Cerha Hempel

cerhahempel.com

Johannes Aehrenthal

Partner, Mergers & Acquisitions, Corporate, Private Clients & Trusts, Real Estate & Construction, Distribution Law. Johannes Aehrenthal is a partner and head of our Corporate & Commercial department, with vast experience in M&A transactions, corporate law matters, reorganisations and private client advice, including Trust related matters. He advises large domestic and international clients of the firm, some of them for more than 20 years.

Christian Aichinger

Senior Counsel, Banking & Finance, Capital Markets, Corporate, Mergers & Acquisitions, Insolvency & Restructuring. Christian areas of practice include capital markets, banking & finance, insolvency law, corporate law and mergers & acquisitions. Christian provides our clients with advice on equity transactions, restructuring and insolvency, issuance of corporate bonds and on a variety of acquisition and project financing deals. Christian is a very experienced capital markets and finance attorney with more than 15 years of experience in this field. With his economic and legal background he advises domestic and international clients in connection with any kind of financing and capital market transactions. His transactions primarily include loans and related security instruments, corporate bonds including convertibles as well as equity markets issues of listed companies.

Alina Alavi Kia

Senior Associate, IP & Unfair Competition, Food Law, Media Law Alina is an expert in trademark matters, IP and unfair competition related food law matters and she is further specialized in domain and copyright infringements. Due to her expertise Alina has significantly enhanced CERHA HEMPEL's prestigious client portfolio. Alina is further a leading expert in the field of Artificial Intelligence. She regularly deliver compelling presentations at conferences and in-house training sessions for clients, focusing on the intersection between AI and IP. She further publishes regularly on these areas of law.

Partner, Litigation & Arbitration, White Collar Crime, Compliance & Investigations, Insolvency & Restructuring. For more than 15 years, Holger has been specializing in commercial dispute resolution and advising companies on white-collar crime and compliance issues. His work focuses on the defense of financial institutions in investor liability litigation, disputes relating to construction contracts, corporate and distribution law disputes as well as conflicts in insolvency and restructuring situations. Holger has many years of courtroom experience both in civil and criminal matters, also before the European Court of Justice. This expertise complements the vast skills and know-how of CERHA HEMPEL’s Dispute Resolution team. Furthermore, Holger is a regular author of publications on litigation related topics.

Managing Partner Albert Birkner is Head of Department of Takeovers & Antitrust. He specializes in mergers and acquisitions, public takeovers, corporate reorganizations, joint ventures and trusts with a special focus on Austria and Central and Eastern Europe (CEE/SEE). He has developed particular expertise in the fields of structuring and implementation of corporate transactions, takeover mechanics and the modelling of co-ownership structures. Albert has expanded his expertise to structuring and maintenance of private trusts and to the implementation of trust structures within M&A transactions. Albert has been and is a lead partner on many prominent matters for several years already and holds an extremely vast track record. Albert is also an author and regular contributor of a number of publications

Senior Associate, Competition, Antitrust Timon has made a name for himself in a number of high-stakes competition, merger control, and FDI cases for an impressive list of global clients as well as key Austrian clients. Known for his solution-driven mindset and cross-border experience, he’s particularly valued by major players for navigating complex regulatory landscapes with confidence and clarity. Timon isn’t just part of the next generation of legal talent – he’s actively shaping it with his sharp cross-border expertise, analytic approach, and growing impact in high-stakes competition and FDI matters.

Senior Associate, Real Estate & Construction, Corporate Petra advises both national and international clients, with a focus on real estate and tenancy law, corporate law, general civil law and litigation. In addition to her legal practice, she brings valuable experience from several years in the private sector with a medium-sized enterprise and from academic work at the Department of Roman Law at the Faculty of Law, University of Vienna.

Senior Associate, Contentious Business Department, Litigation & Arbitration, Corporate, Private Clients & Trusts Daniel has ten years of legal experience and joined CERHA HEMPEL in 2022 after working in an internationally renowned firm specializing in contentious corporate law. Daniel specialises in representing clients in high-profile corporate shareholder disputes and private trust disputes. He covers the full spectrum of national and international litigation, with strong focus on shareholder disputes, post M&A issues, defamation claims, corporate and inheritance law.

