Cerha Hempel

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

Alexander Reich-Rohrwig

Partner, specialised in 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.

Alexandra Stoffl

Senior Associate, specialised in 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.

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.

Alistair Gillespie

Senior Associate, M&A, Corporate, Real Estate Alistair 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.

András Fenyőházi

András Fenyőházi is the head of the Construction team. He has extensive experience in construction claim management in various infrastructure (underground and various road construction projects) and commercial (shopping centres, industrial facilities) projects including pre-litigation dispute adjudication as well as litigation and arbitration. He is also member of final examination committee for Legal Philosophy at ELTE Budapest, and publishing editor of the online journal https://constructionpapers.hu/en/.

Mr. Kauten has worked on almost all of the M&A transactions of the firm in the past years. He is usually leading the due diligence exercises and he is responsible for contract drafting and closing processes. He has valuable experience in banking and finance, and real estate related transactions. Due to his wide experience in many industry sectors we can present to our clients solid experience in such industries. In the context of M&A transaction he is responsible for, and coordinates all, the regulatory filings, including FDI filings, and has gained significant experience in these areas as well.

Partner, Head of Corporate and Mergers & Acquistions Andrea has 27 years of M&A experience in cross-border and domestic M&A transactions in various industries, including leasing, retail, pharma wholesale and IT. Andrea has been an active member of the Hungarian leasing association for 15 years, and as such, she participated in codification of various statutes. She is also a guest lecturer in corporate law at the Faculty of Law of Eötvös Loránd Univesrity in Budapest. She started her legal career working for Pünder, Volhard, Weber & Axter (currently Clifford Chance) in Frankfurt am Main, and she has been working in Hungary for Dezső & Partners and its various iterations since 2000. She assists her clients not only in company establishments and acquisitions, but also in major restructuring deals - including the related licensing procedures in the financial sector.

Andrej Bartakovič

Senior Associate, White Collar Crime, Corporate, Litigation & Arbitration

Anna Nánási LL.M. is an associate who has been strengthening the dispute resolution and the real estate and construction practice group since she joined in 2023. Her experience includes working in the field of litigation involving contractors in commercial disputes and solving disputes relating to construction law, mainly representing the interests of contractors. Besides, she has considerable experience in lease agreements, mainly in the preparation of lease agreements for office buildings and other premises, property management agreements and related settlements for major asset and property managers in the Hungarian market.

Anna Wolf-Posch

Partner, specialised in Foreign direct investment (FDI), Antitrust & Competition, Compliance & Investigations, Mergers & Acquisitions, Supply Chain Compliance. Anna offers her clients a one-stop-shop coordinating merger control notifications and also foreign direct investment control notifications with her network of international partners. Anna Wolf-Posch has a very broad portfolio of high-profile international and domestic cartel and merger control cases and enjoys an excellent reputation amongst clients and peers. In fact, Anna Wolf-Posch has become a leader in her field and is being invited to speak on panels at international competition law conferences together with other competition law leaders.

Partner, Public Law & European Law, IT & Privacy, White Collar Crime, Compliance & Investigations Armin Schwabl, LL.M. (Chicago) is a partner and admitted to the bar both in Austria (2015) and New York (2013). 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.

Managing Partner, spesialised in Mergers & Acquisitions, Tax Law, Real estate & Construction, Antitrust & Competition, Public Law & European Law, Public Procurement.

Partner, Dispute Resolution & Real Estate & Construction Attila Marjai is a partner and has built up a strong portfolio of important real estate projects involving high-profile clients. His strong real estate focused knowledge, more than 20 years of practical experience and excellent interpersonal skills have earned him an exceptionally favourable perception and contentment by his clients.

Partner, Corporate, M&A and Real Estate, Litigation & Arbitration

Senior Associate, Litigation & Arbitration, Real Estate, Distribution Law

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.

Benjamin Twardosz

Partner, specialised in 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.

Bernhard Kofler-Senoner

Partner, Head of Competition Practice Group, specialised in Antitrust & Competition, Compliance & Investigations, Distribution Law, Mergers & Acquisitions Bernhard is the head of the competition practice group at CERHA HEMPEL. He has built the competition practice from scratch into one of the largest in Austria and is recognised by his clients and peers for his expertise in all aspects of competition law. He regularly advises on high-profile cartel cases in Austria and at EU level and was involved in almost all cartel investigations conducted by the Austrian authorities in the past year. Bernhard is renowned for his know-how in complex merger control proceedings both on EU level and in Austria.

