Cerha Hempel

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.

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.

Andrej Bartakovič

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

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, Mergers & Acquisitions, Antitrust & Competition, Banking & Finance, Capital Markets, IT & Privacy, Litigation & Arbitration, Real Estate & Construction Kalin Bonev is Senior Attorney with extensive experience in the area of corporate and commercial law, supported by his solid mergers and acquisitions, capital markets and banking and finance background. He has played a key role in structuring and executing numerous transactions.

Senior Associate, Corporate, Compliance & Investigations

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.

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

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.

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/.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

Tereza Hamplová

Senior Associate, Dispute Resolution Tereza is a valued member of the dispute resolution team, where she specialises primarily in civil litigation and arbitration, representing clients in a wide range of complex disputes. Beyond her core focus, she also advises on compliance and employment law matters, working closely with colleagues to organise and lead public seminars aimed at raising awareness and understanding of these important legal areas. In addition to her practice, Tereza is actively involved in legal publishing, contributing insightful articles to respected journals such as Rodinné listy, further demonstrating her commitment to the development of legal knowledge and practice.

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.

Associate, Banking & Finance

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.

Senior Associate, TMT, Compliance, Insolvency & Restructuring Michal is an associate at CERHA HEMPEL Kališ & Partners, providing services mainly in the areas of TMT, compliance and insolvency & restructuring. Michal specialises in advising clients on IT and compliance matters. In the area of TMT, Michal focuses on the areas of data protection law and IP & IT law, as well as on regulatory matters, competition and antitrust.

Dušan Hrnčiar

Senior Associate, Public Procurement, Litigation & Arbitration

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

Eszter Á. Kontor

Of counsel, Public Procurement, Real Estate & Construction

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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, 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.

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.

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).

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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, 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.

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.

Lucia Lalíková Tadlánková

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.