Martin Eichinger

Partner, Corporate, Mergers & Acquisitions (including trusts and foundations), Finance & Capital Market transactions and Private Clients. Martin's expertise extends to overseeing significant complex cross-border transactions. Martin has advised a number of large corporate clients, Martin also possesses an in-depth understanding of various other legal domains, including Private Foundation Law, Banking & Finance, and Family Law.

Samuel Farokhnia-Mimnagh

Senior Associate, Arbitration, Contentious Business Department Sam is an Irish solicitor practicing in CERHA HEMPEL’s arbitration team out of Vienna. Sam has over seven years of experience in representing clients in complex, cross-border investment and commercial arbitration cases, with a focus on energy and engineering disputes. As counsel, Sam takes leading roles in arbitrations and is often recognised by clients for his diligence, prompt responses and keen strategic insights. Sam further acts as arbitrator in arbitration disputes and has extensive experience with arbitrations conducted under a variety of institutional rules. A He has also been appointed the VIAC’s Ambassador to Ireland as of July 2025, demonstrating his deep experience in arbitration matters, and publishes on new developments in commercial and investment arbitration.

Julian Feichtinger

Partner / Head of the Employment Law Team, specialised in Employment Law. Julian is partner at CERHA HEMPEL since 1997 and with the firm since 1992. He is the Head of the Employment Law team, and specialises in labour law litigation, restructuring, company pension schemes. Julian advises and reperesents clients on all aspects of collective and individual employment law, predominantly acting for international and national companies but also NGOs and higher education institutions.

Heinrich Foglar-Deinhardstein

Partner, Corporate, Insolvency & Restructuring, Mergers & Acquisitions, Private Clients & Trusts, Private Equity & Venture Capital Heinrich Foglar-Deinhardstein is a key partner in the firm’s Corporate/M&A practice. He is a partner since 2013 and focuses on corporate reorganisations, cross border-transactions and on private clients and Trust Law. He is actively involved in solving various forms of disputes and reorganisations within trusts and private clients and is frequently working for Austrian family businesses, private foundations and family trusts in particular with view to their matters under Austrian corporate law, takeover law and law of succession.

Alistair Gillespie

Senior Associate, M&A, Corporate, Real Estate Alistair joined our firm 9 years ago as a Junior Associate and has been promoted to a Senior Associate position in October 2020. He is part of the Takeovers and Antitrust team, led by Albert Birkner, which specialises in corporate and M&A transactions. Alistair's areas of work include complex cross border corporate and M&A transactions; however, he has also developed particular expertise in the area of real estate.

Partner, Capital Markets, Banking & Finance, Corporate, Private Equity & Venture Capital. Volker Glas is Partner at CERHA HEMPEL and specializes in corporate finance transactions. He represents issuers and underwriters in debt and equity capital markets transactions, corporate borrowers, Austrian and international banks in syndicated loans, acquisition and project financings, and structured finance transactions.

Claudia Hanslik-Schneider

Senior Associate, Public Law & European Law Claudia Hanslik-Schneider joined CERHA HEMPEL in 2019 after having gained substantial experience as an assistant professor at the Institute for Austrian and European Public Law at Vienna University of Economics and Business and by working at the Ministry of Environment and Agriculture as a legal specialist in connection with the Renewable Energy Expansion Act. She advises on a broad range of Public Law, with a particular focus on Constitutional Law and Environmental Law (especially Energy Law and Construction and Zoning law). Additionally, Claudia is author of several legal publications. She published a commentary on provisions of the Limited Profit Housing Act together with Constitutional Judge Univ. - Prof. Dr. Michael Holoubek. She is also author of a commentary on several provisions of the Renewable Energy Expansion Act together with staff members of the Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation, and Technology (BMK).

Senior Associate, Banking & Finance, Capital Markets, Corporate, Distripution Law, Compliance & Investigations, Private Equity & Venture Capital Andrea advises domestic and internationals banks on all aspects of banking law, in particular on regulatory matters, including compliance, secrecy and liability issues, financing, contract law and corporate housekeeping, outsourcing and on payment services. Her main areas of practice include banking & finance, capital markets, banking supervision law and contract law, derivate financial instruments, investment funds (UCITS), Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs). She also focuses on securitization transactions and factoring, AML-compliance, finance leasing, cash pooling, derivatives, investment funds, banking and insurance supervision law. She is constantly involved in assisting clients in the banking field on multiple legal questions of wholesale banking, corporate financing transactions and project financing as well as data protection law and regulatory matters related to cross border outsourcing projects. Andrea is an author of numerous articles on banking and civil law and frequently serves as a lecturer at seminars on these topics, including the University of Liechtenstein as well as the University Krems.

