International law firm Bird & Bird will welcome two partners, three senior counsel and a team of 15 lawyers to the firm’s Budapest office on 1 February, providing a significant and strategic boost to the firm's Hungarian offering.
Partners David Dederick and Konrád Siegler, together with their team from Weil, Gotshal & Manges, will be combining with the existing Bird & Bird team in Hungary to form a practice able to offer clients significantly broader and deeper advice than either of the two practices individually. The new Bird & Bird operation will continue to work closely with Weil, Gotshal & Manges to assist their global clients. Weil, Gotshal & Manges will close their Budapest office on 1 February 2018 but will have ongoing cooperation with the new combined Bird & Bird team.
David Dederick has been practising in Central and Eastern Europe for more than 25 years, specialising in cross-border M&A, private equity and real estate matters. The current Managing Partner of Weil, Gotshal & Manges’ Budapest office, David joins Bird & Bird as Co-Head of Budapest, alongside existing head, Peter Knight. David has been consistently ranked and recognised as a leading lawyer by Chambers and Partners, Legal 500 and IFLR 1000. His clients fall predominantly into the Tech & Comms, Energy & Utilities, and Life Sciences & Healthcare sectors.
Konrád Siegler has also been practising for more than 25 years. He specialises in banking & finance and capital markets transactions, and also has considerable experience in M&A, privatisations, bankruptcy & restructuring matters and general corporate and commercial law. He has represented Hungarian and international banks (as well as other borrowers) in numerous project finance and syndicated lending transactions. He has also advised on regulatory matters in connection with several bank sale, purchase and merger transactions. He is regularly ranked as one of Hungary’s leading banking and capital markets lawyers.
Joining with David and Konrád is a team of three senior counsel who are strongly recognised in the market: Pál Szabó and Ferenc Mátrai (both corporate) and László Nanyista (dispute resolution). They join Bird & Bird Counsel Bálint Halász. With a team of 15 additional lawyers joining (ten associates and five trainees), the new combined Bird & Bird team will total 29 lawyers, representing one of the most significant developments in the local legal market.
Since opening 10 years ago, the Bird & Bird Budapest office has had strong expertise in Intellectual Property, Tech & Comms, Dispute Resolution and Data Protection matters, which will complement the new team's market leading expertise in Corporate, Commercial, Dispute Resolution, Regulatory and Finance work, with key clients in the Energy, Banking & Finance, Telecom and Media sectors. The combination will also create a strong presence in the sports sector and real estate market. This will enable Bird & Bird to offer a far broader range of services to its existing clients in Hungary, and in the wider Central and Eastern European region.
Peter Knight, International Head of Dispute Resolution and Co-Head of Bird & Bird Budapest, says:
"The appointment of David Dederick, Konrád Siegler and their team will significantly increase Bird & Bird’s presence in the Hungarian market and our clients will benefit vastly from the far wider range of services we are now able to offer them. These appointments will allow the combined team to provide deeper and more extensive services across multiple sectors. Strengthening our office in Budapest will benefit our regional strategy within Central and Eastern Europe. We are very excited to welcome our new colleagues, and we will work together to ensure the new combined larger team goes from strength to strength."
David Dederick, newly appointed Co-Head of Bird & Bird Budapest, says:
"I am very excited to join the Bird & Bird team in February. The firm’s international footprint, truly deep sector expertise and the sense of collaboration across their 29 international offices is what struck us as being so appealing. We are particularly impressed with the firm's focus on technology, both as a sector and in client service. We look forward to working with our new colleagues in Budapest and around the world to increase the opportunities and services available to clients based in Hungary and the Central and Eastern European region."
Konrád Siegler adds:
"We see this as a highly beneficial move for both teams – our practices are complementary and we look forward to working together and building a strong team. I am convinced that Bird & Bird is an excellent firm to continue our professional career."