Senior Associate, spesialised in IT & Privacy His 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.

Managing Partner, CERHA HEMPEL Bulgaria Boyko is the head of our Corporate and M&A practice in Bulgaria and has been involved in all of the major M&A Deals in Bulgaria for the past 17 years. He has been instrumental for building up the practice. Boyko brings unparalleled expertise and leadership to the Corporate and M&A team. As the head of this critical department and the managing partner of the CERHA HEMPLE Bulgaria, Boyko has consistently demonstrated an extraordinary ability to navigate complex legal landscapes and deliver outstanding results for clients.

Christian Aichinger

Senior Counsel, specialised in Banking & Finance, Capital Markets, Corporate, Mergers & Acquisitions, Insolvency & Restructuring. Christian is a very experienced capital markets and finance attorney with more than 15 years of experience in this field. His 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, particularly involving real estate entities.

Christoph Schimmer

Counsel, Tax Law, Corporate, M&A Christoph Schimmer is a Counsel at CERHA HEMPEL and joined the firm in 2022. He is dually qualified as both, an attorney at law (admitted in 2019) and a tax advisor (admitted in 2017). He holds a doctorate in law from the University of Vienna (Dr. iur. 2016, Mag. iur. 2012) and also degrees in business management from the Vienna University of Economics and Business (M.Sc. 2012, B.Sc. 2010). Before CERHA HEMPEL, Christoph Schimmer worked for several years in an international law firm as well as in a big four tax consulting firm as well as a pre-doc research and teaching assistant at University of Vienna. Christoph Schimmer is a specialist in both fields of practice, tax law (specialisations: corporate tax law and international tax law) and corporate law (specialisations: corporate law and company law). At the interface of the corporate and tax practice, he provides multidisciplinary tax and corporate advice in complex cross-border M&A transactions, reorganizations and tax structuring. In addition to working with CERHA HEMPEL, Christoph Schimmer regularly gives lectures at the academy for tax advisors and certified public auditors as well as other educational institutions. Furthermore, he is 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).

Christoph Reiter

Partner, specialised in Insolvency & Restructuring, IT & TMT, Corporate, Mergers & Acquisitions. Christoph is an IT/TMT and restructuring/M&A partner with CERHA HEMPEL with over 12 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. Christoph has been advising renowned national and international clients with regard to IT and e-commerce projects of all kinds and sizes. Among others, he recently advised one of the major Austrian energy companies, Wien Energie GmbH, in the development and rollout of their entire IoT portfolio. Also, he is supporting a major Austrian food retailer group Austrian SPAR group, with regard to all of their IT projects on an ongoing basis. 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.

Christopher Peitsch

Partner / Co-Head of the Employment Department, specialised in Employment Law, Litigation 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. Christopher has established a large international network over the last ten years, is member of the Employment Law Alliance (the largest employment network in the world with just one representing firm per country). He is the European Chair of the NextGen program and part of the Member Engagement Committee.

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. Clemens is regularly named and recommended as expert and leader in his field as well as top ranked within guides, journals and publications.

Dušan Hrnčiar

Senior Associate, Public Procurement, Litigation & Arbitration

Of counsel, Public Procurement, Real Estate & Construction

Senior Associate, Real Estate & Construction, Public Law & European Law, Public Procurement

Senior Associate, Corporate & M&A, Public Law and European Law Gábor Márky has joined CERHA HEMPEL Dezső as senior lawyer in June 2024, as a member of the M&A practice group. He has a decade of experience in international corporate M&A transactions, having participated in several international corporate deals, as well as with corporate law, energy law, emerging technologies and regulatory compliance. He spent most of his career in an international boutique firm where he had been a partner for 3 years. Gábor obtained his law degree in 2014 at University of Pécs, having graduated summa cum laude. He was a lecturer at his home university between 2017-2021, where held transaction-related courses for international students. He is also the author of several articles related to energy law, corporate dealmaking and to the legal aspects of emerging technologies.

Gabriella Klotz

Senior Associate, Corporate, Real Estate & Construction Gabriella Klotz is a highly qualified lawyer in the real estate and corporate law practice group. She is known for her in-depth knowledge in the field of lease agreements. Over the last 10 years, she has devoted her time mainly to property leases and worked on several high-profile accounts.

Partner, specialised in 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.

