On September 24, 2020, CEE Legal Matters reported that Baker McKenzie’s Prague office had advised Worldline SA/NV on its acquisition of a 53% of stake in GoPay. JSK and Urban & Hejduk advised the sellers on the deal, Pavel Schwarz Jr. and BUDEX Direct.

On July 28, 2020, CEE Legal Matters reported that Olena Kuchynska had been appointed the new Managing Partner of the Kinstellar’s Kyiv office. After a few months of settling in, we spoke with Olena to learn more about the team she’s been appointed to lead and her plans for the future. 

An Interview with Partners Jonathan Marks and Richard Jones from Slaughter and May’s Dedicated CEE Partner Group

Over the course of our seven years, CEE Legal Matters has interviewed most of the British lawyers working on the ground in Central and Eastern Europe as part of our recurring “Expat on the Market” feature. We reached out to them recently and asked them to bring us up to speed on what they’re doing and/or share their thoughts on the ramifications of Brexit or the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.

Interview with Pawel Szaja of Shearman & Sterling.

Queritius claims to be something new on the market: A CEE-focused arbitration boutique emphasizing geographic flexibility and significant international experience. To learn more about this new presence in CEE, we reached out to Queritius Partners Veronika Korom, Wojciech Sadowski, and Daniel Dozsa.

A CEELM interview with Radu Boanta, Partner at CEE Attorneys Bucharest.

On March 5, 2020, CEE Legal Matters reported that Kinstellar had advised Nova Ljubljanska Banka d.d. on the conclusion of a share purchase agreement with the Republic of Serbia for the acquisition of an 83.23% ordinary shareholding in Komercijalna Banka a.d. Beograd. Serbia’s AP Legal and Prica & Partners advised the Government of the Republic of Serbia on the privatization.

Interview with Pablo Perez Laya of BDK Advokati, a Spanish Consultant at BDK Advokati in Belgrade.

New Counsel Victoria Pernt on Schoenherr’s impressive Arbitration practice.

Over the last couple of months, CEE Legal Matters reported on the launch by Romania's Mares & Mares law firm of two new alliances with firms specialized in White-Collar Crime – one in Moldova and one in Israel. We spoke with Mihai Mares, founder and Managing Partner of the firm, about his career and his firm's history, as well as the rationale behind the new alliances.

SBGK’s busiest practice over the last few months has been Data Protection, according to Partner Andras Gyorgy, driven by both the COVID-19 pandemic and, more importantly, by fines for GDPR breaches raising awareness among companies.

An interview with Stephanie Beghe Sonmez of Paksoy, about her path from France to Turkey.

On June 3, 2020, CEE Legal Matters reported that White & Case and its associated Turkish firm, GKC Partners, had advised interactive entertainment company Zynga Inc. on its USD 1.8 billion acquisition of Istanbul-based mobile gaming company Peak Oyun Yazilim ve Pazarlama, A.S. Baker McKenzie, working with its Turkish affiliate, the Esin Attorney Partnership, advised Peak on the transaction, which represented the largest acquisition of a start-up in Turkey to date, and makes Peak the country’s first “unicorn.” Dentons, along with its affiliate Balcioglu Selcuk Ardiyok Keki Avukatlik Ortakligi, advised selling shareholder Hummingbird Ventures CVA, Abcoo advised Peak Founder and CEO Sidar Sahin, the Verdi Law Firm advised selling shareholders Earlybird Verwaltungs GmbH, Evren Ucok, and Demet Suzan Mutlu Ucok, and BTS & Partners advised selling shareholder Endeavour Catalyst.

On July 28, 2020, CEE Legal Matters reported that Bulgaria’s Sabev & Partners law firm, working alongside DLA Piper, had advised the Government of Bulgaria on the tender procedure for the 35-year concession agreement for the Sofia Airport in Bulgaria, which was ultimately awarded to SOF Connect Consortium, led by Meridiam and including Munich Airport and Strabag, on its successful bid. We spoke to Sabev & Partners Iskra Neycheva and Boryana Boteva about the firm’s work on the project.

Although Bosnia & Herzegovina is relatively small, and despite the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, Bojana Bosnjak-London, Partner in the Corporate/M&A practice of Maric & Co in Sarajevo, reports that her team has been busy, noting that they were “lucky to land quite a few good deals.”

Nestor Nestor Diculescu Kingston Petersen's Public Procurement team has been running at 115% this year, according to NNDKP Partner and Co-Head of Public Procurement and PPP, Adina Chilim-Dumitriu. And she has reasons to be optimistic that the practice will continue to grow in the foreseeable future.

The IT and Telecommunications sectors have been the main source of work for Partner Lovro Gasparac’s Corporate/M&A team at Croatia's Savoric & Partners in the first half of 2020, and he expects that to continue going forward.