In The Spotlight
After a year of political deadlock, Kosovo is entering a more active legislative phase with a new government and more than 170 laws planned for 2026, according to Vokshi & Lata Partner Urim Vokshi. At the same time, strong activity in tourism, renewable energy, and digital services highlights continued business growth.
After a year of political deadlock, Kosovo is entering a more active legislative phase with a new government and more than 170 laws planned for 2026, according to Vokshi & Lata Partner Urim Vokshi. At the same time, strong activity in tourism, renewable energy, and digital services highlights continued business growth.
Bulgaria has entered 2026 with a rare mix of milestones and volatility, as Eurozone accession coincides with political turnover and heightened public scrutiny of institutions, according to Kinstellar Partner Diana Dimova, who says that despite the uncertainty, the business environment remains broadly resilient.
Against a challenging geopolitical backdrop, renewed foreign investor interest, sectoral resilience, and emerging structural deal drivers have combined to put Estonia and the wider Baltics firmly back on the M&A map, according to Sorainen Partner Toomas Prangli, who notes that, after a subdued period, the Baltic transactional market has staged a clear and confidence-driven rebound.
With several major compliance deadlines and regulatory reforms converging, the Czech legal market is entering a critical period, according to Havel & Partners Partner Milan Sivy. Noting the intensive onset and implementation of AI across the legal and business landscape, Sivy flags pay transparency, beneficial-ownership access, cybersecurity, asset recovery, and building act reform as the key issues on the radar.
Montenegro has entered a legislative sprint, with EU accession deadlines pushing Parliament into overdrive and turning regulatory alignment into a day-to-day market force, according to BDK Advokati Senior Partner Luka Popovic.
Croatia's legal market remains structurally fragmented, pointing to the need for greater national consolidation, while firms are separately facing a shrinking pool of high-quality junior talent, even as steady M&A activity and energy and state-driven infrastructure projects continue to sustain demand within a broadly stable regulatory environment, according to Wahl Partner Ivan Luetic.
CMS Partners Horea Popescu and Alexander Rakosi unpack a standout year for CEE M&A, as the region posted a record number of deals and a sharp rise in aggregate values despite a muted start to 2025 amid overall geopolitical headwinds.
Act Legal Partner Roman Hager discusses Banking and Finance in Austria in the year past and the one ahead.
Lakatos, Koves and Partners Partner John Fenemore discusses Banking and Finance in Hungary in the year past and the one ahead.
Law Office Lazarov Attorney-at-Law Anja Jovanoska discusses Banking and Finance in North Macedonia in the year past and the one ahead.
ZSP Advokati Partner Jelisaveta Stanisic and Senior Associate Tijana Trivunovic discuss Banking and Finance in Serbia in the year past and the one ahead.
BLB Legal Managing Partner and Head of Competition Adam Liber discusses Competition in Hungary in the year past and the one ahead.
On January 16, 2025, competition experts from Moldova, North Macedonia, and Romania, sat down for a virtual round table moderated by CEE Legal Matters Managing Editor Radu Cotarcea to discuss the evolving role of the regulatory authorities in their countries.
On November 14, 2024, banking and finance experts from Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, and Poland sat down for a virtual round table moderated by CEE Legal Matters Managing Editor Radu Cotarcea to discuss digitalization and the impact of tech on the banking sector in CEE.
On November 7, 2024, M&A experts from Austria, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Moldova, Romania, and Ukraine participated in a virtual round table moderated by CEE Legal Matters Managing Editor Radu Cotarcea to discuss the FDI screening regimes in their country and key developments in the area on the horizon.
On February 29, 2024, energy experts from Bulgaria, Croatia, Moldova, Turkiye, and Ukraine sat down for a virtual round table moderated by CEE Legal Matters Managing Editor Radu Cotarcea to discuss the key developments in the field of oil & gas over the past few years.
On March 26, 2024, TMT/IP, fintech, and emerging technology experts from Hungary, Romania, and Turkiye sat down for a virtual round table moderated by CEE Legal Matters Managing Editor Radu Neag to discuss how Blockchain-related technologies, businesses, and legislation are shaping up in their jurisdictions.
On November 21, 2023, corporate/M&A and private equity experts from Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Kosovo, Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Turkiye, and Ukraine sat down for a virtual round table moderated by CEE Legal Matters Managing Editor Radu Cotarcea to discuss the key developments in the field over the past decade.
Last week, CEE Legal Matters’ sister publication CEE In-House Matters published an insightful piece on what general counsel are looking for in law firms. It lists seven criteria that keep coming up in conversations with in-house professionals.
CEE did not wake up one morning and decide it suddenly hates “marketing.” But it surely decided it hates noise. And the region is right to do so (we’re focusing on the CEE region here, but this is a universal truth across geographies), because the public internet has become a low-trust environment by design and people browse accordingly.
In high-stakes discussions, your chair is more than furniture—it's a tactical decision. Understanding the psychology of seating can give you and your client a critical first advantage.
Legal directories present themselves as neutral arbiters of professional merit. Through structured submissions, peer reviews, and client references, they promise a transparent hierarchy of legal excellence. Yet for many practices in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), rankings often feel misaligned with observable quality.
Law firms can claim to be next-gen, world-class, or strategic until the cows come home. None of it matters if clarity and proof are nowhere to be found.
Picture this: a desert highway, a coyote clutching a subpoena, and a roadrunner attorney zooming past, muttering “Beep Beep, see you in court.” Welcome to the uncanny overlap between client-lawyer dynamics and Looney Tunes logic, where legal ethics and Wile E. Coyote’s antics collide.
After a year of political deadlock, Kosovo is entering a more active legislative phase with a new government and more than 170 laws planned for 2026, according to Vokshi & Lata Partner Urim Vokshi. At the same time, strong activity in tourism, renewable energy, and digital services highlights continued business growth.
Bulgaria has entered 2026 with a rare mix of milestones and volatility, as Eurozone accession coincides with political turnover and heightened public scrutiny of institutions, according to Kinstellar Partner Diana Dimova, who says that despite the uncertainty, the business environment remains broadly resilient.
Last week, CEE Legal Matters’ sister publication CEE In-House Matters published an insightful piece on what general counsel are looking for in law firms. It lists seven criteria that keep coming up in conversations with in-house professionals.
CMS Partners Horea Popescu and Alexander Rakosi unpack a standout year for CEE M&A, as the region posted a record number of deals and a sharp rise in aggregate values despite a muted start to 2025 amid overall geopolitical headwinds.
Act Legal Partner Roman Hager discusses Banking and Finance in Austria in the year past and the one ahead.
Lakatos, Koves and Partners Partner John Fenemore discusses Banking and Finance in Hungary in the year past and the one ahead.