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. Hans is head of the firm’s public law practice group. Since January 2020, Hans also became head of the new Department Regulatory and White Collar. Hans expertise lies in the area of EU law, among other things, and he is renowned as one of the leading Austrian attorneys in state aid and data protection law. Furthermore, he advises in all fields of public law, including constitutional law, energy law and administrative law.

Partner, specialised in Mergers & Acquisitions, Corporate, Banking & Finance, Insolvency & Restructuring, Private Equity & Venture Capital. Harald is a key corporate / M&A partner and has 18 years of experience in complex cross-border corporate, M&A, restructurings, distressed entities, joint ventures and private equity.

Heinrich Foglar-Deinhardstein

Partner, specialised in Corporate, Insolvency & Restructuring, Mergers & Acquisitions, Private Clients & Trusts, Private Equity & Venture Capital Heinrich 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.

Partner, specialised in 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. Furthermore, Holger is a regular author of publications on litigation related topics. He studied in Vienna, Freiburg (CH) and Bruges (Belgium) and worked in Brussels with a renowned German law firm.

Ilona Rónay-Csordás

Partner / Head of Dispute Resolution and Litigation & Arbitration, spesialised in Litigation & Arbitration, Mergers & Acquisitions, Real Estate & Construction. Ilona Rónay-Csordás has in-depth knowledge and more than 20 years’ experience in the field of dispute resolution. She is highly regarded for her broad experience and thorough advice in high profile legal disputes. She is highly regarded for her broad experience and thorough advice in high profile legal disputes.

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 heads the Contentious Business Department of the firm, with a team of approximately 20 lawyers. She has been practising law for more than 25 years and is also a former managing partner of the firm. Irene is a passionate litigator and arbitrator and advises domestic and international clients on commercial and civil law.

Partner, specialised in 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.

Senior Associate, Corporate, M&A Jiří is a Senior Associate of CERHA HEMPEL Kališ & Partners and the group head of our M&A team. He joined Cerha Hempel in 2015 and participated in numerous national and cross-border M&A and restructuring projects. Jiří has been providing high quality and experienced legal services in various types of transactions for more than 10 years. The clients appreciate his varied experience and ability to provide comprehensive legal services in different economic areas (e.g., energy, industrials and manufacturing, and IT).

Partner, specialised in 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.

Johannes Aehrenthal

Partner, specialised in Mergers & Acquisitions, Corporate, Private Clients & Trusts, Real Estate & Construction, Distribution Law. Johannes has comprehensive and long-standing experience in advising Austrian and international clients in numerous cross-border M&A and real estate transactions in Austria and the CEE region. He is advising both industrial investors as well as private equity and venture capital investors, funds and real estate developers.

Managing Partner, Head of M&A Practice Group in the Slovak Republic Areas of practice: Jozef Bannert is Partner at CERHA HEMPEL Šiška & Partners, since 2013 and with the firm since 2006. He is Head of M&A Practice Group in the Slovak Republic. Jozef specializes in mergers and acquisitions, corporate, as well as joint ventures with a special focus on cross border transactions. He has developed particular expertise in the fields of structuring and implementation of corporate transactions and is recognized for his client focused and business oriented approach. Jozef was/is a lead partner on many prominent transactions for several years.

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.

Managing Partner, Banking & Finance, Antitrust & Competition, Public Law & European Law

Károly Zaicsek

Senior Associate, Litigation & Arbitration, Public Procurement, Real Estate & Construction Károly Zaicsek has extensive experience in litigation and civil procedural law. He has acted in high-profile lawsuits (such as a case involving Golgotha, a painting by Mihály Munkácsy) and represented clients in major damages cases (e.g. a case where the amount in dispute was EUR 40 million). Mr Zaicsek represented the Hungarian government in several lawsuits. As counsel for AXA Bank and ERSTE Bank, he participated in the management of a large number of lawsuits against consumers. He has acted for Hungary’s National Land Centre in hundreds of lawsuits concerning debt recovery matters.

Lorenz Pracht, LL.M.

Partner, specialised in Mergers & Acquisitions, Capital Markets, Compliance & Investigations, Corporate, Tax Law, Banking & Finance, Insolvency and Restructuring Lorenz Pracht joined CERHA HEMPEL more than 10 years ago and he was appointed as partner in 2019. Lorenz has become a key member in our firm’s M&A practice and has profound experience in complex cross-border M&A transactions, reorganisations, restructurings and joint ventures. He has advised numerous large corporate clients in complex M&A projects. 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.

