On January 8, 2021, CEE Legal Matters reported that Gide Loyrette Nouel had advised Yareal on the sale of buildings A and B in its LIXA project to Commerz Real, acting on behalf of South-Korean investor Hana Financial Investment. CEEIHM spoke with Eric Dapoigny, Managing Director of Yareal International N.V. and President of Yareal Polska, to learn more about the deal.

On December 22, 2020, CEE Legal Matters reported that Lesnodorski, Slusarek i Wspolnicy, working pro bono, had successfully represented journalist Polish Justyna Sliwowska-Mroz in her claims that an advertisement by Poland's Law and Justice party had violated her rights. CEEIHM spoke with Sliwowska-Mroz to learn more.

On January 13, 2021, CEE Legal Matters reported that B2RLaw, working alongside Sidley Austin, had advised founders Pawel Malon and Marek Jakubow on the formation of Stability Capital, a Warsaw-based search fund. CEEIHM spoke with Malon and Jakubow, Managing Directors at Stability Capital, to learn more.

On December 30, 2020, CEE Legal Matters reported that BPV Braun Partners had advised Immofinanz on the acquisition of retail parks in the Czech town of Litvinov and the Horni Mecholupy neighborhood of Prague from Mitiska Reim. CEEIHM spoke with Stefan Frommel, Head of Transactions at Immofinanz, to learn more about the matter.

On November 13, CEE In-House Matters reported that Berlin-based APX Axel Springer Porsche had appointed Serbian lawyer Sonja Radovic as its Head of Legal. We sat down with Radovic to learn more about her career path leading up to her current role.

Irina Kravtsova, General Counsel at Raben Ukraine, reflects on a challenging year and the changes it brought to her role.

Bozidar Ristic, General Counsel, Legal Division Manager at AIK Banka, talks to CEE In-House Matters about how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected his work and how it temporarily slowed down a storm of litigation proceedings against the banks in Serbia – a storm due to return.

Zsuzsanna Lippai, Legal and Compliance Manager at Mercedes-Benz, explains how she had to adapt her negotiation style in a COVID-19 world.

Elena Iacob, Head of Legal and Compliance at Alliance Healthcare Romania, reports that GCs need to focus on soft skills and empathy in today’s world.

Having worked in the banking sector during the global financial crisis that started in 2008, Iliana Byanova, Chief Legal, Risk and Compliance Officer at Sopharma Trading, talks about the similarities between the effects of that crisis on the Banking sector and those of the COVID-19 pandemic on the pharmaceutical sector.

Barbara Chocholowska, Country Head of Legal Poland at HB Reavis, talks about the challenges presented by the COVID-19 outbreak in terms of hiring and inducting new colleagues into the in-house legal team.

Following Natura &Co’s 2020 acquisition of Avon, Hande Karakulah, the former Executive Director, Legal for TMEA at Avon, became the General Counsel, Turkey Middle East Africa at Natura &Co, marking a considerable expansion of her role.

“There’s simply no way to make a business 100% risk-free,” argues Jan Klouda, Vice President Legal, Risk & Corporate Security at Vodafone Czech Republic, who talks to CEE In-House Matters about how to identify and manage risk within a company.

Mihaela Scarlatescu, Head of Legal and Compliance Director at Farmexim & Help Net, explains how she and her team dealt with an expansion wave that saw her pharmacy chain add a hundred licenses in one year.

Jakub Staskiewicz, Legal & Compliance Director, Company's Proxy, and DPO at Vision Express Polska, talks to CEE In-House Matters about his experience in revamping his company’s compliance system and lessons learned from the exercise.

When he was promoted this May to Regional Legal & Compliance Operations Europe, Middle East, Africa at Bayer, Krzysztof Mazurek told CEE Legal Matters that his key objectives in his new position would be ensuring efficient support for the business “using above-country expertise and working with HQ and local legal & compliance colleagues so that the global solutions and service delivery models fit local markets and business needs.

Lukasz Szymanski, General Counsel and Business Integrity Officer at Unilever Poland, Baltics & CEE, describes for CEE In-House Matters how a values-based approach leads to Business Integrity.

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.