Category: News

A new promotion round saw 62 lawyers become Partners at CMS – spanning 25 cities across the UK, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America – including Arno Zimmermann, Hans Lederer, and Klaus Pateter in Vienna, Alicja Zalewska-Orabona in Warsaw, and Mihai Jiganie-Serban in Bucharest.

A corporate and M&A, litigation, and arbitration specialist, Zimmermann joined CMS in 2013. Earlier, he had spent two years with the Vienna office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.

Lederer, an expert in intellectual property, technology, media & telecoms, and commercial law, joined CMS as an Associate in 2009. He became a Senior Associate in 2014 and, finally, a Counsel in 2018, before making Partner this year.

Pateter, a technology, media & telecoms, commercial, and start-up legal expert, joined CMS in 2018 as an Associate and became an Attorney at Law in 2019. Before becoming a part of CMS, he spent three and a half years as an Associate with Held Berdnik Astner & Partner.

Warsaw-based former Counsel Zalewska-Orabona is an intellectual property and trademark expert. She has been with CMS since 2019 when she joined as a Senior Associate. Before that, she spent over three years with Baker McKenzie as an Associate and, earlier, over two years with the European Union Intellectual Property Office between 2014 and 2016.

Jiganie-Serban, a former Senior Counsel, is a Bucharest-based dispute resolution and white-collar crime specialist. He has been with CMS for over three years, having joined in 2020 as Head of the firm’s Criminal Defense practice. Before that, he spent 15 years with Serban & Asociatii.

“Congratulations to our new Partners,” CMS Chairman Pierre-Sebastien Thill commented. “At CMS, it is very important to us that we recognize individual contributions and performance; and give everyone the opportunity to use their talents and fulfill their potential. While taking on the responsibilities of a Partner during these challenging times is not an easy task, I know that our new Partners have the necessary depth of knowledge to anticipate our clients’ challenges and the experience to meet them in innovative and sector-shaping ways.”

Editor’s Note: This article was updated on May 3, 2023, to remove three names from the CMS Partner promotion list, at the firm’s request.

Taylor Wessing Counsel Tugce Yalcin – who joined the firm in March 2023 from DLA Piper – will head the firm’s newly established CEE Turkish Desk in Vienna.

According to Taylor Wessing, Yalcin “advises her clients in her native languages German, English, and Turkish. As a dual-qualified lawyer, Attorney at Law in Austria, and Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales, Tugce is a Counsel in the Corporate/M&A practice group and has ten years of experience.”

Prior to joining Taylor Wessing, Yalcin spent six and a half years with DLA Piper. Before that, she spent eight months as an Associate with Harrer & Harrer and, earlier still, nine months as an Associate with Raits Bleiziffer.

“Economically, the CEE region offers enormous potential for Turkish companies and vice versa,” said Yalcin. “Our mission and strength are to provide these companies with first-class lawyers who are not only experts in their field of law, but also know the market very well.”

The Bosnia & Herzegovina-based law firm Ibrahimovic & Co has launched its dedicated Turkish Desk with the addition of Feyza Gerger Erdal, who will head the new department. 

According to Ibrahimovic & Co, “the Department for Business with Turkey is headed by lawyer and team member Feyza Gerger Erdal, founder of the Istanbul-based Erdal Law office, which has experience in corporate law, mediation, and labor law.”

Erdal, who has been at the helm of the Erdal Law office since 2014, has previously spent almost seven years with the Gur Law Firm, starting as an Associate in 2007 and making Partner in 2014.

Austria-based Helml Rechtsanwaelte has become part of Los Angeles-based Aliant Law.

According to Aliant Law, its Austrian affiliate law firm has, since 2014, “been advising its clients regionally from two Austrian offices and is now also globally networked with lawyers in over 20 countries in Aliant Law.” Aliant Austria is managed by two Managing Partners, Friedrich Helml and Julia Helml.

Friedrich Helml has been at the helm of Helml Rechtsanwaelte since 2014. Before that, he spent over three years as Attorney at Law with SCWP Schindhelm.

Julia Helml has been with Helml Rechtsanwaelte since 2021. Prior to that, she spent over six years with Schoenherr, between 2015 and 2021, and over three years with SCWP Schindhelm, between 2012 and 2015.

“We have a strong first decade almost behind us,” said Aliant Austria Founder and one of the Managing Partners Friedrich Helml. “Now we are finally leaving the founding phase behind us and can now serve our clients in more than 20 locations worldwide. Due to the cross-disciplinary orientation, we also benefit greatly from the internationally available know-how in the firm, which has already been evident in the first weeks of being part of Aliant in national and international cases.”

“Since our founding in 2015, we’ve grown to provide services around the world to clients ranging from startups to global giants,” added Aliant Law Chairman Jacob Stein. “The addition of operations in Austria meets the needs of many of our clients who have legal needs here. This combination represents Aliant’s 20th member firm, bringing the total number of attorneys practicing under Aliant to 200 worldwide.”

Aliant Law is also present in other CEE countries, including Hungary, Lithuania, and Poland.