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.

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.

Iliana Byanova, the former Chief Legal and Compliance Officer at the First Investment Bank, has joined Sopharma Trading as its Chief Legal, Risk, and Compliance Officer in Sofia.

Pavel Kovarik has joined the European credit insurance group Credendo in the Czech Republic as Head of Legal and Compliance.

Zentiva has hired Pawel Borowski in the role of Head of General Legal in Prague from Takeda.

Christian Blatchford, General Counsel at Energo-Pro, explains how he goes about selecting external advisors – and what he wishes private practice lawyers would do differently.

“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.

On September 9, 2020, CEE Legal Matters reported that the Kapolyi Law Firm had advised Duna House, a property brokerage group in Central and Eastern Europe, on its participation in the National Bank of Hungary's Growth Bond Program. CEEIHM spoke with Duna House Chief Financial Officer Daniel Schilling to learn more.

MVM has brought on Emese Szitasi as its Transaction Manager in Hungary.

Jozsef Antal, the former Head of Legal and Compliance at Metro Cash & Carry Hungary, has returned to private practice by joining Kapolyi Law Firm as a Partner.

On September 14, 2020, CEE Legal Matters reported that Sorainen had advised Sunly City on the implementation of a new business model for electricity consumers and on the development and drafting of customer contracts for solar energy solutions. CEEIHM spoke with Marek Sakk, Project Manager at Sunly City, to learn more.

On May 7, 2020, CEE Legal Matters reported that Sorainen had represented Tallinna Linnatranspordi Aktsiaselts, a company fully owned by the City of Tallinn, in its purchase of compressed gas for natural gas-powered buses. We spoke with Deniss Borodits, Chairman of the Board at Tallinna Linnatranspordi, to learn more about the deal.

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 July 24, 2020, CEE Legal Matters reported that Cobalt had helped Lithuania's UAB Kedainiai Free Economic Zone draft establishment and operation agreements for Kormotech. CEEIHM spoke with Giedrius Valuckas, Member of the Board at Kedainiai FEZ, to learn more about the agreement.

“The energy sector has been highly affected in the past few months, as global demand went down tremendously, which has a significant impact on the whole value chain," says Rytis Valunas, GC for oil and LNG terminals operator Klaipedos Nafta. "Many companies, especially from the oil industry, caught themselves in a situation they never dealt with previously." And, he says, "with the pandemic evolving further, the business environment is not likely going to improve soon.”

On September 2, 2020, CEE Legal Matters reported that Motieka & Audzevicius had advised Turing College as the recipient of a EUR 1.2 million investment from Startup Wise Guys and the Motieka Investment Fund. CEEIHM spoke with Co-founder & CBDO of Turing College, Benas Sidlauskas, to learn more about the deal.

“The construction business suffered from COVID-19, but so far less than others," says Agnieszka Dziegielewska-Jonczyk, GC of Skanska Central Europe. "We may see the impact in the coming months. As we are fully dedicated to our customers, Skanska construction sites in Central Europe are open."

On September 21, CEE Legal Matters reported that Greenberg Traurig had advised Madison International Realty on its acquisition of an unspecified stake in Cavatina Office sp. z o.o., the owner of the Chmielna 89 office building in Warsaw, from Cavatina Holding S.A., as well as on its entry into a joint venture agreement with Cavatina Holding and the refinancing of the existing bank debt of Cavatina Office sp. z o.o. CEEIHM spoke with Madison International Realty Managing Director, Matthias Cordier, about the deal.

Bank BPS SA has hired Radoslaw Radowski in the role of Head of Compliance Unit.

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.

Mirela Elena Cozma has joined OTP Bank Romania as its Corporate Governance Legal Advisor in Bucharest.

The Stakelogic Group has promoted Romanian lawyer Sorana Paduraru to Head of Legal in the Netherlands.

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.

“As compliance practitioners, we had to go through a major shift recently with going online, which is quite a new thing in our sector,” says Timur Khasanov–Batirov, Head of Compliance, Russia & CIS at the STADA Group.

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

The General Counsel role has been significantly transformed during the last decade – from being a mere business advisor and business partner to becoming part of the business. Nevertheless, the COVID-19 pandemic has shown that there is still significant space for change in the years ahead.

On May 26, 2020, CEE Legal Matters reported that NKO Partners had advised Dr.Max, the largest pharmacy network in Central Europe, on a public-private partnership project involving the concession of 27 state-owned pharmacies in the City of Krusevac and the Rasina District of Serbia. We reached out to Daniel Shull, CEO of Asterfarm (Dr.Max Serbia), for more information about the project. 

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 Emaar Turkey Director of Legal Affairs Huseyin Topuzoglu has joined Alliance Healthcare as its Legal Director in Istanbul.

Fatih Ozdemir has joined Guzel Enerji Akaryakit in Istanbul as Legal Counsel.

Seraf Ozer has joined the legal team at IC Holding.

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.

On July 23, 2020, CEE Legal Matters reported that Redcliffe Partners had advised the EBRD on an up to EUR 25 million term loan to Ukrainian State Air Traffic Services Enterprise. We reached out to Konstantin Olefirenko, Principal Legal Counsel at the EBRD, to learn more about the deal.

The Stada Group has hired Timur Khasanov – Batirov in the role of Head of Compliance for Russia and the CIS Region.