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CMS has advised UniCredit Bank on its EUR 39.3 million financing for Enery group subsidiary Comcris Energy for the construction of a 51.4-megawatt solar ground-mounted photovoltaic project located in Sarmasag, Romania. Clifford Chance Badea reportedly advised the borrower.

Schoenherr has advised the OTP Real Estate Investment Fund on its purchase of a land plot in Ullo, Hungary, from Rossmann, the development agreement for a BTS logistic center on the site with development manager Panattoni, and a long-term lease agreement for the facility with Rossmann as tenant. CMS and Noerr advised Panattoni. PwC Legal reportedly advised Rossmann.

Continuing our review of 2023, did you know that a total of twelve lawyers worked on seven or more reported client matters in Poland in 2023 – a step up from the ten lawyers who worked on that many in 2022? The 2023 partner leaderboard was led by Tomasz Rogalski of Norton Rose Fulbright, who worked on a market-leading 15. Clifford Chance’s Andrzej Stosio, whose 11 reported deals in 2022 led the market, repeated that number in 2023, tying him for second place with White & Case’s Marcin Studniarek.

Did you know that while only five lawyers worked on ten or more CEE client matters reported by CEE Legal Matters in 2022, a total of fourteen lawyers reached that level in 2023? The 2023 leaderboard was led by Milos Felgr of Clifford Chance in Prague, who worked on a remarkable 20 CEELM-reported client matters last year, with Alper Onar of Istanbul’s Aksan Law Firm, who worked on 19, close behind. Fellow Turk Kerem Turunc, the Managing Partner of Turunc, worked on 17 reported deals, while Djordje Nikolic of NKO Partners in Belgrade worked on 16, and Tomasz Rogalski of Norton Rose Fulbright in Warsaw worked on 15.

In The Debrief, our Practice Leaders across CEE share updates on recent and upcoming legislation, consider the impact of recent court decisions, showcase landmark projects, and keep our readers apprised of the latest developments impacting their respective practice areas.

In The Corner Office, we ask Managing Partners at law firms across Central and Eastern Europe about their backgrounds, strategies, and responsibilities. With 2023 marching to an end, we looked ahead and asked about strategies for next year: As the budgeting period is around the corner, compared to 2023, what are the main budgeting lines you expect to increase for 2024 and why?

With artificial intelligence dominating tech conversations over the last year and with a draft AI Act being looked at by the EU, CMS Partners Dora Petranyi, Gabriela Staber, Klaus Pateter, and Olga Belyakova look at where AI is today and how European legislation might impact its future.

The European Union has initiated the world’s first carbon border tax, called the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). The CBAM Regulation was ratified by EU co-legislators on May 10, 2023, and became legally effective on May 16, 2023 following its publication in the EU Official Journal.

The sweeping digital transformation has significantly changed the economic and financial landscape, and at the heart of this change is the emerging phenomenon of cryptocurrencies. With this innovative fusion of finance and technology, the pertinent question of how to tax these new assets arises. Bulgaria, like its global counterparts, is grappling with the complexities of this issue. Dive in for an in-depth look at Bulgaria’s approach to taxing crypto assets.

It was another strong year for the leading law firms in Central and Eastern Europe, which, combined, worked on over a thousand deals and other client matters across the region reported on by CEE Legal Matters this year. According to the Activity Rankings function of the CEELMDirect website, Clifford Chance, which worked on an impressive 95 CEELM-reported CEE client matters in 2023, led the international firms in the region, with Schoenherr, which worked on 90, close behind. Dentons (82), CMS (71), Wolf Theiss (65), Cobalt (66), Kinstellar (50), White & Case (45), and Allen & Overy (42) took notable places on the leaderboard as well.

White & Case has advised CVC Capital Partners on its acquisition of the Packeta Group, alongside co-investor Emma Capital. Havel & Partners advised JSK Investments and its shareholders, Simona and Jaromir Kijonka, on the sale of Packeta.

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CMS at a Glance

CMS Sofia is a full-service law firm, the largest international law firm in Bulgaria and one of the largest providers of legal services in the local market as a whole. The breadth and depth of our practice means that our lawyers are specialised, with a level of specialisation that few of our competitors can match.

CMS Sofia is the Bulgarian branch of CMS, a top ten global legal and tax services provider with over 5000 lawyers in 43 countries and 78 offices across the world.

CMS entered the Bulgarian market as one of the first internationally active law firms in 2005 and is now among the most respected legal advisors in the country. We have 7 partners, 4 counsel and over 30 lawyers in our office in Sofia.

Our legal experts, who are rooted in Bulgaria’s local culture, can also draw on years of experience in foreign countries and are at home in several legal systems at once. We know the particularities of the local market just as well as the needs of our clients and combine both to achieve optimum solutions. Our lawyers are Bulgarian qualified and we also have English qualified experts – all of them regularly working on cross-border mandates.

In our work, we focus on M&A, Energy, Projects and Construction, Banking and Finance, Real Estate, Media, IP and IT law, Tax, Employment law, Competition, Procurement and any kind of Dispute resolution, including arbitration and mediation. What’s more, we also take care of the entire legal management of our clients’ projects.

Firm's website.