In The Corner Office, we ask Managing Partners at law firms across Central and Eastern Europe about their backgrounds, strategies, and responsibilities. This time around, we dug deeper into a discussion point that came up during our last event: During our annual General Counsel Summit held in Prague recently, we’ve learned that even with the inflation in CEE having hovered around 14-20% in recent years, legal fees have remained static or have even decreased in some jurisdictions. Given that, how has your firm managed to consistently deliver high-quality service under these constraints?
Kostadin Sirleshtov, CMS, Bulgaria: CMS has adopted various approaches in order to address the challenges related to the pressure on fees. Firstly, deep specialization – we find that clients are ready to pay premium fees if they are provided with specialized advice by top experts; thus, clients pay 1 hour at premium rates instead of having to deal with 10 hours of an average service with no major added value. Secondly, rate increases – we are adjusting our rates, and we closely monitor the adequacy of these; as a result, our rate increases are mirroring the inflation. Thirdly, leverage – the way we train our Junior Lawyers and specialize them allows for an increase in the leverage, thus leading to an increase in the gross margin within the available rates. Fourthly, relationships – CMS thrives to be the leading relationship law firm and therefore we blend our corporate and resolution work with the day-to-day assistance that we provide to clients.
Stojan Semiz, ZSP Advokati, Serbia: Legal fees have indeed remained static despite inflationary pressures, though this may begin to change as the market continues to mature. At the same time, a strong counterforce is pushing fees downward – increased competition and the declining ability of large firms to gatekeep high-value work.
The only real long-term answer is increased productivity.
We see two key aspects. Firstly, automation, as AI/LLM services are becoming a part of the everyday legal toolkit. Secondly, being agile and intentional with how we operate. We’ve streamlined internal workflows and doubled down on collaboration with our regional partners to keep things on track.
We also explored flexible pricing models, alternative fee arrangements, and scope-based pricing models where it makes sense, giving clients predictability while allowing us to stay aligned with their goals.
Ivana Ruzicic, PR Legal, Serbia: At PR Legal, we have managed to maintain high-quality service despite inflationary pressures and static legal fees by focusing on two main strategies: cost rationalization and process optimization. Specifically, we have re-evaluated our internal workflows and made adjustments to eliminate inefficiencies. For example, by refining how we allocate resources and streamline communication across teams, we have been able to reduce the time spent on each task without compromising the quality of our work. These improvements have allowed us to deliver more value in less time, ensuring our clients receive the same high standard of service while keeping costs under control.
We have introduced internal procedures to ensure that our teams can execute instructions faster, without sacrificing quality. This reduction in time spent on repetitive tasks has directly contributed to keeping costs lower, even as external pressures rise.
Moreover, we have taken a proactive approach to offering additional services at market-competitive prices. By identifying areas where our clients could benefit from supplementary legal support, we not only add value to our relationships but also help them understand the tangible benefits these services bring.
Through these efforts, we have managed to provide exceptional value without compromising on service quality, which is fundamental to building lasting client trust.
Mykola Stetsenko, Avellum, Ukraine: Indeed, despite the long-term inflation over the past years, we have kept our USD and EUR rates stable without compromising the quality of our work. Since we have only one reputation to rely on, it would be very unwise to lower our quality of legal advice or service because of inflation.
As an inevitable result, such long-term inflationary trends pressure our margin since the costs are gradually rising. For now, we managed to respond to this pressure by making our administrative processes more cost-efficient, coupled with a heavy investment in knowledge management. The latter partially offsets such pressures by allowing us to do our work more efficiently and, therefore, service more clients and more projects.
Bernhard Hager, Eversheds Sutherland, Slovakia: Even though we managed to increase the fees with some clients, the increase did not keep pace with inflation. Neither did the salaries of our people, and our landlord also had to accept only a modest increase in rent. We invested time and energy into new technologies, more efficiency, and the acquisition of new clients, and, thus, the financial outcome of 2024 is quite satisfactory.
Ondrej Peterka, Peterka & Partners, Czech Republic: Our clients generally accept full indexation of our rates. We also have special regional fee arrangements that reflect the volume of work in the whole of CEE. But again, generally, we don’t compete based on price, and our clients understand that the substantial inflation of recent years has to be reflected in our prices.
Radan Kubr, PRK Partners, Czech Republic: Despite the fact that the Czech Republic has seen 35% inflation in three years, local clients remain very sensitive to legal costs, and it has proven impossible for lawyers to raise hourly rates, which were already among the lowest in the CEE region. Price competition for new assignments seems to be even fiercer than before. Despite those constraints, our firm remains dedicated to delivering services of the highest quality. In order to do so, we are constantly looking at all possible ways of improving our efficiency and reducing our operating costs. This includes, e.g., implementing various AI-powered agents that help our administrative (HR, marketing, etc.) and legal staff save as much time as possible on routine tasks.
Christoph Mager, DLA Piper, Austria: Even though inflation in Austria has been more moderate than in some CEE countries, law firms still face rising costs, particularly in areas like talent, technology, and infrastructure. At DLA Piper, we have responded with a clear strategy: stay agile, be open to change, operate efficiently, and always put our clients first.
To continue delivering top-tier legal services, we focus on streamlining internal workflows and leveraging innovative legal tech solutions to reduce complexity and improve efficiency, all while managing costs. As part of a global firm, we also benefit from cross-border collaboration and access to shared resources, which allows us to draw on international expertise while tailoring our advice to the Austrian market.
By combining operational excellence with a forward-looking mindset, we continue to offer high-quality legal counsel at fair rates. Clients are less interested in hearing about rising fees. They are looking for partners who may add value and charge a fair price for that. We are committed to being exactly that: a trusted advisor who delivers excellence with commercial sense.
Milos Velimirovic, Kinstellar, Serbia: Inflation in CEE in recent years is among the numerous consequences of global uncertainties. These uncertainties affect general macroeconomic stability in our countries and negatively influence investors’ appetite. We still do not know the current cycle’s final result, but we are watching the tremendous changes taking place. In such an environment, lawyers are expected to bear their share of negative market trends. Our firm supports clients with the same attention as during times of stability. However, we do not expect to exit the negative cycle with profits at the same level as usual. So, yes, we see the pressure on the level of fees, but there is even more uncertainty in market dynamics and a number of good projects and transactions. The fees are consequently following this trend, and we need to adapt. It would be unacceptable to lower the quality of our work, but rather the contrary. We also try to support our existing and potential clients in terms of the structure and level of our fees.
This article was originally published in Issue 12.3 of the CEE Legal Matters Magazine. If you would like to receive a hard copy of the magazine, you can subscribe here.
