Registration
Welcome Remarks
TedTalk
The CEE in 2026: Geopolitics and Risk
- Geopolitical volatility and regional opportunities
Ingo Bleier, Chief Corporates and Markets Officer at Erste Group Bank AG, Austria
Fireside Chat
Prof. Jorg Menzer, Vice-President, International Bar Association will be interviewed by Anne Macdonald, Harper Macleod, Scotland, Senior Co-Chair, Law Firm Management Committee
Theme of Conversation
Rule of Law Under Strain: Providing Legal Certainty in Times of Political, Economic and Geopolitical Pressure
- Predictability of law and enforcement
- Investor confidence
- Judicial independence and regulatory discretion
- Advising clients in politically sensitive and cross-border matters
- Changing expectations toward law firms as risk advisors
How are Private Equity and Private Credit viewing Central and Eastern Europe in the current environment?
Moderator:
Florian Klimscha, Freshfields, Austria
Panelists:
Benjamin Schall, Kartesia, Germany
Robert Gawalkiewicz, Soltysinski Kawecki & Szlezak, Poland
Viktoria Szilagyi, Lakatos, Koves and Partners, Hungary
Coffee Break
The impact of Al and legal tech on the practice of law and what should firms be doing NOW?
- The urgent need for AI governance
How do law firms organise accountability, transparency, ethic boundaries, controls, security and sovereignty, with respect to AI while it is developing at revolutionary speed? - Fast shifting client demand
What are clients doing with AI and what does it mean for the future services of law firms for their clients? Where to win and where to loose? - Successfully managing the transformation
How are law firms going to change from a traditional law firm to an AI-enabled or AI-first firm and be successfully sustainable in the future?
Moderator:
Martijn Lesterhuis, Saga Legal, Netherlands
Panelists:
Oguzhan Arslan, Deputy GM and Legal Director for Microsoft Türkiye & Adriatic Countries, Türkiye
Lukasz Szegda, Wardynski and Partners, Poland
Andrea Miskolczi, InterAlia Consulting, Austria
Itzik Amiel, The Switch, Member of the IBA Presidential Task Force on AI, Netherlands
ESG – Sustainability and Greenwashing
- ESG regulation as a political and economic tool
- Enforcement divergence across CEE jurisdictions
- Greenwashing investigations and liability
- Litigation, reputational risk and investor scrutiny
Moderator:
Robert van Beemen, DRB Group, The Hague
Panelists:
Aziz Aidaros, VP & Associate General Counsel Europe, Philip Morris International
Špela Arsova, Selih and Partners, Slovenia
Ana-Mari Eremieva, DMC, Bulgaria
Lisa Urbasq, PHH, Austria
Networking Lunch
Foreign Direct Investment Screening in Europe – National Security, Politics and Deal Certainty
- EU FDI Screening Regulation and recent developments
- Expansion of national screening regimes across Europe
- Sensitive sectors: technology, energy, infrastructure, defence
- Impact on deal timelines and transaction structuring
- Managing regulatory and political risk for investors
Moderator:
Rolandas Valiunas, Ellex Legal, Lithuania
Panelists:
Peter Petrov, Boyanov & Co, Bulgaria
Yoanna Stefanova, K&L Gates, Luxembourg
Marta Sendrowicz, A&O Shearman, Poland
Judit Budai, Szecskay, Hungary
Business Development – what are the current trends across CEE firms and European firms and how can we future proof our approach to BD?
- The structure of BD teams and reporting lines
- The future talent and skillsets required for BD teams
- Analytics v relationship driven BD – will AI supercharge BD activities
- Pitches and proposals – what are we being asked to demonstrate and how can we stay ahead of the curve?
Moderator:
Anne Macdonald, Harper Macleod, Scotland, Senior Co-Chair, Law Firm Management Committee
Panelists:
Rachel Kennedy, Kinstellar , UK and CEE
Elizabeth Grace, Matheson, Ireland
Will Spencer, Gorrisen Federspiel,, Denmark
Aleksandra Ryzkowska, SSW, Poland
Coffee Break
Building a Legal Career Under Pressure: Skills, Ethics and Resilience. What do Our Associates want?
Topics
- Do I have a career or a job?
- Working on high-risk matters
- Managing ethical dilemmas and professional independence
- AI as a junior lawyer’s tool: what is allowed, what is risky
- Developing judgment, not just technical skills
- Career resilience in volatile legal markets
Moderator:
Jakub Lerner, Wardynski and Partners, Poland
Panelists:
Dina Salapic, DTB, Croatia
Stephanie Zarb Adam, Ganado, Malta
Should law firms in the region be actively considering a merger?
- The larger legal market is consolidating, with 2025 being a record year in terms of law firm mega mergers, after a very eventful 2024. What are we doing in the region? The regional firms are still expanding in various jurisdictions, but what about the national champions?
- Does the national champion model still work because our jurisdictions are small? How big can a national champion get? What are the constraints?
- Do alliances really work? How far can they go?
- Can one sustain a long-term competitive business as a national champion in CEE or does it still work in the short term and are we passing along the issue to the next generation?
Moderator:
Alexandru Birsan, Filip & Company, Bucharest
Panelists:
Borislav Boyanov, Boyanov & Co., Sofia
Attila Csongrady, Schoenherr, Vienna
Daniel Cousens, Addleshaw Goddard, Warsaw
Panagiotis Drakopoulos, Drakopoulos Law, Greece
Gala Dinner
Admission by ticket only.