Partner, Corporate, Mergers & Acquisitions, Private Clients & Trusts, Private Equity & Venture Capital. Jakob has more than 10 years of professional experience in particular in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, corporate law, and foundation law. He has profound experience in advising national and international clients on cross-border and multi-national transactions and on highly complex national and cross-border corporate law matters. He has a strong focus on complex and high end corporate work, including complex joint ventures and other forms of participations, as well as domestic and cross-border corporate reorganizations. In addition, Jakob is also author of numerous publications on his areas of expertise and a lecturer at respective seminars.

Clemens Hasenauer

Managing Partner / Head of Department Corporate Transactions, specialised in Mergers & Acquisitions, Banking & Finance, Capital Markets, Corporate, Compliance & Investigations, Private Equity & Venture Capital. Managing Partner Clemens Hasenauer is Head of the Department Corporate Transactions since 2007 focusing on M&A and public takeover transactions. His broad experience includes numerous complex public and private M&A transactions and he is particularly renowned for structuring large international joint ventures and public takeovers. Clemens is also a university lecture (holding M&A classes for post-graduate studies) and is author of a number of publications, in particular in the field of corporate, M&A, takeover and capital markets law. In addition, he is the academic chair of the most renowned annual legal conference in Austria (Business Circle's RuSt) which has a strong focus on legal and tax aspects of mergers, acquisitions and other transactions and he is responsible for the overall program of the Business Circle M&A Summit in Austria, which is an industry meeting for experts in the field of M&A and corporate development. Clemens is regularly named and recommended as expert and leader in his field as well as top ranked within guides, journals and publications.

Roman Heidinger

Senior Associate, IP & Unfair Competition, IT & Privacy Romans' focus lays on IP law, unfair competition and IT law. Prior to joining CERHA HEMPEL he was a researcher at the University of Göttingen (Germany), were he still regularly teaches – among others – courses in European Intellectual Property Law at postgraduate level. Roman regularly advises national and international clients in the fields of copyright, trademark, design and patent law. He also has a background in communications engineering, which enables him to advise on IP cases involving complicated technical issues, such as the legal protection of software and patent law.

Senior Associate, Banking & Finance, Capital Markets, FinTech & Crypto Law Bryan is a US-trained attorney and is licensed to practice law in New York. He is co-founder of the Fintech Legal Network, an international network of prominent lawyers and law firms dedicated to the fintech industry.

Partner, Public Law & European Law, Compliance & Investigations, White Collar Crime, Public Procurement, Litigation & Arbitration. Stefan is an expert in Austrian higher education law, public and European law and highly active in compliance work, criminal law as well as white collar crime. Also one of Austria’s leading experts in export control law. Moreover, he has a focus on both environmental and constitutional law as well as EU law and procurement. Prior to joining CERHA HEMPEL, Stefan was an assistant professor for EU law and administrative law at the universities of Innsbruck and Vienna. Recently, Stefan has been teaching at the University of Applied Sciences Burgenland (https://www.fh-burgenland.at/) and Vienna University of Applied Sciences. Further, he frequently speaks and chairs at conferences. He continues to publish on both public law as well as state aid law issues. Amongst others, he is a co-author of the Austrian Handbook on Higher Education Law and contributed to the leading German commentary on Foreign Trade Law.

Partner, specialised in Banking & Finance, Capital Markets, Tax Law, Compliance & Investigations Peter’s areas of focus include banking and capital markets, banking regulatory, restructuring of banks, investment funds, payment services, stock exchange services and settlement, investment services, insurance regulatory. Peter has been a Partner at CERHA HEMPEL since 2004 and leads our banking, insurance supervision and capital markets regulatory practice. He advises Austrian licenced banks (SIs and LSIs), investment firms, insurances, corporate issuers, fund management companies and stock exchange operating companies on compliance and regulatory law queries and he is is a trainer to investment advisors of a leading asset management bank in Austria with AuM of EUR 33 billion.

