In The Corner Office, we invite Senior and Managing Partners at law firms from across the region to share information about their careers, management styles, and strategies. For this issue, we asked them to describe their least favorite part of their jobs. 

Employment relationships require special protection both at European and national levels. Although largely enshrined in European legislation, those protections remain subject to modifications to ensure efficiency and security of the employment process. 

A number of changes to the Labor Code expected to come into force on July 1, 2017, will not do so. These amendments to the Code – which were submitted to the President of the Parliament by the head of the Economic Committee – would primarily have affected work-time scheduling provisions, making the Labor Code more sensitive to the needs of the improving economy and changing labor market. According to Parliament, the amendments would have significantly improved production for businesses over a period of six to seven years. 

As the first half of 2017 draws to an end, dispute resolution in Poland continues to face dynamic changes. This is due to numerous pieces of legislation being implemented as well as certain policy issues of the ruling party. We focus in this article on several trends or changes that our clients are struggling with or which might affect businesses in the foreseeable future.

Almost a year and a half after Poland’s Restructuring Law entered into force, introducing a clear separation between restructuring and bankruptcy, now is a good time to review its affects.

Intellectual Property protection in its modern sense is considered to be quite young in Russia. Although Russia is not far behind world standards for protection and enforcement of Intellectual Property, major changes took place in Russia in 2008. Almost ten years ago the Fourth Chapter of the Russian Civil Code incorporating various Intellectual Property-related rules came into effect. Of course, this area of law is still changing, leading to new amendments, improvement proposals, and legal discussions. 

With ever-increasing spending on research and development and innovation, patents and patent applications are becoming an increasingly important part of business throughout the world, including Poland. Patentable inventions as well as confidential technological know-how now constitute key assets of numerous businesses operating across all sectors of the Polish market. 

It would not be unreasonable to suggest that most developments in commercial markets occur as a result of competition between participants and manufacturers of similar products. From an end-user’s perspective, it is always easier to recognize products and/or make comparisons between products on the basis of specific brands/trademarks. 

Chief Legal Officers know how demanding their jobs are. They have to create and manage effective teams, retain and instruct external counsel, advise their employers on strategic decisions, and implement new technology, all while putting out 20 fires a day.

White & Case, CMS, and Sorainen are among the top ten law firms in the number of reported projects across CEE last year, according to the comprehensive report that will appear in the March 2017 issue of the CEE Legal Matters magazine. 

2016 has been a challenging year for dispute resolution in Poland, due primarily to the numerous changes in regulatory framework that have come or will come into effect. In particular, since the country’s 2015 parliamentary elections, the government has been working on regulations related to group action proceedings, procedures for collecting claims, and various criminal law issues. 

The number of patent infringement cases in Poland is steadily growing. However, even the best drafted patents and clear infringement background may prove insufficient for effective enforcement in cases where a matter has not been properly prepared. The summary below focuses on key legal remedies available for patent holders to effectively counteract infringing activity in Poland and indicates the key aspects that need to be addressed.

“Vienna is the gate to Eastern Europe” – Niki Lauda

On the evening of February 1, 2017, CEE Legal Matters hosted the first ever CEELM Budapest Law Firm Bowling Challenge: A competition of four-person teams from leading law firms in Hungary, with all proceeds to go to the winner’s charity of choice. A total of 13 law firms competed for the impressive trophy – and the glory that goes along with it.

We are happy to announce the launch of the Corporate Counsel Best Practices Handbook survey.