The Chambers Europe Awards for Excellence honour outstanding law firms in Europe, reflecting preeminence and notable achievements over the past 12 months, including outstanding work, strategic growth and excellence in client service. Client service awards recognise the most responsive, accessible and dedicated law firm and are based on outstanding client feedback received by Chambers & Partners in the market research they conduct.

Jason Mogg, Kinstellar's firm-wide Managing Partner, comments: "We are delighted that our team has received this recognition, especially because it is directly based on client feedback. We strive, more than anything else, to provide outstanding client service. We are very pleased that our success in achieving this is being recognised by clients."

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The distinguished British legal publisher Chambers & Partners have been publishing their world-famous legal directories since 1990. These directories are widely respected for in-depth, unbiased research conducted by a team of highly qualified and experienced researchers and serve as primary guidance when selecting local counsel. In addition to publishing guides, Chambers & Partners host major award ceremonies on an annual basis to honour the achievements of the world's leading lawyers.

www.chambersandpartners.com

Kinstellar is Emerging Europe's leading independent law firm, with offices in Belgrade, Bratislava, Bucharest, Budapest, Istanbul and Prague.

www.kinstellar.com

For further information please contact Adela Ene on +40 21 307 1639 or at adela.ene@kinstellar.com.

APRL is the largest organisation of lawyers in the U.S. primarily representing other lawyers in disciplinary proceedings. The non-profit organisation was founded more than two decades ago and is composed of lawyers who represent and advise lawyers and law firms on ethics and professional responsibility, risk management, legal malpractice and the law of lawyering.

http://www.aprl.net

Kinstellar is Emerging Europe’s leading regional law firm, with offices in Belgrade, Bratislava, Bucharest, Budapest, Istanbul and Prague.

www.kinstellar.com

Lukáš Ševčík, managing partner of Kinstellar’s Prague office, explains that, “the new code will have a huge ­effect both on the legal practice and businesses. It will introduce concepts formerly unknown in Czech law, significantly strengthening the principle of contractual freedom and reducing the number of cases where agreements are deemed invalid. Even though the practical changes won’t kick in until 2014, it’s already affecting everyone in the legal arena.’”

Other recent changes include an amendment to Czech public procurement law, which aims at making the process of public tenders more transparent. This is expected to make it easier for local law firms to participate in public tenders (previously, many local firms shied away from public procurements because of concerns over the lack of transparency). The new Act on the Criminal Liability of Companies—which makes legal entities liable for specific crimes, including economic crime, property theft and bribery—could also lead to new instructions for local firms, based on how the courts handle the first test cases.

The award recognises that Kinstellar has acted on the largest and most innovative transactions in Hungary over the past year, including several of the largest and most complex M&A transactions, two of the largest ongoing gas-fired power plant development projects, the largest debt offering and the largest shopping mall development.

Csilla Andrékó, Managing Partner of Kinstellar’s practice in Hungary, comments: “This is the third time our team in Hungary has received this country award from IFLR during the 13 years of its existence. We received this award twice as part of Linklaters (in 2003 and 2008). As this accolade also reassures, our team has been as strong as ever since 1 November 2008 when we launched our regional, independent firm Kinstellar. I am proud of our high-quality team and our achievements demonstrating our long-standing commitment to excellence. We continue to invest heavily in people by bringing in and developing the most talented lawyers in Hungary and across Emerging Europe.”

Jason Mogg, Kinstellar’s firm-wide Managing Partner, comments: “We are delighted that our team in Hungary receives this recognition again. We are proud of our ability, across the whole Emerging Europe region, to provide advice and assistance to clients to a global standard.”

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International Financial Law Review (IFLR) is a market-leading subscription for lawyers specialising in international finance in banks, corporates and in the private practice. The IFLR European Awards have been running for 13 years. The awards are given in each European country on an annual basis to firms that handle the most complex and innovative transactions and are based on analysis of performance, client feedback and peer review.

www.iflr.com

Kinstellar is Emerging Europe’s leading regional law firm, with offices in Belgrade, Bratislava, Bucharest, Budapest, Istanbul and Prague.

www.kinstellar.com

For further information please contact Kinga Ratz on +36-1-428-4427 or at kinga.ratz@kinstellar.com.