Bernhard Kofler-Senoner

Partner, Head of Competition Practice Group, specialised in Antitrust & Competition, Compliance & Investigations, Distribution Law, Mergers & Acquisitions Bernhard leads CERHA HEMPEL’s Competition Practice Group, which he has built from the ground up, shaping it into one of the largest and most respected competition law teams in Austria. He is widely acknowledged by clients and peers for his deep expertise across all areas of competition law. In November 2024, Bernhard was elected by his peers as President of the Austrian branch of the Studienvereinigung Kartellrecht and, in December 2024, Bernhard was elected to the board of the Studienvereinigung Kartellrecht in Germany, reflecting his standing in the market and recognition by his peers. Bernhard regularly advises on high-profile cartel and abuse of dominance cases on both the national and EU level. He is also highly regarded for his work on merger control, handling proceedings both at the Austrian and the EU level. His reputation for navigating complex tech and Phase II merger cases continues to grow and he has also significantly expanded the team’s private enforcement portfolio.

Partner, Corporate, Insolvency & Restructuring, M&A, Compliance & Investigations, Public Procurement, IT & Privacy, Private Equity & Venture Capital. Georg is a leading Austrian attorney in the areas of information technology, telecommunications and similar fields. For example, he regularly assists Austrian and global clients with IT contracts, international data transfers and a broad variety of technology projects.

Partner, Real Estate, Mergers & Acquisitions, Corporate, IP & Unfair Competition. Mark has notably established CERHA HEMPEL as an undisputed market leader in the strategic segment of residential development and building organizer projects, having successfully built this profitable segment for the firm from the ground up. In addition to his extensive real estate expertise, Mark demonstrates remarkable versatility and strategic foresight across diverse sectors. As an influential lecturer in the Legal Tech Certificate Program at the Vienna University of Economics and Business, he contributes significantly to shaping the next generation of legal professionals. Further distinguishing his practice, Mark has successfully integrated innovative Legal Tech tools, such as the advanced M&A project management platform "Closd" and "Lexis Create" (formerly Henchman). Mark in addition is widely recognised for his deep expertise in intellectual property law, with a particular focus on transactional IP, licensing structures, and strategic brand management.

Hans Kristoferitsch

Partner / Head of Department Regulatory and White Collar, specialised in Public Law & European Law, Antitrust & Competition, Compliance & Investigations, White Collar Crime, IT & Privacy. Partner with CERHA HEMPEL since 2013 and Head of the new Department Regulatory and White Collar. Hans is leading in areas of data protection, telecommunications, e-commerce and regularly assists Austrian and global clients with international data transfers, outsourcing projects, cloud computing and behavioral advertising. Assisted and coordinated GDPR compliance, regulatory projects for numerous large multinational clients. Also an expert in white collar crime and took the lead in some of the biggest internal investigations in Austria. Frequently represents companies damaged by criminal conduct in trials and asset tracing. Active in all areas of regulatory, public, administrative law and handles various cases under the fundamental freedoms, including infringement proceedings before the European Commission, as well as other areas of EU law He is a university lecturer for EU law and gives lectures on compliance, data protection and criminal law and is an author of several publications (textbook Austrian data protection law).

Senior Associate, Public Law & European Law, IT & Privacy Felix advises the clients of CERHA HEMPEL on data protection law, legal issues in the context of artificial intelligence and IT security law. Felix joined CERHA HEMPEL in 2024. Before joining CERHA HEMPEL, Felix worked at the University of Vienna in the Department of European, International and Comparative Law. His research focused on conflict of laws, the law of crypto assets and data protection law.

Nadine Leitner Partner, Corporate, Mergers & Acquisitions, Private Clients & Trusts, Private Equity & Venture Capital. Nadine Leitner is an M&A, Corporate, VC and PE lawyer. As Partner at CERHA HEMPEL since 2022, she plays a pivotal role in the firm’s renowned Takeovers and Antitrust team, led by Managing Partner Albert Birkner. Nadine’s practice focuses on M&A (public and private), cross-border mergers and demergers, corporate structuring, venture capital and private equity transactions. She is recognised for her expertise in cross-border restructurings. Notably, she successfully advised on one of the first cross-border mergers under Austria’s new implementation of the EU Mobility Directive.

