Dr. Simon László

Bemutatkozás:
INTRODUCTION

The Law Office # 12 was established by three legal counsels in Budapest in 1983. With the enactment of the new comprehensive legislation re-regulating the legal profession and allowing private law firms to operate in Hungary the operation field of the firm and number of the lawyers expanded to a peak of 16 partners by October, 1991. The firm was restructuring as Simon, Bűrös & Partners in February 1993, and recently again as Simon & Petz.

In addition to a sizeable paralegal and clerical staff, the firm currently has two partners
- Dr. László PETZ
- Dr. László SIMON
at one office based in Budapest.

On the average, the partners have fifteen years of experience in the legal profession and ten years with the firm. Beside the Hungarian language, the partners are working in English and German languages.

The attorneys have a broad range of in-depth experience and expertise in handling legal matters related to a wide variety of business transactions as well as administrative procedures and litigation. Although the firm may be deemed a small one in international terms, it can optimally combine the skills and knowledge of lawyers specializing in delicate segments of the profession.

The firm has a proven track record in providing representation to a multitude of clients, Hungarian and foreign nationals, private and legal persons, and advise them on possible course of actions. Such representation work is carefully balanced between an ad hoc and permanent basis and cover dealing with government departments and other agencies, courts and other parties involved in complex contractual relationships.

Our firm have helped, right from the beginning in 1983, foreign investors, including foreign venture capital companies, in their investments in Hungary, acquiring participating interest in promising startup companies and establishing their local presence through the formation of Hungarian subsidiaries or joint venture companies and assisted them in incorporation issues, acquiring the necessary licenses and permits to conduct their businesses.

Simon & Petz has outstanding experience in the following areas:
- copyright issues and licensing
- corporate law, including M&A transactions
- commercial contracting, including foreign trade transactions and EPC deals
- litigation, including arbitration and mediation
- public procurement
- real-estate transactions
- telecommunication.

Copyright issues and licensing:

One of our partners has been providing legal services for more than ten years for an internationally recognized Hungarian group developing and marketing certain security features, software, equipment and technology used in design, personalization and production of sensitive documents like passports, banknotes and banderoles. In course of such assistance, our firm gained substantial experience in international licensing, confidentiality, copyright, patent, know-how and other relating issues.

Corporate law, including M&A transactions:

The firm has successfully performed a great number of incorporations, corporate acquisitions, company restructuring and divestitures of enterprises and merger transactions.

An important restructuring transaction of a state owned firm to several limited liability and public companies limited by share included the first ever to have taken place in Hungary in 1987/88 was successfully managed by our firm on behalf of an internationally recognized Hungarian medical manufacturer.

The significance of this transaction, handled exclusively by our firm was that the state-owned company was restructured into several limited liability and public companies limited by share under a holding company and subsequently privatized before the adoption of the Act on Transformation of Enterprises in 1989. The experiences gained and the solutions realized in this transaction were effectively utilized subsequently in drafting the relevant legislation.

The firm has played a major role in outstanding transactions involving restructuring of series of Hungarian companies, sale of their assets and performing corporate merges. Furthermore, we assisted several foreign venture capital firms in acquisition of a controlling participation in various Hungarian companies.

Commercial contracting, including foreign trade transactions and EPC deals:

The firm has worked for and/or represented well over 300 firms, ranging from small Hungarian start-up ventures to major multinationals in different types of commercial transactions. This practice involves the application of relevant instruments of foreign laws, international trade law, rules and regulations thereof, as well as Hungarian law of contracts and other civil and procedural law branches.

We developed a series of major service, maintenance, leasing, franchise, license, agency, distributorship and turnkey (EPC) construction contracts, elaborated legal studies and assisted a US-based venture capital firm in takeover of several Hungarian telecommunication firms.

Litigation, including arbitration and mediation:

Our firm handles major cases in municipal courts and before the Supreme Court of Hungary and represents clients in cases in international arbitration.

The attorneys counsel clients with problems in bankruptcy and creditors rights, trade secret unfair competition and intellectual property law.

The firm has successfully defended companies and their directors in a number of significant shareholder litigations. Recently our office introduced the provision of mediation services, as a new way of dispute settlement and resolution.

Public procurement:

During the last eight years, we advised and participated, among others, in development of almost every major international and inland tender invitation for the reconstruction of Hungarian hospitals and other health-care institutes. As part of the job, we drafted set of contracts for procurement of equipment and goods and assisted evaluation of the offers submitted, furthermore conclusion of the relevant contracts.

Our firm participated in the development of a consortium's bid documents submitted in co-operation with Hungarian and leading foreign firms to the switching tender issued by the Hungarian government, and we prepared the legal documents of the establishment of their joint venture company.

Two of the earlier partners developed tender procedures for one of the Hungarian telecommunication companies under major IBRD and EBRD loan agreements and drafted a set of model contracts for the procurement of goods and the realization of various turnkey telecommunication projects. Besides, they provided comprehensive legal services (including incorporation work), for completion of a bid for an earlier nation-wide cellular mobile telephone tender, on basis of which the consortium has been awarded one of the concession licenses.

Real estate transactions:

We worked very closely with some Hungarian banks and private persons in their real estate cases (purchasing, selling, letting, etc.) and provided in-depth assistance for an Austrian property development firm in erection and subsequent leasing of an office building in downtown of Budapest.

Telecommunication:

Two of the earlier partners recognized, at an early stage, the future potential the vast field of telecommunications held for the legal profession in Hungary. Accordingly, telecommunications practice was started in 1989, at a time when no other Hungarian law office realized the importance and likely implications of this area.

They have advised a number of clients on licensing and frequency assignment matters pertaining to mobile communication. They acted as legal counsel to a US-based firm in 1991 in their orientation to develop a major sector study investigating the entire spectrum of the Hungarian telecommunications. They advised on various telecom policy and regulatory issues, analyzed and commented on initial draft regulations related to the concessionaire regime.

Our firm acted as the legal adviser of several local governments and a Hungarian firm to establish nineteen private local telephone and CATV operations in Hungary.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *