First, can you please give us an idea of the sort of work your team has done recently? 

We legally manage – to a large extent, in-house – an office portfolio and office developments worth about €6bn, located in Austria, Germany, CEE and SEE (Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Serbia). We have conducted sell and buy-side real estate transactions in the last couple of years, valued at over €3bn, and exited several markets like Ukraina and Russia.  

It is also worth mentioning that the sale of our Romanian properties and management company was the largest real estate transaction ever in Romania, as well as the largest investment ever made by a 100% Romanian company.  

In terms of litigation, we are currently pursuing claims for compensation of damages of €1.9bn against the Republic of Austria and Land Kärnten (Buwog case), which, according to our research, are the largest ever civil actions pending at an ordinary Austrian court.  

How does your legal strategy change during periods of instability or uncertainty? 

The focus shifts to being even more proactive and forward-looking, and carrying out an ongoing observation of the rapidly changing environments.  

Do you make use of any ‘legal tech’ products, and if so, for which areas of your job do you find it most useful? 

We have solutions for research, contract management and others.