The CEE by the Numbers special issues – like the one we just launched last week – have always been close to my heart. Between our former editor David and I, he was always the writer. Some people just have a way with words. Others – words no have. I always found soothing serenity in numbers instead. But, just like words, numbers can tell a lot of stories. And each time we suffer in front of massive Excel sheets at 2 a.m. putting together the CEE by the Numbers reports, I find myself comparing the stories we are told with those that the numbers tell us.

For the followers of the CEE Legal Matters, the question of cooperation among local firms in deals that often have a regional nature is central. Such cooperation involves, first and foremost, the acquaintance between the law firms involved in the deal and their members.

ACI Partners Legal Manager Carolina Parcalab, Avellum Senior Partner Glib Bondar, Gecic Law Counsel Miodrag Jevtic, Vujacic Law Office Partner Sasha Vujacic, and Schoenherr Bulgaria Local Partner Tsvetan Krumov discuss the current status of capital markets in CEE.

With CMS’s recently published European M&A Outlook report taking the temperature of the M&A activity across the continent, CMS Romania Managing Partner Horea Popescu and CMS Vienna Partner Alexander Rakosi share their insights on M&A trends in the CEE region.

In The Corner Office, we ask Managing Partners at law firms across Central and Eastern Europe about their backgrounds, strategies, and responsibilities. Shifting our focus to the financial aspects of legal work, we asked: What percentage of your issued bills end up being overdue, what percentage end up never paid, and what is your firm’s/office’s standard methodology to handle both cases?

Domanski Zakrzewski Palinka Managing Partner Krzysztof Zakrzewski, DWF Poland Managing Partner Michal Pawlowski, and MFW Fialek Managing Partner Miroslaw Fialek look at the current state of the Polish legal market and some of the challenges it faces despite increased volumes of work.

In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Poland has found itself at the forefront of NATO’s eastern flank, sharing a border with a country embroiled in a full-scale war. DLA Piper Partner Marta Frackowiak and Dentons Partner Jaroslaw Witek talk about how this geopolitical reality has prompted a significant shift in Poland’s defense strategy.

On July 7, 2023, CEE Legal Matters reported that Wolf Theiss expanded its Polish Corporate/M&A practice with the addition of seven Partners, at the core of a 27-strong team, from Wardynski & Partners. Wolf Theiss Poland Co-Managing Partner Tomasz Stasiak and Wolf Theiss Poland Partner and Co-Head of Corporate M&A team Izabela Zielinska-Barlozek share details about the transition and their plans going forward.

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.

In connection with the implementation of Directive 2019/1152 on transparent and predictable working conditions in the European Union, a principle has been introduced into the Polish Labor Code, according to which an employer may not prohibit an employee from parallel employment with another entity. The Polish legislator has established a strict ban on parallel employment with very few exceptions, which is widely criticized by employers.

Poland’s dynamic business landscape is about to transform as it adapts to the European Union’s Foreign Subsidies Regulation dated December 14, 2022 (FSR), which partially came into effect on July 12, 2023. This regulation aims to level the playing field for companies operating in the EU market by scrutinizing financial support from non-EU countries.

The Polish Competition and Consumer Protection Office (UOKiK) has devoted the last two years to the very important issue of influencers and their online advertising activities. Recent years have seen a significant development of influencer marketing not only in Poland but on a global scale. Across the world, companies and advertising agencies have noticed the growing popularity of celebrity accounts on Facebook or Instagram, and have strategically used them as a new channel to promote products or services.

In the realm of logistics contracts, Polish law does not provide a standardized blueprint. Instead, these contracts are multifaceted, drawing from various specific types and broader civil law principles. This makes it essential to keep an eye on the nuances.

Due to technological progress and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers have increasingly turned to online shopping. This was accompanied by the rapid development of new methods of short-term financing, such as Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services, which allow customers to pay for purchases at a later date than the date of receipt. In Poland, financing is interest-free for a certain period, generally 30 days, after which interest charges apply.

The latest amendments to the Polish Code of Civil Procedure regarding interim relief in intellectual property cases, among other matters, entered into force on July 1, 2023. Interim injunction proceedings are crucial when the parties wish to quickly prevent further infringement of their intellectual property rights and obtain protection for the duration of the main legal proceedings. The main purpose of these proceedings is essentially to secure claims, i.e., to obtain a ruling (order) in which the court will order the opposing party to act in a certain way or prohibit certain actions.

An in-depth look at Andrzej Stosio of Clifford Chance covering his career path, education, and top projects as a lawyer as well as a few insights about him as a manager at work and as a person outside the office.

Following its separation from the Soviet Union, the Republic of Moldova has pitched upon a rigid labor law system defined by overly protective conditions toward employees.

On September 12, 2023, the Czech Parliament adopted an amendment to the Labor Code, which will become effective already from October 1, 2023 (unfortunately, employers will have very limited time to prepare for the new regulation). The main purpose of the amendment is to implement the European directives on the work-life balance of parents and carers (No. 2019/1158) and on transparent and predictable working conditions (No. 2019/1152) which were to be implemented by member states in August 2022. But there are further changes that should address problems in the daily operation of employers.