Programme

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

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

Moderator:
Florian Klimscha, Freshfields, Austria

Panelists:
Benjamin Schall, Kartesia, Germany
Robert Gawalkiewicz, Soltysinski Kawecki & Szlezak, Poland
Viktoria Szilagyi, Lakatos, Koves and Partners, Hungary

• 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:
Dr. Matthias Lichtblau, Executive Faculty of Bucerius Center of the Legal Profession, Germany
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 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, Associate General Counsel for the Europe Region, Philip Morris International, Lausanne
Špela Arsova, Partner, Šelih and Partners, Ljubljana
Ana-Mari Eremieva, Senior Associate, DPC, Sofia
Thomas Glanzer, Head of Business Development and Sustainability, AluKönigStahl GmbH, Vienna

• 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

• 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

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 Advocates, Malta
Akvilė Jurkaitytė, Sorainen, Lithuania
Lukas Jäger, Binder Grosswang, Austriа

• 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

Park Hyatt Vienna

Park Hyatt Vienna - Admission by ticket only.

Featuring a performance by Singing Lawyers Budapest.

• Distressed M&A in geopolitically exposed sectors
• How are deals being financed
• W&I insurance and risk allocation
• Post-closing disputes and enforcement exposure

Moderator:
Natascha Doll, Freshfields, Germany and Martin Brodey, Dorda, Austria

Panelists:
Paweł Zdort, RZM, Poland
Veronika Hadjieva, Kambourov and Partners, Bulgaria
Jan Lasak, KSB, Czech Republic

 Presentation by Gerard Tanja, Venturis Consulting Group, Netherlands

The panel discusses in an interactive format how law firms can combine top tier legal work with innovation, efficiency and profitability to remain competitive and future-ready.

Topics include:

•  Legal excellence as the baseline: why quality always comes first – but cannot stand alone
•  Innovation as mindset and culture embedded in everyday legal work
•  Lawyers as drivers of change, contributing to the evolution of legal practice and legal systems
•  Efficiency through process optimism, automation, and smarter resourcing
•  Measing performance: industry-standard KPIs and regular management review
•  Profitability as a foundation for investment, talent development, and sustainable growth

Moderator:
Peter Lakatos, Lakatos, Koves & Partners, Hungary

Panelists:
Peter Machherndl, Pitkowitz and Partners, Austria
Jelena Gazivoda, JPM & Partners, Serbia
Kostyantyn Solyar, Asters, Ukraine

Moderator:
Marcell Nemeth, DLA Piper, Vienna

Panelist:
Orsolya Gantner, Acting CEO and Chief Legal Officer for Hungary and Central Europe, Citi
Alexandru Birsan, Filip & Company, Bucharest

This panel examines whether arbitration can deliver predictability, speed, and enforceability in high-stakes Balkan M&A disputes, offering a practical roadmap for the most contested scenarios.

• Where to arbitrate? Navigating seat selection and tribunal strategy
• Best efforts to enforcement: Managing the dispute lifecycle
• Deals under pressure: Sanctions, sovereigns and political risk in arbitration
• Speed and control: Interim relief and forum choice in urgent disputes

Moderator:
Nikolaus Pitkowitz, Pitkowitz and Partners, Austria

Panelists:
Ana Stanić, E&A Law Limited, United Kingdom
Sonja Otenhajmer, Partner CMS Reich-Rohrwig Hainz, Austria
Tijana Kojović, BDK Advokati, Serbia
Dalibor Valinčić, Queritius, Croatia

From Legal Advisors to Strategic Risk Partners – The Future of Law Firms in Central & Eastern Europe

• Integrating AI, geopolitical and regulatory advice
• Building multidisciplinary client teams
• Maintaining independence, credibility and trust
• Managing risk

• Over the past decade, many European law firms have quietly moved away from the extremes of traditional partnership models, such as pure lockstep and pure eat-what-you-kill.
• This session examines how modified lockstep, merit-based, and hybrid partnership systems are being designed and operated.
• This session will also discuss the growing use of diversified partner Key Performance Indicators.

Presenters:
Moray McLaren, Lexington Consultants, United Kingdom
Aku Sorainen, Sorainen, Estonia

Moderator:
Willibald Plesser, Freshfields (ret. Partner), Austria

Panelists:
Dr. Wolfgang Köberl, Secretary General, Vienna Airport AG, Austria
Dr. Franz-Michael Hohensinn, GC of Semperit AG, Austria
Mariella Huber, CEO, A1 Bank, Austria
Aziz Aidaros, Ass. GC for the European Regions, Philip Morris Int., Lausanne