Daniel Torsher, Managing Partner of Kinstellar’s Bucharest office, gave a presentation on anti-bribery initiatives across the Emerging Europe / CEE region.

Jitka Logesová, Partner and head of Kinstellar’s firm-wide Compliance, Risk & Sensitive Investigations practice, and Hana Gawlasová, Partner and head of the firm-wide Telecoms, Media & Technology practice, gave a joint presentation on the key legal issues encountered during internal investigations in CEE countries.

The conference was co-hosted by Control Risks, a global risk consultancy company. Speakers included Peter Eigen, founder of Transparency International, as well as general counsel from T-Mobile in the Czech Republic and Saint-Gobain in Germany.

Anti-corruption issues are rising to the top of government and corporate agendas across Emerging Europe. Compliance with new local laws, EU rules and foreign legislation with cross-border implications, such as the UK Bribery Act and US Act on Foreign Corrupt Practices, has become increasingly important.

Kinstellar is the only independent law firm in Emerging Europe with a dedicated regional Compliance, Risk & Sensitive Investigations (CRSI) practice. We have multi-jurisdictional and cross-disciplinary capabilities to handle complex internal investigations and sensitive white-collar crime cases.

http://www.kinstellar.com/practices/compliance-risk-sensitiveinvestigations/

For more information about Kinstellar’s CRSI practice, contact:

Jitka Logesová
Partner
Head of Compliance, Risk & Sensitive Investigations
+420 221 622 111
+420 221 622 199
jitka.logesova@kinstellar.com

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Kinstellar is Emerging Europe’s leading regional law firm, with offices in Belgrade, Bratislava, Bucharest, Budapest, Istanbul and Prague.

www.kinstellar.com

­For further information, please contact Kinga Ratz on +36-1-428-4427 or at kinga.ratz@kinstellar.com.

Other speakers included the mayor of Prague, Bohuslav Svoboda; Norman Eisen, the US ambassador to the Czech Republic; and Rudolf Jindrak, the German ambassador to the Czech Republic.

Anti-corruption issues are rising to the top of government and corporate agendas across Emerging Europe. Compliance with new local laws, EU rules and foreign legislation with cross-border implications, such as the UK Bribery Act and US Act on Foreign Corrupt Practices, has become increasingly important.

Kinstellar is the only independent law firm in Emerging Europe with a dedicated regional Compliance, Risk & Sensitive Investigations (CRSI) practice. We have multi-jurisdictional and cross-disciplinary capabilities to handle complex internal investigations and sensitive white-collar crime cases.

http://www.kinstellar.com/practices/compliance-risk-sensitiveinvestigations/

For more information about Kinstellar’s CRSI practice, contact:

Jitka Logesová
Partner
Head of Compliance, Risk & Sensitive Investigations
+420 221 622 111
+420 221 622 199
jitka.logesova@kinstellar.com

–

Kinstellar is Emerging Europe’s leading regional law firm, with offices in Belgrade, Bratislava, Bucharest, Budapest, Istanbul and Prague.

www.kinstellar.com

­For further information, please contact Jan Pošvař on +420 221 622 144 or at

jan.posvar@kinstellar.com

The focus of the seminar was the impact of new anti-corruption legislation on the financial services industry in the Czech Republic. Topics of discussion included new Czech legislation regarding anti-corruption and changes to the Czech Labour Code and Commercial Code.

Anti-corruption issues are rising to the top of government and corporate agendas across Emerging Europe. Compliance with new local laws, EU rules and foreign legislation with cross-border implications, such as the UK Bribery Act and US Act on Foreign Corrupt Practices, has become increasingly important.