Lucia Lalíková Tadlánková

Senior Associate, Corporate and Commercial law, Regulatory (including energy law and environmental law), Banking & Finance

Lukáš Srbecký

Partner / Head of Corporate/ Investigation Department, spesialised in Banking & Finance, Corporate, Insolvency & Restructuring, Mergers & Acquisitions, Public Law & European Law, Real Estate & Construction, White Collar Crime. In 2019, Lukáš became Partner at C.H. Kališ & Partners s.r.o., advokátní kancelář, the Czech office of CERHA HEMPEL. Lukáš leads most corporate-related cases advised by C.H. Kališ & Partners. Although corporate projects are his main specialization, he also advises clients on real estate matters, public tendering and compliance matters.

Partner, specialised in Real Estate, Mergers & Acquisitions, Corporate, IP & Unfair Competition. Mark has considerable experience handling large volume real estate transactions in Austria and CEE, as well as in setting up joint ventures for real estate projects. Mark's work covers all real estate asset classes, including shopping centres, residential projects, hotels, offices and logistics projects. Furthermore, he engages in domestic real estate development projects, such as acting as counsel and trustee for building organiser projects (Bauträgerprojekte), green field developments of retail and residential projects, as well as advising landlords with respect to their standard lease agreements related to their investments. Partner Mark Krenn, is responsible for CERHA HEMPEL's Real Estate Transaction Team.

Martin Eichinger

Partner, specialised in Corporate, Mergers & Acquisitions (including trusts and foundations), Finance & Capital Market transactions and Private Clients. Prior to joining CERHA HEMPEL Martin gained in-depth knowledge and more than six years of experience while working at one of the leading CEE law firms and a renowned private client boutique law firm in Vienna where he advised inter alia an Austrian billionaire and other Austrian high net worth individuals in any of their private and business related matters. Martin also holds several board functions in companies and a private foundation and is author of numerous publications.

Partner / Head of Compliance, Banking & Finance, spesialised in Employment Law, Banking & Finance, Insolvency & Restructuring, Real Estate & Construction, Compliance & Investigations, IP & Unfair Competition, IT & Privacy. Martin is Partner at C.H. Kališ & Partners s.r.o., advokátní kancelář, the Czech office of CERHA HEMPEL and focuses especially on employment issues in M&A transactions and insolvency restructuring (e.g. due diligence, consulting on structural changes and the transfer of employees or employees’ mass dismissal). He provides his clients, both national and international, with complex advisory on employment matters requiring in-depth knowledge of all aspect of employment law, in a variety of industries. Martin has also broad knowledge of data protection in labour law relationships. His other areas of expertise include, compliance as well as banking & finance.

Márton Kocsis, who joined the firm in 2015 from the Hungarian Competition Authority (“HCA”) and was appointed as a partner in 2022 (after spending one year as Group Compliance Chief Counsel at MOL Group), bringing deep knowledge and his large competition network to the team from the other side of the table. He is the head and manages the day-to-day operation of the Competition & Compliance Practice Group at CERHA HEMPEL Dezső. He is a highly experienced and respected competition lawyer who has been active in all fields of regulatory law for well over a decade. Mr Kocsis worked for the Hungarian Competition Authority in Budapest and the European Commission Directorate General for Competition in Brussels for more than eight years. Mr Kocsis participated and acted as a leading investigator in several high-profile cartel and abuse of dominance cases. Mr Kocsis is also a long-serving member of the Supervisory Board of the Hungarian Competition Law association, as well as external member of the marketing-compliance advisory board of Yettel, a strong player on the Hungarian telecommunications market.

Managing partner, CERHA HEMPEL Slovenia Matjaž Ulčar has superb experience and expertise in Corporate M&A, Private Equity, Banking & Finance, Energy and Automotive. He has a consistent track record of high-profile innovative deals and is regarded as one of the best transactional lawyers in the market.

Senior Counsel, specialised in Real Estate & Construction, Litigation & Arbitration, Mergers & Aquisitions, Insolvency & Restructuring, Private Clients & Trusts. Matthias is a renowned real estate and construction law specialist. As an attorney (senior counsel), former partner at a leading international law firm in Vienna and former legal counsel at a leading Austrian construction group, Matthias Nödl has many years' experience in the fields of construction law, architectural law and real estate law (including projects, transactions and litigation).

