Szecskay Attorneys at Law

Managing Partner: Dr András Szecskay

Number of partners worldwide: 19

Number of other lawyers worldwide: 18

Languages: English, French, German, Danish, Hungarian, Russian, Serbian, Croatian

Firm Overview:

Szecskay Attorneys at Law is a leading independent Hungarian fully fledged law firm. It covers a full spectrum of industry, trade and services, and all areas of business law. Clients include mostly multinational companies, as well as major and mid-sized Hungarian companies. While cooperating with leading local and international law firms all around the world, Szecskay Attorneys at Law provides comprehensive legal services in any cross-border matter and serve the ongoing legal advisory needs of clients engaged in inbound business and expanding from Hungary.

Main Areas of Practice:

Corporate & M&A:

The firm provides advice on domestic and crossborder mergers and acquisitions of private and public companies (equity or asset), from pre-transaction planning through due-diligence, drafting of documentation and post-closing. Its mandate often includes the preparation of applications to merger control and supervisory authorities. It has drafted various takeover defence mechanisms, including special charter and by-law provisions.

Key Clients: Zwack Unicum, Gedeon Richter, Reckitt Benckiser, Auchan Hypermarket Group, Halma, L’Oreal

Contact: Dr Orsolya Görgényi, Sándor Németh

Email: [email protected], [email protected]

Banking & Capital Markets:

Experience in this field includes advising on corporate and project finance and debt and equity capital markets transactions and giving regulatory advice to banks and investment firms. In transactional matters the firm conducts due diligence procedures, assists in the structuring, drafting and negotiating of finance documents and the drafting and perfection of various collateral instruments. In the past the firm’s regulatory expertise has been utilised to establish foreign financial institutions or their branch in Hungary, including the securing of foundation and operational licenses. Recently the firm more regularly advises international lender institutions or multinational borrower corporations with a Hungarian presence on local banking regulations regarding factoring activities, intra-group central cash management (cash-pooling) and intra-group lending. The firm represents financial institutions in work out matters, as well as in a number of prospectus or product information liability litigation matters. Most recently the firm has begun to support clients in fund recovery processes resulting from Business Email Compromise cyberattacks.

Key Clients: Societe Generale, Bank of China, Richter Gedeon, Rapidminer

Contact: Dr Judit Budai (Capital Markets)/ Dr Katalin Szecskay (Transactional and Restructuring)

Email: [email protected], [email protected]

Competition & Antitrust:

The firm has significant experience in competition and antitrust law matters and merger control procedures, in terms of both advising and representing clients before the Hungarian competition authority. The firm is recognised for its expertise and practice in competition and antitrust law, primarily with respect to FMCG, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, energy, alcohol and the automotive industry. One of the firm’s key strengths is advising clients on how to put in place compliance and risk-management procedures in order to minimise exposure while maximising commercial flexibility for the client’s business.

Key Clients: L’Oreal, Philips, Reckitt Benckiser, DIGI, Auchan Hypermarket Group

Contact: Dr Anikó Keller

Email: [email protected]

Real Estate:

The real estate development and management practice advises on complex real estate acquisitions and development ventures, including greenfield investments. Recent assignments range from performing the necessary due diligence prior to acquisitions to reviewing the title, chain of ownership and the zoning and environmental status, and to the complete development of the property in question. The firm also prepares sale and purchase agreements, architectural design and general contractors’ as well as various lease agreements.

Key Clients: Auchan Hypermarket Group, E.ON, Dunapack, Meininger Hotels, Accor Hotels

Contact: Dr Patrick Tausz

Email: [email protected]

Litigation & Arbitration:

The firm represents its clients in all types of court proceedings and particularly in commercial, civil, administrative, labour and IP cases. It has a rapidly growing practice in cartel damages actions. The firm is well-known for its arbitration expertise - it regularly acts in ICC and UNCITRAL ad hoc arbitrations, as well as in local arbitration proceedings. Its attorneys are frequently appointed to act as arbitrators in domestic and international matters. The firm is one of the key players in Hungary when it comes to investment arbitration matters and ICSID proceedings.

Key Clients: Richter Gedeon, DAF Trucks, Sodexo SA, Raiffeisen Bank, E.ON, DIGI, Lasselsberger

Contact: Dr Miklós Boronkay

Email: [email protected]

Intellectual Property & Innovation:

The firm frequently represents clients in trademark and patent infringement litigation and advises them on creating and maintaining IP portfolios. It also provides assistance with R&D and licensing agreements, in particular in connection with inventions, know-how, software and database protection and the remuneration of employees. The firm has long assisted clients on copyright matters relating to literary and musical works.

Key Clients: Zwack Unicum, Richter Gedeon, Budapest Festival Orchestra

Contact: Dr Gusztáv Bacher

Email: [email protected]

Employment:

The firm advises local and international clients on optimizing their business within all legal aspects of HR, labour & employment in connection with: crossborder M&A transactions and corporate restructurings, outsourcings etc., employment litigation and general labour disputes, executive and general labour agreements, collective bargaining agreements, organisational and operational rules, employee share option schemes etc., anti-discriminatory hiring policies, employment-related data protection issues and planned labour force reduction programmes.

Key Clients: Flextronics, Swiss Post, Valeo, Reckitt Benckiser

Contact: Dr Zoltán Balázs Kovács

Email: [email protected]

TMT/Data Protection & Regulatory Compliance:

The firm advises a vast array of market players within media & telecoms and regularly represents such clients before TMT regulators. In addition, the firm provides businesses in all industries with operational advice in areas of data protection, including matters concerning data breaches and also the setting up of whistle-blowing hotline schemes, advertising law, unfair commercial practices (UCP) and consumer protection. Areas of particular experience include UCP and conducting reviews of advertising campaigns. The firm represents clients in disputes and negotiations before all national regulators.

Key Clients: Volkswagen, Swiss Post, UPC, DIGI

Contact: Dr Zoltán Balázs Kovács (Data Protection)/Anikó Keller (TMT/Regulatory Compliance)

Email: [email protected]/ [email protected]

Tax:

The firm is recognised as a significant player in providing tax law services with regards to business related tax law consultancy. Their focus is on tax and customs litigation matters. Their tax structuring advice supports the firm’s M&A, private client/ wealth management, real estate and banking and finance practices and provides as much integrated advice from one source as possible.

Key Clients: Goldman Sachs, UPC, Sodexo, BIF

Contact: Dr Róbert Dezső

Email: [email protected]