Kinstellar is the only independent law firm in Emerging Europe with a dedicated regional Compliance, Risk & Sensitive Investigations (CRSI) practice. We have multi-jurisdictional and cross-disciplinary capabilities to handle complex internal investigations and sensitive white-collar crime cases.

http://www.kinstellar.com/practices/compliance-risk-sensitiveinvestigations/

For more information about Kinstellar’s CRSI practice, contact:

Jitka Logesová
Partner
Head of Compliance, Risk & Sensitive Investigations
+420 221 622 111
+420 221 622 199
jitka.logesova@kinstellar.com

–

Kinstellar is Emerging Europe’s leading regional law firm, with offices in Belgrade, Bratislava, Bucharest, Budapest, Istanbul and Prague.

www.kinstellar.com

­For further information, please contact Jan Pošvař on +420 221 622 144 or at

jan.posvar@kinstellar.com

Jitka Logesová, Partner and head of Kinstellar’s firm-wide Compliance, Risk & Sensitive Investigations practice, and Bogdan Bibicu, Partner and head of the Banking, Finance & Capital Markets practice in Kinstellar’s Bucharest office, made a joint presentation on the impact of international anti-corruption legislation and enforcement in CEE.

Other participants included representatives from leading multinationals such as BAE Systems, Dow Corning and IBM, as well as lawyers from leading international firms such as Linklaters and CMS Cameron McKenna.

Anti-corruption issues are rising to the top of government and corporate agendas across Emerging Europe. Compliance with new local laws, EU rules and foreign legislation with cross-border implications, such as the UK Bribery Act and US Act on Foreign Corrupt Practices, has become increasingly important.

Kinstellar is the only independent law firm in Emerging Europe with a dedicated regional Compliance, Risk & Sensitive Investigations (CRSI) practice. We have multi-jurisdictional and cross-disciplinary capabilities to handle complex internal investigations and sensitive white-collar crime cases.

http://www.kinstellar.com/practices/compliance-risk-sensitiveinvestigations/

For more information about Kinstellar’s CRSI practice, contact:

Jitka Logesová
Partner
Head of Compliance, Risk & Sensitive Investigations
+420 221 622 111
+420 221 622 199
jitka.logesova@kinstellar.com

–

Kinstellar is Emerging Europe’s leading regional law firm, with offices in Belgrade, Bratislava, Bucharest, Budapest, Istanbul and Prague.

www.kinstellar.com

­For further information, please contact Jan Pošvař on +420 221 622 144 or at

jan.posvar@kinstellar.com

However, contrary to common belief, the USA PATRIOT Act is not in itself a vehicle used by the US government to access customer data. Rather, it is intended to unify in a single piece of legislation the various pre-existing (and, it has to be said, rather patchy) federal statutes authorising the US government to monitor electronic communications and to access electronic data for investigative purposes.

The USA PATRIOT Act allows the US security services general access to various records and registers and types of electronic communications., and permits them to seize electronic data. These powers relate not only to data stored in the US – the US security agencies can also demand that companies operating in the US provide access to data that is stored by them anywhere else in the world.

Even so, the powers granted to the government by the USA PATRIOT Act are limited to national security purposes (i.e. to tackle terrorism and the financing of terrorism). Moreover, there is nothing new when it comes to the territorial reach of the USA PATRIOT Act. Long before it was enacted, companies with a corporate presence in the US were obliged to disclose information upon a valid demand made by the US authorities regardless of the actual location of the data recording such information.

In point of fact, the national security or criminal procedure acts of several European countries provide their own respective national authorities with the same investigative tools as those included in the USA PATRIOT Act. And actually, quite a few examples of surveillance procedures under Hungarian law are similar to those set out in the USA PATRIOT Act (such as those included in Act CXXV of 1995 on National Security Services, or Act XIX of 1998 on Criminal Procedure – these laws also provide for covert means of surveillance).

Where justified, any communications data may be accessed by government authorities, whether in the US or in an EU Member State. Nevertheless, EU-based companies may still be reluctant to use cloud service providers that have a presence in the US simply because access to their customers’ data falls within the jurisdictional reach of the US authorities – notwithstanding the fact that the terms and conditions regulating such access are substantially similar to those of the country in which they actually operate.

