With preparations for the 2024 CEE Legal Matters Hungary General Counsel Summit in full swing, Peter Virag, the Head of Antitrust, Competition, and Trade at Oppenheim, shares his thoughts about the upcoming event and what he's looking forward to as both a moderator and participant.

With preparations for the 2024 CEE Legal Matters Hungary General Counsel Summit in full swing, Jaslovszky's' Tamas Feher talks about the upcoming event and the panel he'll be moderating.

With preparations for the 2024 CEE Legal Matters Hungary General Counsel Summit in full swing, Pontes' Csaba Polgar talks about the upcoming event and what he's looking forward to the most.

With preparations for the 2024 CEE Legal Matters Hungary General Counsel Summit in full swing, Schoenherr's Miklos Klenanc talks about the upcoming event and the panel he'll be moderating.

In the Inside Track, General Counsels across CEE share the nuances of their roles, challenges, and strategies for success. With organizations continuously challenged to adapt to new and complex legal frameworks, this time we asked: For the implementation of whistleblowing requirements, do you intend to use internal resources or outsource, and why?

Microsoft Corporate, External, and Legal Affairs Head for Central Europe Gabriela Popescu talks about her career and her passion for navigating complex legal landscapes.

Bogdan Plesuvescu has worked in both Moldova and Romania’s banking sectors, progressing from a legal role at Banca Transilvania to CEO of Viktoriabank to Deputy CEO back at the “mother organization.”

In The Inside Track, General Counsels across CEE share the nuances of their roles, challenges, and strategies for success. In the dynamic landscape of modern businesses, where adaptability and innovation are paramount, this time around we asked GCs: What is the one critical skill that you’re investing time and energy in to develop within your team, and why?

EOS Matrix Bosnia and Herzegovina Executive Director for Legal Affairs Mirza Kahvedzic discusses his career path leading up to his current role, how his legal team operates, and current challenges faced due to slow court proceedings.

Siemens General Counsel for the Czech Republic and Slovakia Richard Bacek talks about his transition from law firms to in-house and ongoing challenges including navigating new legislation, such as cybersecurity regulations.

After eight years with the MET Group, Legal Director Sandor Zorad reflects on the company’s path to international expansion.

With a background in international law firms, Marcela Augustinic transitioned to become the first general counsel at DM Drogerie Markt in Slovakia, where she has been serving for the last eight years. Augustinic shares her strategies for balancing internal and external legal resources to tackle emerging regulatory challenges and drive sustainable growth in the ever-evolving market.

From her beginnings as an M&A attorney in Bulgaria to her current role as Regional Compliance Manager for Eastern Europe at Yazaki, Veselka Petrova’s career has been a testament to the power of blending legal expertise with strategic business insight.

In The Inside Track, General Counsels across CEE share the nuances of their roles, challenges, and strategies for success. Since now is the time when plans for next year are made (and budgeted for) this time we asked GCs: Is your in-house legal function’s budget increasing, decreasing, or remaining the same in 2024?

Infobip General Counsel Tomislav Pifar first joined the company in 2011 and has been a witness to the company’s remarkable growth over the past 12 years. In reflecting on his journey, he explores the evolution of in-house legal work and international exposure, placing a particular emphasis on the transformative impact of AI on daily operations.

In The Inside Track, General Counsels across CEE share the nuances of their roles, challenges, and strategies for success. Given the importance of relationships between in-house legal departments and law firms, this time we asked GCs: What is the most common reason for which you cease working with a specific law firm and what would you suggest firms definitely do to ensure they do not make the same mistake?

After several years working for law firms and on major energy projects, Gabija Kuncyte has been with Compensa Life Vienna Insurance Group’s Lithuanian Branch as a Legal and Compliance Officer for over a year and a half. She discusses the evolution of in-house legal positions and the nuances of the legal industry in the Baltic region.

Panattoni Legal Director Kamila Dutkowska-Wawrzak talks about her background and in-house transition, building up the in-house legal team, and their current workload.

