 2, 2020, CEE Legal Matters reported that Hillmont Partners had successfully defended the interests of Delta Wilmar Ukraine in a dispute with the State Environmental Inspectorate of Ukraine. CEEIHM spoke with Anna Lazurenko, Chief Legal Officer at Delta Wilmar, to learn more about the dispute.

On September 8, 2020, CEE Legal Matters reported that Integrites had successfully protected the interests of Lifelong Meditech, an Indian producer and exporter of medical equipment, in a safeguard investigation initiated by the Ukrainian producer Hemoplast concerning the import of syringes into Ukraine. CEEIHM spoke with Hamendra Srivastava, the CEO of Lifelong Meditech, to learn more about the investigation.

On July 27, CEE Legal Matters reported that Integrites had helped Metro Cash & Carry Ukraine on a dispute involving a change of its energy supplier. CEEIHM spoke with Natalia Vasina, Legal Counsel at Metro Cash & Carry to learn more about the dispute.