The Turkish economy is one of the world’s fastest growing. Despite concerns over rising inflation, a widening current account deficit, and the weakening Turkish lira, international law firms are increasingly setting up operations in Turkey, seeking a “piece of the pie.” In 2011 several international law firms entered Turkey, drawn by their clients and growing business opportunities. As Charles Dunn, Managing Partner at Kinstellar’s Istanbul office explains, most leading Turkish firms are being courted by large international firms seeking to form alliances, as Turkish bar regulations require foreign law firms to team up with local lawyers if they want to provide Turkish law advice. The influx of international law firms to Turkey is a new phenomenon and reflects not only growing interest among foreign investors in Turkey, but also the increasing investment activity of Turkish companies abroad. Although the European Union is still Turkey largest trading partner, the country is successfully expanding its trade links to other parts of the world, notably the Middle East (particularly the Gulf States) and with Russia (largely in the energy sphere). As the Turkish economy continues to grow and diversify, the expectation is that Turkey’s legal market will continue to develop rapidly.

Adam Hodon, a Slovak qualified lawyer and tax expert, has been with Linklaters and Kinstellar since 2001 and has been instrumental in the development of our office in Slovakia. Adam focuses on tax and has also a wide range of experience on corporate matters including public and private M&A transactions.

Hana Gawlasová, a Czech qualified lawyer, has been with Kinstellar since 1999 and heads the firm’s Telecoms, Media and Technology practice. She has considerable experience on corporate M&A, TMT / data protection related transactions.

Onur Taktak, a Turkish qualified lawyer, joined Kinstellar in 2010 and had a key contribution to the establishing and development of our Turkish practice. Before joining Kinstellar he was in-house legal counsel at Yapı Kredi. Onur focuses on banking & finance, energy, real estate and restructuring & insolvency transactions.

In addition, as a result of this year's promotions process, the following people have been promoted to Counsel. Counsel status recognises the major contribution made by senior lawyers with significant technical expertise who take on additional practice, client, know-how or team management responsibilities, alongside partners in their groups.

Éva Bognár, a Hungarian qualified lawyer, has been with Linklaters and further with Kinstellar since 2006. Éva has extensive expertise in cross-border transactions, joint ventures, M&A and restructuring schemes, wide range of employment issues, commercial contracts general company law.

Martina Březinová, a Czech qualified lawyer, has been with Kinstellar since 2008 and heads the banking, finance and capital markets practice our Prague office. She specialises in banking and structured finance, including acquisition and project finance, trade finance, and banking and capital market regulation.

Roman Oleksik, a Slovak qualified lawyer, has been with Kinstellar since 2006. Roman has a broad experience in corporate, competition, dispute resolution and real estate transactions.

Jason Mogg, firm Managing Partner, comments:

“All new partners and counsels each have excellent experience and are well respected professionals in their markets. They have played a key role throughout their entire careers in helping to bring the firm to the premium position it occupies in today's market These promotions reflect not just the huge effort and performance of these people in the recent past, nor in 2011, but many years of study, training, dedication and plain, old-fashioned, hard work. This is recognition of their importance to the firm and, more importantly, to the role they will play in building the firm’s future.”

The book provides corporate counsel and international practitioners with a comprehensive analysis of the laws and regulations of private client work worldwide.

The article on Slovak taxation covers in-depth key areas of the law and best practice, including tax planning, tax residency, the general tax regime, and taxation on inward investment. The article also covers areas such succession planning, trusts and foundations, immigration issues and tax treaties.

Nick had seen plenty of different managerial styles at Linklaters by the time his own turn came. “I probably absorbed quite a lot subconsciously about what I thought people had got right and what I was sure that they hadn’t!” he says. “Clearly, you have to understand the business of law in terms of the financial drivers and from a strategic point of view, but I also think that to be fully effective you need to have won your spurs as a practitioner and understand the practice of law. That is why I don’t agree with the new vogue for non-lawyers coming in and managing law firms. I don’t think that management from a handbook makes one an effective manager in or of a law firm – you need to earn the respect of your colleagues, bring them with you and persuade them that you understand what you’re doing.”