Senior Counsel, White Collar Crime, Public Law & European Law, Antitrust & Competition Peter, a criminal law specialist, leads the white collar crime team. He is also a full professor for criminal law at the University of Vienna and director of the Law School’s Centre for Business and Financial Crime. He is regarded as the leading Austrian lawyer for complex and high profile business crime and white collar cases, in particular for cases with an international background. Peter enjoys wide recognition among the judiciary, the Supreme Court and the Ministry of Justice. Peter is also known for his profound knowledge of pertinent questions of constitutional law (being a professor for this area, too) and of the ECHR (having been on the Austrian government’s shortlist for the position of a ECHR judge a couple of years ago).

Senior Associate, Banking & Finance, Capital Markets, FinTech & Crypto-Assets Law Philipp's areas of expertise include banking and capital market law, financing, and legal advice in all areas of application of blockchain technology. He completed his law studies at the Juridicum in Vienna.

Senior Associate, Corporate, M&A, Insolvency & Restructuring Marcus is a Senior Associate at CERHA HEMPEL with several years of experience in insolvency, corporate/M&A, and IT law. His practice focuses on the intersection of restructuring and corporate matters, with a particular emphasis on advising clients in the IT and TMT sectors. He has substantial experience representing creditors in complex insolvency proceedings and regularly acts in both court and out-of-court disputes involving insolvency claw-back claims. In addition, Marcus advises clients on contract negotiations with financially unstable business partners across a broad range of industries, helping them safeguard their interests in the event of a counterparty's insolvency.

Stephanie Maier-Herbeck

Senior Associate, Public Law & European Law, IT & Privacy Since 2017 Stephanie has long standing experience in representing clients in proceeding before the Austrian Data Protection Authority. Furthermore, Stephanie is particularly experienced with GDPR compliance projects for major national and multinational groups. She also focuses on advising clients with regards to records of processing activities, the use of CCTV, the legal assessment of data applications and defining retention periods.

Sergei Makarchuk

Sergei Makarchuk Of counsel, Mergers & Acquisitions, Corporate, IP & Unfair Competition, Private Equity & Venture Capital, Antitrust & Competition, Compliance & Investigations. Sergei has 20 years’ extensive experience in corporate, commercial, competition law, mergers & acquisitions, IT, and intellectual property law. Sergei was admitted to the Bar in Belarus in 2001 and is practicing law since 1998. Sergei held a trainee position at Friedman Kaplan Seiler & Adelman LLP, New York, USA (2005), and a Advocate position at a sole practice at Grodno, Belarus (2001-2007).

Counsel, Antitrust & Competition, Distribution Law, Complinace & Investigations With over 17 years of experience in competition law across a broad range of industries, Michael is a trusted and highly regarded expert in the field. He has been a key member of CERHA HEMPEL’s Competition Practice Group for more than 11 years. Michael has considerable experience in all areas of competition law. His focus lies in merger control and fines proceedings both before the Austrian competition authorities and the EU Commission, as well as in the implementation of compliance systems. Michael has advised national and international clients in a wide range of industries, in particular in the sectors of consumer goods, electronic goods, construction, oil & gas, IT and media.

Susanne Molitoris

Senior Counsel, Employment Law, Litigation & Arbitration. Susanne has been with CERHA HEMPEL for more than 16 years; since 2017 she holds the position as Senior Counsel. She advices on all aspects of collective and individual employment law. She regularly provides outsourcing and transaction related employment law advice; in particular with regard to cross-border transactions. Moreover, she regularly accompanies international clients at their market entry in Austria.

Nina Neumaier, LL.B.

Associate, Employment Law Nina Neumaier joined CERHA HEMPEL in 2022 and specialises in all aspects of diversity as well as working times. She supports our clients both in legal disputes and in various projects in the field of employment law.

Christopher Peitsch

Partner / Co-Head of the Employment Department Christopher joined CERHA HEMPEL more than a decade ago as junior associate and became partner in 2023. He specializes in employment law and assists clients in all aspects of employment law. Christopher not only regularly publishes on current developments in employment but is also asked regularly by big Austrian newspapers for input on hot topics. He was teaching employment law at the University for Applied Sciences (FH Vienna of WKW) and is often booked for presentations with a strong focus on working time law. Christopher has established a large international network over the last ten years and is member of the Employment Law Alliance (the largest employment network in the world with just one representing firm per country). In 2024, he has been promoted to the Board and acts as the Global NextGen Chair, shaping the future of the entire organization and all its NextGen members.