At the CEE Legal Matters GC Summit in Istanbul, legal experts from across the region and beyond tackled the importance of crisis management – even when nothing is burning. Summit attendees were briefed on how companies can navigate gray areas, manage global supply chain disruptions, and, overall, be prepared for whatever comes their way.

Pfizer Eastern Europe Cluster Legal Lead and Legal Director Lucie Kubenova talks about her career leading to her current role and managing her team at Pfizer.

Skoda Group General Legal Counsel Karol Marsovszky talks about the Skoda Group’s legal team and what shapes his in-house team’s workload.

Are compliance teams a necessary evil or effective facilitators of business success? At the CEE Legal Matters GC Summit held in Istanbul, legal experts from across Europe discussed how to best foster a culture of compliance and ethics in order to benefit businesses, as well as why multidisciplinary knowledge and an agile approach are crucial for compliance teams.

Former Panattoni Legal Director Kamila Dutkowska-Wawrzak has joined Atlas Ward as Legal Director and Board Advisor.

Former DLA Piper Counsel Magdalena Zablocka-Foulkes has joined Orlen as its new General Counsel.

Former Estateguru General Counsel Artur Sanglepp has returned to private practice and joined Rask as an Attorney at Law.

Dragana Poljak has joined AirSerbia as its new Ethics, Compliance, and Corporate Law Manager.

Former LSW Partner Aleksandra Polak has joined Billtrust as a Director and Assistant General Counsel.

Hungarian Lawyer Peter Paroczi has been promoted to the Head of Compliance and Corporate Governance at the Qatar Fertilizer Company.

Aslihan Evcimen has joined Saint-Gobain as their Country Legal Director in Istanbul, Turkiye.

Former White & Case Associate Petra Zunova has become the Director of Legal Affairs at Phrase.

Wojciech Olszewski has returned to CEE to become the Legal Director for CEE & Strategic Commercial Affairs EMEA at Align Technology, in Wroclaw.

Turkish Lawyer Ozge Ayoz has been appointed to Vice President of Legal for Central Europe, South East Europe and Eastern Europe Market Operations at Procter & Gamble in Geneva.

Former Rowan Legal Of Counsel Lucie Smrkovska has joined CTP as its new Group Director of Legal Leasing in the Czech Republic.

Alexandra Ivancia has joined CTP Romania as its new Head of Legal Leasing.

Former Head of Legal Renewables for PPC Renewables Monica-Ileana Paraschiv has become the new Head of Corporate Governance, Compliance & New Business Support at PPC Romania.

Madrid-based Hungarian lawyer Dora Czegledi has been appointed by Fever to Lead Counsel.

Former PayU Chief Privacy Office Marcin Czarnecki has joined Worldcoin as its new Chief Privacy Counsel.

Former Teleperformance Chief Legal Officer Laura Rudnyanszky has joined Accenture in Bucharest as the company's Offerings Counsel Manager – Global Legal Network.

Lead Counsel Alexey Amvrosov has started a new position with IBM as the Manager of the Legal Department IBM Central and Eastern Territories Europe.

Former Home Credit International Legal Manager Martin Seda has been promoted to the Chief Legal & Compliance Officer position for the group.

Felix Prechtl – the former S IMMO Head of the Corporate Office & Capital Markets – has returned to private practice by joining Doralt Seist Csoklich in Vienna as an Attorney at Law.

Former Domanski Zakrzewski Palinka Partner Rafal Hajduk has moved in-house, joining R.Power Renewables as the company's Chief Commercial Officer.

Effective April 2024, former LCF Law Group Partner and Head of International Arbitration Yuliya Atamanova has joined JSC CB PrivatBank as a Legal Counsel and the head of the bank's International Arbitration and Cross-Border Litigation Department.

Former Senior Legal Counsel Can Aksoy has been appointed as Delivery Hero's Principal Legal Counsel M&A.

Former Turkiye Finans Katilim Bankasi Head of Legal Advisory Mehmet Tekergul has moved to the Alternatif Bank as Head of Legal.

Former CMS Warsaw Senior Associate Przemyslaw Karolak has joined banking-as-a-service cloud-native platform Vodeno as its General Counsel.