In the 1990s and the early part of the 21^st century, Central and Eastern Europe loomed large on the agenda of most big international law firms. Since those heady days, attention has shifted to the emerging markets of Asia, the Middle East and Latin America and, with the exception of Moscow, a number of firms have departed the scene altogether. Nick is unsurprised by the phenomenon. “Ten to 15 years ago, a number of people thought that law firms were going the same way as the accountancy firms and would be planting flags in all sorts of different jurisdictions,” he explains. “A lot went into the region with the first wave of privatisations, but major investment did not flood in after that quite to the extent that they had expected. By the time the downturn started, too many firms were chasing too little work, and you have to remember that these are mostly small countries where it’s hard to sustain London-style, equity partnership, full service practices. As much larger countries, Poland and Turkey would be exceptions, but anyone who thought that Central and Eastern Europe would in any way be equivalent to China, in terms of work levels and fee generation, was quite mistaken.”

At the end of 2009, and after more than 20 years as a partner, Nick retired from Linklaters. Shortly after, he joined his old friends at Kinstellar, which had spun off as an independent firm from Linklaters’ offices in Bratislava, Bucharest, Budapest and Prague a year earlier. “I’m a consultant at Kinstellar, which, in practice, largely means attending relationship meetings, doing a lot of networking and generally spreading the word,” he says. “It’s a determinedly regional firm practising law in an “international” style, by which I mean that it practises local law, not US or UK law, and therefore does not compete with the vast majority of international firms (most notably Linklaters!), which have no presence in their region. They’re pragmatic, proactive and solutions-driven, and their eminently achievable goal is to become the leading firm for local law across Central and South East Europe, which is why the firm has opened both in Belgrade and Istanbul recently and will look at other countries like Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia and Albania and perhaps even the Baltic States. The Linklaters legacy gives the firm a major advantage with clients, who see this as a given badge of quality, and the firm’s unique pan-regional local law focus means that it is ahead of the game compared with its non-international competitors.”

Nick’s role at Kinstellar is just one of a portfolio of interests that gives the lie to his jovial assertion that he is “semi-retired”. “I’m the vice-chair of the Securities Law Committee at the International Bar Association, a role that is very useful for networking for Kinstellar,” Nick begins. “When there’s an IBA conference, there are up to 5,000 lawyers in one place, most of them from independent law firms all looking to build relationships with potential referral law firm partners. I’m also the Chief Advisor, City law firms, to the Solicitors Regulation Authority and do a bit of advisory work for the headhunters, SR Search, part of the SR Group (as is Taylor Root) and a small West End law firm, SpringLaw. Beyond the City and the world of law, I’m on the Board at Benchmark Sports International (among many things, BSI does the annual Square Mile run in the City) and I have my pro bono commitments – I’m a Governor and Chair of the Finance Committee at the University of Greenwich, where I live, and I’m on the Development Board of the charity, Motivation and 1975 Year Rep for my old college, Trinity Hall.”

Semi-retired, indeed. What is the difference between being semi-retired and the old working life at Linklaters, then? “I no longer receive 200 e-mails a day, I control my own diary and I don’t have to deal with office politics or take any nonsense from investment bankers!” Nick replies promptly. “Just to give you an example, my diary is clear between the 16^th December this year and the 9^th January next year, and that’s the way it will stay. At the moment, I’ve still got teenage children kicking around the house, so I’m not looking much beyond the next five years when I think about what I might do in the future. I’m reasonably energetic, so I can’t see myself doing nothing; I might have to start playing golf with my 90 year-old father by then!”

The China Investment Forum is a platform that actively supports economic cooperation and investment between the CEE region and the People’s Republic of China. It provides current information on new opportunities and the business environment in today’s China, supports Chinese investors in Europe, and at the same time supports exporters to China. Kamil Blažek gave a speech on the necessity of increasing European exports to China and strengthening mutual cooperation.

The China Investment Forum is organised under the auspices of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, with the official support of the European Union delegation to China and the Ministry of Trade of the People’s Republic of China. The forum was organised mainly with the support of international corporations including Škoda/Volkswagen, PPF and Bank of China.

Kamil Blažek stated: “The main cause of the increase in trading and foreign direct investments from China into the CEE region and especially into China is consistent and intense support from government and other public institutions for commercial relations with China, including visa policy, export support and highlighting positive examples. The Association for Foreign Investment is going to be intensively involved in all of these activities.”