Lorenz Pracht, LL.M.

Partner, Mergers & Acquisitions, Capital Markets, Compliance & Investigations, Corporate, Tax Law, Banking & Finance, Insolvency and Restructuring Lorenz Pracht is a ‘home grown’ attorney and spent his entire time as an associate and as an attorney at CERHA HEMPEL since he joined the firm in 2008. He was appointed as partner in 2019 and has become a key member in our firm’s M&A practice. He has profound experience in complex cross-border M&A transactions, joint ventures and capital markets law. He has advised numerous large national and international corporate clients in complex M&A projects, joint ventures and on capital markets law. Moreover, he advises several publicly listed Austrian companies on corporate law. Furthermore, he spent more than two years at one of Austria’s largest listed industrial companies, which contributed to making him a specialist in energy law matters. In addition, he frequently lectures on M&A and capital market disclosure requirements.

Partner, Tax Law, Corporate, Mergers & Acquisitions. Johannes joined CERHA HEMPEL in 2002 after having worked for several years at a Vienna based accounting firm. He became partner at CERHA HEMPEL in 2010. Johannes is dual qualified as Austrian attorney and as a tax adviser. He is a tax expert focussing on taxation of corporate groups and corporate restructuring, tax planning, taxation of mergers and acquisitions and private equity investments, value added tax, non-profit organizations, withholding tax and tax treaty issues, domestic and cross-border group internal reorganisations and business restructuring, holding structures, taxation of inbound and outbound investments, as well as structured finance.

Alexander Reich-Rohrwig

Partner, Mergers & Acquisitions, Corporate, Banking & Finance, Capital Markets, Private Equity & Venture Capital, Commercial. Alexander has been advising national and international clients on highly complex commercial law matters, cross-border transactions and the establishment and structuring of joint ventures for many years. His practice areas include M&A, corporate law, joint ventures, private equity and venture capital but also banking & finance and capital markets. He has been involved in numerous complex cross-border transactions & corporate and financing matters.

Christoph Reiter

Partner, Insolvency & Restructuring, IT & TMT, Corporate, Mergers & Acquisitions. Christoph is an IT/TMT and restructuring/M&A partner with CERHA HEMPEL with over 13 years of practical experience. Christoph is a very versatile lawyer, advising on all fields of civil and contract law with a strong focus on IT & tech contracts, venture and tech transactions and restructurings. Another focus of his practice is e-commerce, where he supports clients on all relating legal aspects under Austrian and EU law. Another main focus of Christoph’s practical work is cybersecurity. In this respect, Christoph is advising clients on the legal aspects of, in particular, the NIS 2 Directive and relating national legislation. Christoph frequently speaks and writes on topics relating to insolvency, corporate, IT and civil law.

Philipp Schaubach

Senior Associate, Antitrust & Competition, Foreign direct investment (FDI), Supply chain compliance, Compliance & Investigations, Mergers & Acquisitions, Distribution Law Philipp joined CERHA HEMPEL in 2019 and has been making waves ever since. As of March 2023, he’s a Senior Associate – backed by top-tier experience at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition (DG COMP) in Brussels, where he honed his skills at the heart of EU competition enforcement. From cartel battles to complex multi-jurisdictional mergers, Philipp is deep in the action. He’s been a driving force behind headline cases behind headline cases, prepresenting clients in cartel proceedings, wile also advising major players on high stakes merger control filings. In addition, Philipp plays a central role in CERHA HEMPEL’s cartel litigation and private enforcement practice.

Partner, Public Law & European Law, IT & Privacy, White Collar Crime, Compliance & Investigations He is a regulatory lawyer with a particular focus on product regulation, telecommunications, trade, waste and environmental law. Prior to CERHA HEMPEL, Armin was a research and teaching fellow at the Institute for Austrian and European Public Law at Vienna´s University of Economics and Business and worked furthermore at the U.S.-law firm Covington & Burling LLP in Brussels. Armin is a lecturer for Public Law at the University of Applied Sciences Vienna.

