Graf Patsch Taucher Rechtsanwalte has promoted the Head of its Dispute Resolution practice group Clemens Freisinger to Equity Partner.

Felix Kernbichler has joined GoStudent as its Chief Legal Officer in January 2022.

On April 5, 2022, leading lawyers from across all of CEE will be coming together for the Dealer's Choice Conference and Deals of the Years Awards Banquet. Leading up to the event, we spoke with Oana Ijdelea of Ijdelea & Associates to learn what they are looking forward to the most.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine represents one of the worst security crises in Europe. It is also expected to have far-reaching implications for the global economy, particularly given Russia’s role as the world’s second-largest producer of natural gas. Sanctions will mean higher energy prices in Europe.

In view of the gravity of the current situation in Ukraine, the EU has introduced further restrictive measures related to Russia's finance, defence, energy, aviation, and space sectors. This Legal Insight will give you a brief overview of the sanctions regime as of 27 February 2022.

Irene Welser has been promoted to Senior Partner at Cerha Hempel, replacing former Senior Partner Edith Hlawati.

On November 12, 2021, CEE Legal Matters reported that Cerha Hempel had advised Energy Exchange Austria and its cooperation with CCP Austria on the restructuring of the clearing of spot market trading in electric power products on the Vienna Stock Exchange and on the transfer of the central counterparty function from EXAA to CCP Austria. CEE In-House Matters spoke with Jurgen Wahl, CEO at EXAA, to learn more about the matter.

Armin Schwabl and Nadine Leitner have been promoted to Partner at Cerha Hempel.

CMS Partners Johannes Juranek and Gunther Hanslik have taken over the management responsibilities of the firm's Vienna office on February 1, 2022. Juranek specializes in data protection while Hanslik focuses on banking.

On December 1, 2021, CEE Legal Matters reported that Greenberg Traurig had advised CA Immo on the sale of the Wspolna 47-49 office building in Warsaw to Yareal Polska. CEE In-House Matters spoke with Ingo Steinwender, Group Head of Legal at CA Immobilien, to learn more about the sale.

Former Counsels Stefan Frank and Georg Wabl have been promoted to Partner at Binder Groesswang. Partner Angelika Pallwein-Prettner is set to join the firm's Management Board.

Back in 2007, the foundation for sustainable financing was set through the issuance of a green Climate Awareness Bond by the European Investment Bank. This was in part due to the increased awareness of climate change. By June 2022, Austria wants to issue its first Green Bond. Possible investments for the Green Bond are public transport and renewable energy. Aside from bonds, sustainable financing can be concluded in several other product forms, such as guarantee lines, as well as classic bank loans. The volume of sustainable syndicated bank loans reached EUR 200 billion for the first time, last year.

Strong M&A trends, developing market sectors, and a surprisingly booming economy is what Austria is buzzing about, according to PHH Partner Rainer Kaspar.

The Austrian Federal Competition Authority (FCA), together with the German Federal Cartel Office (FCO), has published an update to its guidelines on the application of the transaction value thresholds (Guidelines).

An act implementing the cross-border distribution of funds Directive (the "CBDFD") into Austrian law (the "Act") finally entered into force on 11 December 2021. The Austrian legislator was already late with the implementation, since EU Member States were required to transpose the CBDFD into national legislation by 2 August 2021.

In case you are wondering whether you are allowed to send that bottle of wine to your favourite client or donate to a charity, read below.

The world is undergoing a digital transformation. Whether at work, play or socialising, it is hard to imagine even a day without the Internet. Recent challenges (eg, the covid-19 pandemic) have further accelerated digitalisation. The world is far from the end of this process. Many businesses, and countries, are increasingly focusing on the digital transformation. Recent examples include cloud computing, cryptocurrency or the "metaverse" which was recently announced by Mark Zuckerberg.

House searches have been all over the news in Austria recently. In case you have been wondering what happens to your phone, laptop and tablet when the prosecutor comes knocking – read below.