In The Corner Office, we ask Managing Partners at law firms across Central and Eastern Europe about their backgrounds, strategies, and responsibilities. With 2025 almost behind us, it’s a good time to reflect on what truly made a difference this year. This time around, we asked: If you had to pick one, what was the 2024 decision that moved your firm forward the most in 2025?

As reconstruction efforts accelerate, Avellum Managing Partner Mykola Stetsenko, Imagine Lawyers Partner Illya Sverdlov, Redcliffe Partners Partner Albert Sych, and LCF Law Group Partner Ivan Bondarchuk outline how financing models, PPP legislation, and investor sentiment are evolving.

With wartime pressures reshaping Ukraine’s industrial and regulatory priorities, CMS Managing Partner Vitaliy Radchenko, Dentons Partner Volodymyr Monastyrskyy, Kinstellar Partner and Head of Defense and Security Daniel Bilak, and Hillmont Partners Senior Partner Valentyn Zasukha outline how the newly introduced Defense City regime aims to modernize Ukraine’s defense-industrial base.

Croatia’s new nationwide property tax has been in force for nearly a year, and early signals point to a reshaped burden, uneven regional effects, and a market feeling its way toward a new equilibrium. Divjak Topic Bahtijarević & Krka Head of Tax Ivo Mikulic, Kinstellar Managing Partner Miroslav Plascar, and BDV Legal Partner Vladimir Batarelo examine how the real estate and tourism markets are reacting, where implementation is biting, and what they’re advising clients to do next.

CEE did not wake up one morning and decide it suddenly hates “marketing.” But it surely decided it hates noise. And the region is right to do so (we’re focusing on the CEE region here, but this is a universal truth across geographies), because the public internet has become a low-trust environment by design and people browse accordingly.

Central and Eastern Europe’s M&A landscape is experiencing challenging and interesting times. Geopolitical tensions (not least Russia’s war in Ukraine), inflation, and regulatory hurdles have created headwinds – yet opportunities persist. Investors are selectively pursuing high-quality deals, and great companies with strong prospects are still being bought and sold. In short, while uncertainty has become the new normal, M&A isn’t going away and remains a fundamental growth strategy. As a recent survey noted, medium- to long-term prospects for deal-making remain positive, with participants preparing to seize the opportunities ahead. CEE as a region continues to attract interest thanks to its underlying growth drivers and relative stability, even compared to Western Europe.

PRK Partners Partner Radan Kubr, ACI Partners Senior Associate Doina Doga, Schoenherr Bulgaria Co-Head of Competition Yoana Strateva, Tuca Zbarcea & Asociatii Partner and Head of Competition & Antitrust Raluca Vasilache, Zornada Law Office Attorney at Law Ivan Zornada, and DLA Piper Hungary Country Managing Partner Andras Posztl explore how, respectively, the Czech Republic, Moldova, Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, and Hungary approach foreign investment screening: the differences in strictness, the sectors regulators watch most closely, the impact on deals, and the practical challenges investors run into on the ground.

In The Corner Office, we ask Managing Partners at law firms across Central and Eastern Europe about their backgrounds, strategies, and responsibilities. This time around, we asked: With autumn being a peak conference period, what are your annual “cannot miss” conferences during the fall season and why?

Oppenheim Partner David Hanis, Ban, S. Szabo, Rausch & Partners Partner Gergely Szabo, and Schoenherr Partner Kinga Hetenyi discuss Hungary’s battery push, which now spans grid-scale storage, cells, cathodes, separators, recycling, and soon EV assembly, even as permitting, labor, and contracting models are stress-tested in real time.

With defense concerns accelerating across the Baltics, Sorainen Partner Evaldas Dudonis, Cobalt Partner Gatis Flinters, CEE Attorneys Partner Kristina Sabaliauskiene, Njord Law Firm Partner and Head of Data Protection & Technology Law Liisi Jurgen, Tegos Partner and Head of Defense Matas Balenas, and Law Firm Leimanis.eu Managing Partner Raivis Leimanis describe a rapidly changing landscape defined by rising investments, expanding industrial capacity, and evolving legal frameworks.

In high-stakes discussions, your chair is more than furniture—it's a tactical decision. Understanding the psychology of seating can give you and your client a critical first advantage.

Legal directories present themselves as neutral arbiters of professional merit. Through structured submissions, peer reviews, and client references, they promise a transparent hierarchy of legal excellence. Yet for many practices in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), rankings often feel misaligned with observable quality.

In the shifting terrain of the Balkan legal sector – particularly within the realm of intellectual property – 2025 has emerged as a year of strategic recalibration. While the broader Central and Eastern European (CEE) region continues to witness law firm mergers and lateral expansions, the Balkans are carving out a distinct narrative: one marked by regulatory tightening, enforcement innovation, and a growing appetite for regional cooperation.

In The Corner Office, we ask Managing Partners at law firms across Central and Eastern Europe about their backgrounds, strategies, and responsibilities. This time around, we asked: Would you ever hire a non-lawyer as a CEO/Managing Partner for your firm? Why/why not?

Head of Healthcare and Life Sciences at Schoenherr Elena Todorova and AECO Law Partner Emre Atayilmaz analyze how officials are testing different playbooks to blunt food-price pressures in their jurisdictions.

Poland’s private sector is juggling overlapping EU digital frameworks while investors and counterparties raise the bar in transactions. Traple Konarski Podrecki & Partners Co-Managing Partner Agnieszka Wachowska, SSW Partner Jakub Kubalski, Schoenherr Partner Katarzyna Szczudlik, Woloszanski & Partners Head of Crypto Practice Lukasz Kudela, and Addleshaw Goddard Head of TMT/IP Szymon Sieniewicz break down where companies stand now, what’s coming next, how internal compliance is changing, where deals are feeling it, and the risks many still underestimate.

As growth steadies and inflation eases, Polish investors are stepping up while foreign capital recalibrates – shaping the next wave of opportunity in housing, offices, and logistics.

MediaMarkt Polska Head of Legal and Compliance Maciej Czajkowski discusses how to ensure compliance requirements are met in a fast-paced decision-making process and the opportunities presented for those who strike that balance right in terms of attracting ever-conscious consumers.