Michaela Siegwart

Partner, Public Procurement, Litigation & Arbitration, IP & Unfair Competition, Insurance Michaela has represented clients in contentious proceedings for 25 years and developed a deep expertise in representing clients in, among other legal areas, insurance and construction litigation. Her diligence and commitment to her clients has allowed her to become preferred counsel for major Austrian companies as well as various public entities and companies. In addition Michaela has extensive expertise in procurement law and is also a speaker at seminars in the field of construction related procurement. Recently, Michaela contributed a chapter on e-procurement in a forthcoming handbook on digitalisation. Michalea has represented and advised national and international clients in commercial litigation for more than 20 years. She specialises in public procurement, insurance, construction and contract law.

Wolfgang Sindelar

Senior Counsel, Corporate, Mergers & Acquisitions, Insolvency & Restructuring, Real Estate & Construction, Capital Markets, Employment Law, Private Clients & Trusts. Wolfgang is a senior corporate / M&A lawyer with more than 10 years of professional experience in particular in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, capital markets law, corporate law, real estate and property law, insolvency law and foundation law. He joined the firm in September 2018. Prior to joining CERHA HEMPEL, he was partner at a renowned Viennese boutique law firm. He has many years experience advising national and international clients and is the author of numerous publications.

Benedikt Spiegelfeld em.

Of Counsel, specialised in Litigation & Arbitration, Distribution Law, em. Benedikt Spiegelfeld has 40 years’ experience of advising international clients. He was regularly acting as chairman, sole arbitrator and co-arbitrator in numerous arbitrations throughout Europe.

Partner, Mergers & Acquisitions, Corporate, Banking & Finance, Insolvency & Restructuring, Private Equity & Venture Capital. Harald Stingl is a key corporate / M&A partner and has 25 years of experience in complex cross-border corporate, M&A, restructurings, distressed entities, joint ventures and private equity as well as corporate financing transactions. He joined CERHA HEMPEL in June 2014 and has advised a number of large corporate clients in cross-border acquisitions, investments and divestments and has been lecturing M&A, corporate and partnership law at the University of Vienna for many years and has published on a broad range of corporate and M&A related subjects, amongst others on cross-border mergers, corporate succession and restructurings, due diligence, private equity as well as defence measures in takeover situations.

Alexandra Stoffl

Senior Associate, Litigation & Arbitration, Real Estate & Construction. Alexandra has been with CERHA HEMPEL for more than a decade. She is a true construction litigation expert and has recently started being elected arbitrator.

Senior Associate, IT & Privacy Boris practice areas at CERHA HEMPEL include data protection, information security law and legal tech, with a particular focus on areas that are at the interface between technology and law, such as NIS and regulations governing AI. Thanks to his background in IT and by drawing on his considerable experience, he offers clients real added value by combining a legal perspective with a profound understanding of the practical challenges posed by IT systems and applications. Boris Treml regularly lectures on topics related to data protection, data security and information technology and was named "speaker of the year" 2022 by imh. He also acts as an external data protection officer.

Thomas Trettnak

Partner, Corporate/M&A, Insolvency & Restructuring, Private Equity & Venture Capital, Private Clients & Trusts. Thomas Trettnak is a long-standing and key partner in our firm’s M&A practice. He is concentrating in mergers & acquisitions and corporate reorganizations with a special focus on insolvency & restructuring as well as venture capital and private equity mandates across the CEE region. Thomas is Head of CEE Insolvency & Restructuring Practice, concentrating in mergers and acquisitions and corporate reorganizations with a special focus on insolvency & restructuring, as well as venture capital and private equity mandates. Thomas is particularly renowned for cross-border transactions, often for Anglo-Saxon clients in view of his admission to the New York Bar. He heads the firm’s CEE Practice Group in M&A & Restructuring and integrates our CEE network in a number of cross-border M&A deals as well as restructurings.

Benjamin Twardosz

Partner, Tax Law, White Collar Crime, Corporate, Public Law & European Law, Private Clients & Trusts. Benjamin is Partner at CERHA HEMPEL since 2018. He is one of the most renowned experts for tax litigation and stamp duty in Austria and he has worked at the Austrian Supreme Administrative Court (2004-2006). Benjamin specialises in corporate tax law, international tax law, tax litigation, fiscal criminal law, real estate taxation and real estate transfer tax, stamp duty and wage related taxes. He has industry expertise within the real estate sector, the gaming industry, Brazilian clients and private equity funds. Benjamin is editor of two commentaries, on the Fiscal Criminal Code and the Stamp Duty Act and co-editor of the "Handbook on Voluntary Self-Disclosure". Benjamin is one of the most well-known tax lawyers in Austria and a member of the Scientific Committee of the Federal Chamber of Public Accountants and Tax Advisors, a public body that renders expert opinions on tax laws.

