Schoenherr is further strengthening its leadership ranks by appointing new partners and counsels across CEE, effective 1 February 2023. The promotion round builds up the partner ranks (four new partners, five new local partners) and strengthens the counsel level with two promotions. The new partners and counsels are experienced experts from various practice areas and Schoenherr offices.

This latest round of promotions underlines the firm's strategy of investing in its own people, building upon the next generation of Schoenherr lawyers.

"The newly promoted are internationally renowned experts with excellent track records," said Schoenherr's newly elected Managing Partner Alexander Popp. "But even more important is that they are great personalities, embodying what makes our Schoenherr people so extraordinary. They all are dedicated and always strive for what's best for our clients and their teams, and have proved that they are ready to further develop Schoenherr in their new positions. I see our firm as a 'people development company' and with this round of promotions we are sending a strong signal in this direction, both internally and externally."

Also, effective 1 February 2023, Schoenherr's newly elected Steering Committee will take office. It will consist of former member Alexander Popp, who assumes the role of new Managing Partner, taking over from Michael Lagler who led Schoenherr's consistent development over the past six years, as well as Gudrun Stangl, who will continue to serve as Schoenherr's Chief Operating Officer, and Schoenherr partners Matei Florea, Thomas Kulnigg and Franz Urlesberger.

Newly promoted partners

Klara Kiehl (Austria) – Klara Kiehl specialises in white-collar crime, compliance and compliance-related litigation. In the area of dispute resolution, she has a strong focus on corporate criminal liability, financial services as well as follow-on damage claims. In addition, she has designed and implemented internal compliance programmes and conducted internal investigations.

Clemens Rainer (Austria) – Specialising in real estate transactions, Clemens Rainer combines his legal know-how in real estate & construction law with his corporate/M&A experience. Together with the teams of the real estate & construction practice in Austria and CEE, he regularly advises on all real estate law issues in complex transactions.

Sascha Schulz (Austria) – Sascha Schulz is a corporate/M&A expert focusing on public M&A transactions and special situations in listed stock corporations. He frequently advises national and international clients on a broad range of complex corporate matters.

Marco Thorbauer (Austria) – With his broad experience in national and international tax law, Marco Thorbauer has played a significant role in the development and expansion of Schoenherr's tax practice over the last years. He advises international companies on tax structuring, transactions and tax proceedings.

Local Partners

Jelena Arsić (Serbia) – As a member of Schoenherr's banking & finance practice, Jelena Arsić focuses on project, real estate and acquisition finance mandates. She advises lenders and sponsors in energy and infrastructure projects in Serbia and Bosnia, and in various types of financings in the WB region. She is experienced in managing multijurisdictional mandates involving ex-Yu offices.

Jovan Barović (Serbia) – Jovan Barović specialises in corporate/M&A, banking & finance as well as capital markets mandates in Serbia, Montenegro and North Macedonia. He has significant experience in advising clients on complex M&A transactions. Additionally, he regularly advises clients regarding cross-border lending, derivatives and repo/reverse-repo transactions.

Tsvetan Krumov (Bulgaria) – Heading the banking & finance department at Schoenherr's Sofia office, Tsvetan Krumov has broad expertise on various regulatory matters with respect to banks and other financial institutions, drafting complex finance documents for major banks operating in Bulgaria. These include LMA-style credit facilities and LMA-style subscription agreements, ISDA-style master agreements and the accompanying collateral documentation, as well as GMRA/GMSLA-style agreements and other types of securities financing agreements.

László Krüpl (Hungary) – László Krüpl heads the real estate & construction practice in Budapest, with his main field of expertise in acquisitions (share and asset deals), all manner of greenfield investments (EPC) and lease negotiations. He has built up a strong real estate team in Hungary recognised by legal directories such as Chambers. In November 2022, László was named one of the top 10 real estate lawyers in Hungary.

Dušan Obradović (Serbia) – Specialised in banking & finance, Dušan Obradović has a wealth of experience in advising clients on cross-border and local financing mandates, including acquisition and leveraged finance, debt restructurings and re-financings. He also advises on a wide range of regulatory matters regarding banks and other financial institutions, and is highly involved in structured finance, netting, derivatives, securitisation and capital market transactions.

Counsels

Peter Devínsky (Slovakia) – Peter Devínsky advises clients in various industries on all legal aspects of labour & employment law, including restructuring and transactions, collective bargaining, compensation & benefits, occupational health and safety and international employment law. His secondary focus is on food law.

Philipp Wetter (Austria) – Philipp Wetter represents Austrian and international corporations and commercial banks, advising them on all aspects of out-of-court and in-court restructurings, (international) insolvency law, (re-) financings and creditor protection as well as distressed M&A transactions. In addition, he has extensive experience on resolutions of credit institutions and wind-down planning according to the BRRD. He also specialises in competition follow-on claims and financial litigation, representing numerous banks and corporates before Austrian civil courts.

press release | 01.02.2023