Counsel, specialised in Antitrust & Competition, Distribution Law, Complinace & Investigations 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. Appointed as Counsel in 2017 and with CERHA HEMPEL since 2013, Michael has been working as specialized competition lawyer since 2008. 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.

Michaela Siegwart

Partner, specialised in Public Procurement, Litigation & Arbitration, IP & Unfair Competition. Michaela has represented and advised national and international clients in commercial litigation for almost 20 years. She specialises in public procurement, insurance, construction and contract law. She is a partner with CERHA HEMPEL since 2019. During her time with the firm, Michaela has managed to establish herself in all matters pertaining to insurance law. Many of her clients have increasingly come to rely on her expertise in matters such as fidelity insurance liability law and professional liability. A record of excellence has come to define her professional career and continues to entice new clients. In addition to her work as partner with CERHA HEMPEL, Michaela is also a regular speaker on matters of procurement law and is frequently invited to participate in conferences, in particular, by the Lawyer’s Academy (Anwaltsakademie, AWAK) in Vienna.

Associate, Banking & Finance

Mirela Nathanzon

Managing Partner / Head of M&A, spesialised in Mergers & Acquisitions, Competition, Employment Law and Banking & Finance. Mirela Nathanzon is an experienced attorney with more than twenty years as a practicing member of the Bucharest Bar. She has extensive experience in the consulting offered in M&A transactions, providing innovative solutions tailored to each client’s needs and challenges, while adopting a collaborative approach in the process. She has extensive experience handling M&A transactions for businesses in various industry sectors such as consumer goods and services, pharma and healthcare, gaming industry, banking sector, tourism and technology and telecommunications.

Nadine Leitner Partner, specialised in Corporate, Mergers & Acquisitions, Private Clients & Trusts, Private Equity & Venture Capital. Nadine has advised in and led some of the most significant national and cross border deals in the Austrian market. She is well known for her ability to precisely, efficiently and swiftly handle and structure complex M&A and corporate law projects. She is an essential asset for the firm's growth and client success and has been promoted to Partner in February 2022.

Nikol Jeništová

Nikol is a senior associate and head of the employment team (within the compliance department) at CERHA HEMPEL Czech Republic. Nikol provides her clients with complex advisory regarding employment law (incl. the hiring and dismissing of employees, setting internal employment compliance matters, as well as representing the clients in disputes regarding employment matters). Nikol supports the M&A team in acquisition projects, in which she is responsible for the labour law part of the transactions.

Nina Neumaier, LL.B.

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

Senior Associate, specialised in Litigation & Arbitration, Compliance & Investigations, Insolvency & Restructuring, White Collar Crime Paul has over eight years of experience in international litigation and arbitration. Prior to joining CERHA HEMPEL, he worked as an associate at a renowned international law firm that specialises in the CEE/SEE region for several years. Paul regularly publishes on current developments in litigation and arbitration.

Senior Counsel, specialised in 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).

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.

Partner, Head of Department Real Estate and Construction, specialised in Real Estate & Construction, Litigation & Arbitration, Public Law & European Law, Insolvency & Restructuring. Peter regularly advises on planning and construction contracts and represents clients in claim management matters and in construction-related litigation and arbitration proceedings. Peter also advises national and international clients in commercial litigation and arbitration issues, in particular with respect to large scale construction projects. Partner at CERHA HEMPEL since 2004, with the firm since 1997. Head of CERHA HEMPEL'S 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 and in construction-related litigation and arbitration proceedings. Peter also advises national and international clients in commercial litigation and arbitration issues, in particular with respect to large scale construction projects. Peter is active as a frequent lecturer at imh Institut Manfred Hämmerle GmbH (previously IIR Institute) with respect to real estate matters, and he is also active as a permanent lecturer for construction-related matters at the Chamber of Architects.

Managing Partner / Head of M&A and Restructuring Department, spesialised in Mergers & Acquisitions, Insolvency & Restructuring, Capital Markets, Private Equity & Venture Capital, Corporate. Petr is the Managing Partner of C.H. Kališ & Partners s.r.o., advokátní kancelář, the Czech office of CERHA HEMPEL. Petr’s main areas of expertise include, among others, mergers and acquisitions, including national, cross-border and distressed asset transactions; restructuring and insolvency projects; litigation and alternative dispute resolutions, including national and cross-border arbitration. During his career, Petr has acted as legal advisor in numerous major transactions and in recent year he has developed particular experience with transactions in the field of heavy machinery, steel, automotive and energy industries.