Partner, Head of Department Real Estate and Construction, specialised in Real Estate & Construction, Litigation & Arbitration, Public Law & European Law, Insolvency & Restructuring. The Head of our Real Estate & Construction Practice Group, Peter Vcelouch, is well-respected for his expertise in national and international construction-related matters. He regularly advises on planning and construction contracts and represents clients in claim management matters, in construction-related litigation and arbitration proceedings as well as in general dispute resolution matters. In Addition Peter is active as a frequent lecturer and author of numerous publications in his area of specialization. Recently, Peter is holding lectures at the imh Institute and the Jour Fixes of the Austrian court sworn Real Estate Surveyors.

Partner, FinTech & Crypto-Assets Law, Banking & Finance, Corporate, Capital Markets Oliver is a recognised expert in crypto-assets law and advises in particular on issues related to FinTechs. His clients include numerous well-known domestsic and foreign companies and banks. Oliver is co-publisher and author of Austria's best-selling legal handbook 'Blockchain rules' which was published in second edition in 2024. He is also a co-publisher and author of the go-to commentary on the EU Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation. Since 2018, Oliver is a lecturer on crypto asset law at the University of Vienna.

Senior Associate, Mergers & Acquisitions, Corporate, Private Equity & Venture Capital

Senior Partner / Head of Department Contentious Business, specialised in Litigation & Arbitration, Corporate, Public Law & European Law, Real Estate & Construction, IP & Unfair Competition, Private Clients & Trusts. Irene is a passionate litigator and arbitrator who consistently represents major domestic and international industry leaders in Austrian court proceedings. Her commitment to these clients and record of success is widely recognised and results in clients entrusting her on an ongoing basis with their most difficult and challenging cases. It is in large part due to her remarkable achievements as a commercial lawyer that she has developed a Private Client practice representing high net worth individuals and private estates. In addition to her work as an attorney, Irene regularly publishes and lectures on current developments in litigation and arbitration. She is Global Chair Emeritus of the Litigation Arbitration Dispute Resolution Section of Lex Mundi, regularly speaks at conferences, and – in addition to being an honorary professor - lectures at universities on arbitration and D&O liabilities.

Katharina Wilding

Counsel, Banking & Finance, Capital Markets, Corporate, Healthcare Katharina 's main areas of practice include capital markets, banking & finance, corporate law and health care law. Furthermore, she is constantly involved in assisting clients with advice on anti-money-laundering regulations and she advises large corporate clients as well as numerous outpatient clinics and heath care start-ups.

Anna Wolf-Posch

Partner, Foreign direct investment (FDI), Antitrust & Competition, Compliance & Investigations, Mergers & Acquisitions, Supply Chain Compliance. Anna regularly advises international clients on high-profile cases. Anna furthermore has a reputation for her handling of complex international merger control cases as lead counsel on an EU and national level. Anna remains at the forefront of major cartel investigations and is widely recognized for her ability to design and roll out corporate compliance structures tailored to complex regulatory environments. Anna is also a prominent academic voice. She contributed the chapters on the data-related obligations of gate-keepers in Rupprecht Podszun’s Nomos commentary on the Digital Markets Act. She also authored the chapters on online sales and on most provisions of the Fair Competition Act (FWBG) in Egger/Harsdorf-Borsch’s commentary on the Austrian Cartel Act. Furthermore, Anna is the editor of a forthcoming handbook on Digital Economic Law.

Partner, Banking & Finance, Capital Markets, Mergers & Acquisitions, Corporate, Healthcare Thomas Zivny joined CERHA HEMPEL in 2000 and is a partner since 2008. He is primarily active in the field of capital markets, project finance, healthcare and corporate law. His team advises banks in connection with project financing in the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe, focussing in particular on real estate financing. The spectrum ranges from financing and restructuring to disposals and covers the entire lifecycle of the real estate. In the field of debt capital markets, Thomas advises issuers of corporate bonds as well as bank issuance programmes. In addition he serves a wide range of healthcare clients, ranging from private hospitals and various medical imaging centers.The advice often includes the establishment, relocation or restructuring of outpatient clinics and group practices, including commercial, corporate and regulatory aspects.