Like its German counterpart, the Austrian legal market continues
to be gripped by merger fever. "Everybody is watching everyone else
very closely and as much as possible," says Rainer Roniger,
competition and EC law partner at Hugel & Partners. "The
possibilities in the market are constantly changing and we are
talking to a number of potential partners," he says.
Roniger is ideally placed to make such a judgment. Having
advised Austrian monopoly clients on such matters as merger
notifications in front of the EC, not to mention representing the
EC itself, Roniger sees the same issues arising within his own
profession.
The effect of the merger debate has already taken its toll on
Roniger's firm. The number of lateral hires is on the rise. Gregor
Schett moved to Hugel & Partners at start of the year from
Doralt Seist Csoklich. In contrast, Hugel partner Andreas Mayr has
gone the other way, joining CMS Strommer...