Senior Associate, Litigation & Arbitration, Employment Law, Corporate, Real Estate

Sándor Szterényi

Partner, Head of Head of Projects & Infrastructure, specialised in Real Estate & Construction, Public Law & European Law, Public Procurement. In-depth knowledge of infrastructure projects, public procurement law and regulatory matters; also specialises in state aid law.

Sergei Makarchuk

Sergei Makarchuk Of counsel, specialised in 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 has 20 years’ extensive experience in corporate, commercial, competition law, mergers & acquisitions, IT, and intellectual property law. His portfolio includes, for example, advising clients in the following sectors: telecom (A1 Telekom Austria), banking & finance, oil & gas, automotive, hotels, technology, fashion, beverage and pharmaceutical. 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).

Partner, specialised in 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. Stefan Huber is a partner with CERHA HEMPEL since 2015 and is a leading expert in Austrian higher education law. Moreover, he has a focus on both environmental and constitutional law as well as EU law and procurement. He is experienced in administrative court proceedings and is further busy in environmental law advice. 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.

Susanne Molitoris

Senior Counsel, spesialised in Employment Law, Litigation & Arbitration. Susanne 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 corss-border transactions. Moreover, she regularly accompanies international clients at their market entry in Austria.

Senior Associate, Employment Law, Litigation & Arbitration, Mergers & Acquisitions Tamás Novák has 15 years of experience, and his primary field of specialization is full-scale employment and labour law. He regularly advises clients with regard to employment agreements, dismissals, employment law litigation and collective agreements with trade unions / works councils. He also assists clients in their day-to-day employment issues. He has provided advice and held employment law training courses for high-profile international and domestic clients. Additionally, Mr Novák advises clients on matters related to company law, M&A cases and corporate governance. Prior to joining CERHA HEMPEL, Mr Novák worked for well-known Hungarian and international law firms. Besides his Hungarian degree, he also holds a master’s degree in European law from the Lyon III University (France).

Managing Partner / Head of Antitrust & Competition, spesialised in Antitrust & Competition, IP & Unfair Competition, Employment Law. The competition practice is headed by Tamás Polauf, managing partner of CERHA HEMPEL Dezső & Partners. Tamás has outstanding experience in national and international competition law, as well as commercial transactions. In addition to providing advice to Hungarian and international clients in high-profile cartel cases and other competition law matters, he also has extensive experience with mergers and acquisitions. Tamás is widely known for his client-oriented solutions, and clients appreciate his innovative approach and advice tailored to the requirements of their individual needs. Tamás is the founder of the Hungarian website competition.hu. and author of many articles and academic papers.

Thomas Trettnak

Partner, specialised in Corporate/M&A, Insolvency & Restructuring, Private Equity & Venture Capital, Private Clients & Trusts. 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. Thomas is Partner at CERHA HEMPEL since 2010 and with the law firm since 2004. He has worked in-house in M&A for a listed construction company. Thomas is a guest lecturer in Mergers & Acquisitions at the Vienna University of Economics and Business.

Partner, specialised in Banking & Finance, Capital Markets, Mergers & Acquisitions, Corporate. 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. 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.

Partner, specialised in 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.

Wilhelm Stettner

Partner / Head of Real Estate & Construction, spesialised in Mergers & Acquisitions, Corporate, Real Estate & Constructon. Wilhelm Stettner is a partner and head of the real estate & construction practice group at the Hungarian office of CERHA HEMPEL. He is highly regarded for his in-depth knowledge in the field of real estate transactions and construction litigation, whereas he also demonstrates significant expertise in commercial leases. Wilhelm is widely-known for his business-oriented approach and the ability to find simple and easily-feasible solutions for complex problems. Among others, he actively represents market-leader real estate investors in high-profile cross-border real estate transactions.

Wolfgang Sindelar

Senior Counsel, specialised in 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.

Senior Associate, Litigation & Arbitration, Real Estate & Construction, Corporate Zsanett Szabó is a qualified lawyer in the real estate and construction practice group. She specialises in real estate law, construction claim management, civil procedural law, litigation and construction related regulatory matters. Ms Szabó’s main area of expertise is real estate dispute resolution. She is highly regarded by the clients for her flexible and business-friendly approach.