Year I, Year-End Issue CEE January 2015 Legal Matters In-Depth Analysis of the News and Newsmakers That Shape Europe’s Emerging Legal Markets Contents November 2013 December 2013 The idea of CEELM is born Corporate Subscriber (24 hours after the website launch) February 2014 Preliminary Matters 2 - 5 Issue 1 of the CEE Legal Matters Magazine is published December 2013 www.ceelegalmatters.com is launched April 2014 First CEE Legal Matters Round Table is held in London 3 Editorial: Something Good April 2014 The CEELM website reaches September 2014 4 A Snapshot of Our First Year First CEELM story scopped by Chambers & Partners July 2014 July 2014 Corporete Counsel Handbook First CEELM story scopped is published by IFLR1000 May 2014 September 2014 The 1,000th story is published 1K on the CEELM website September 2014 November 2014 “@CEELegalMatters just a quick The CEELM website crashes due to CEE Summit Expert Essays 6 - 31 note to say your feed is useful and appreciated. Good job, folks!” “A good problem to have but a problem PreliminaryMike Nash, Editor of The Legal 500 Mattersnevertheless.” January 2015 Europe, Middle East & Africa First Year-End special issue and 2014-2015 deal list are published December 2014 A Snapshot of Our First Yeartakes place in Vienna 6 Looking Forward to 2015: A Changing Landscape (Page 4) 8 “English Law on the Ground”: An Ingredient for Success 10 Why Things are Different This Time (Or Not) 12 Stirring Times: 2014 a Challenging Year in the Hungarian Legal Market 14 CEE Recovers, Greece Plays Leading Role in Region 16 Political Risk: Real or Perceived, It’s Squarely On the Agenda CEE Summit Expert Essays: Looking Forward to 2015: A Changing 18 The Legal Landscape in CEE/CIS: Setting the Agenda for Landscape (Page 6) 2015 20 South East Europe: What’s Hot and Trending in the Region? 22 Thoughts of a Law Firm Managing Partner About CEE 24 Looking Back – and Forward 26 Currents (and Undercurrents) of Bank Lending in CEE 28 Wolf Theiss: A Sum of Its Parts in 2014, 2015, and Beyond Summit Round Table International Law Firms in CEE Summit Round Table 32 - 43 (Page 32) 34 International Law Firms in CEE 39 The Needs of In-House Counsel 41 Country-Specific Analysis 2014 Year In Deals 44 - 59 46 CEE Overview 2014 Year In Deals CEE Overview 48 Private Equity Overview (Page 46) 50 Country Briefs CEE Legal Matters 2 Preliminary Matters CEE Legal Matters Editorial: Something Good In-Depth Analysis of the News and Newsmakers That Shape Europe's Emerging Legal Markets Six regular issues, secretaries or name-takers, and we don’t avoid plus a “special issue.” responsibility or shirk obligations. We take great That’s what we prom- personal pride in having created and managing a ised subscribers to remarkable website — www.ceelegalmatters.com CEE Legal Matters. (if you don’t visit it regularly you should) — and, A new issue every with the CEE Legal Matters magazine, putting two months, and together, 6 times a year plus one Special Issue, an then a Special Issue. unbiased, interesting, and useful source of infor- Sure, for the first half mation for lawyers interested in this interesting of 2014, we weren’t sure what the Special Issue part of the world. would look like, but Radu and I had committed No doubt about it: it’s fun. Because it’s personal, ourselves to creating it, and we were confident it’s fun. The title of the publication? We thought we’d come up with something good. it up. (My fondness for plays on words). The ad- Sure enough, as summer turned into fall, ideas vertising slogans you see? We thought them up. began to suggest themselves. I had been cam- (I particularly like “Because CEE Legal Matters” paigning for a special event to celebrate our first — and yes, I thought that one up). The graphics year of existence, and we realized that informed that you see? We thought them up. (Radu espe- analysis from some of the top lawyers in Central cially likes the deep blue sky balloon ad — and and Eastern Europe would dovetail nicely with yes, he thought that one up). Every single word The Editors: a “Regional Perspective and Analysis” feature in on every page that isn’t specifically credited to an- David Stuckey the Special Issue. So we invited business lawyers other author … we thought up. (Have you read [email protected] with genuinely regional practices and decades the boilerplate on this page? I wrote that). We are Radu Cotarcea of experience working across sectors, borders, proud of what we do. and industries, to come together in Vienna for [email protected] And because it’s personal, we care about it. Deep- an unprecedented evening of conversation with ly. We care that it’s accurate. We care that it’s use- their peers. The 2014 CEE Legal Matters Summit Letters to the Editors: ful. We care that it’s good. was born. And the summary of that conversa- If you like what you read in these tion – along with special essays the participants Why this digression? Because we initially ex- pages (or even if you don’t) we prepared on the current state and future of le- pected this Special Issue to come out sometime really do want to hear from you. gal markets across Central and Eastern Europe in mid or late December. But we discovered Please send any comments, crit- – form the center of this Special Issue. that editing the essays and chasing down all the icisms, questions, or ideas to us participants for their edits of the Round Table Or at least, they form a center. at: transcript, over Christmas, was less a “mission” [email protected] Because at almost the same time, Radu had a and more an “impossibility” – and we discovered very different idea. He had labored intensively, that reviewing, categorizing, proofreading, and over the past year, to put together the extreme- analyzing the Year of Deals was truly a monster ly popular Summary of Deals for each issue of of a task, which would not admit defeat – nay, not Disclaimer: the magazine. Now, struck by inspiration — and despite the mountains of Red Bull and Diet Dr. At CEE Legal Matters, we hate boilerplate once again falling victim to his strange (but use- Pepper cans and crumpled cigarette packages we disclaimers in small print as much as you ful!) habit of creating labor-intensive projects for threw at it – any sooner. do. But we also recognize the importance himself — he suggested not only aggregating of the “better safe than sorry” principle. In short, you are holding this in your hands now, those summaries into one year-end report for So, while we strive for accuracy and hope and not sooner, because ultimately every single to develop our readers’ trust, we nonethe- the Special Issue, but also reaching out directly less have to be absolutely clear about one issue of CEE Legal Matters is a Special Issue, to every business-law firm in CEE we knew of thing: Nothing in the CEE Legal Matters and when it comes to conceiving, writing, draft- magazine or website is meant or should to invite them to supplement the deals we already ing, reviewing, preparing, organizing, designing, be understood as legal advice of any kind. knew of and had reported with any and all deals Readers should proceed at their own risk, laying-out, and publishing this magazine ... we and any questions about legal assertions, that we didn’t and hadn’t. The results of these take care. We don’t send it out in a form that falls conclusions, or representations made efforts became the Year in Deals (page 44): the in these pages should be directed to the short of our expectations for it. It goes out when “second center” of the Special Issue. person or persons who made them. it’s good. We believe CEE Legal Matters can serve A quick digression: We pride ourselves on be- as a useful conduit for legal experts, This Special Issue is that. We hope you like it. and we will continue to look for ways to ing a publication with a human face. Those of expand that service. But now, later, and you who know me and Radu know you can call And don’t worry. We’ve already restocked our for all time: We do not ourselves claim to know or understand the law as it is cited either of us directly and ask questions, propose supplies of Red Bull and Diet Dr. Pepper for the in these pages, nor do we accept any re- subjects, inquire about subscriptions or adver- February issue. sponsibility for facts as they may be as- tising, and — especially, always — invite us for serted. David Stuckey, Executive Editor, a beer. We don’t hide behind a wall of faceless CEE Legal Matters CEE Legal Matters 3 November 2013 December 2013 The idea of CEELM is born Corporate Subscriber (24 hours after the website launch) February 2014 Issue 1 of the CEE Legal Matters Magazine is published December 2013 www.ceelegalmatters.com is launched April 2014 First CEE Legal Matters Round Table is held in London A Snapshot of Our First Year. April 2014 Thank you for joining us on this great journey! The CEELM website reaches its millionth unique visitor September 2014 First CEELM story republished by Chambers & Partners July 2014 July 2014 Corporate Counsel Handbook First CEELM story republished is published by IFLR1000 May 2014 (yes, up until this point, CEELM was September 2014 The 1,000th story is published 1K on the CEELM website September 2014 November 2014 “@CEELegalMatters just a quick The CEELM website crashes due to note to say your feed is useful and appreciated.