Profile
Dessewffy David & Partners was one of the first independent, private law firms to be established in Hungary in 1991. The firm plays a major role in the Hungarian legal sector and is active in every field of economic law. Services include real estate law, privatization law, PPP projects law, public utility law, administrative law, public procurement law, project managing and financing, bank and tax law, offshore services, corporate law, competition law, labor law, mediation and litigation, copyright law and protection of industrial property, sports law, commercial law, and mining law.
Overview
Dr. Alice Dessewffy, as the founding member of the Dessewffy, Dávid and Partners Law Office was among the first in Hungary to establish along with her partners an independent, private law office 1991.
The law office currently led by Dr. Alice Dessewffy and Dr. Alíz Dávid plays a major role among the law offices present in Hungary and is active in every field of the economic law. The 2001 edition of “The White Page to Central and Eastern Europe and the CIS” mentions our law office at the first place among the Hungarian law offices. Due especially to the MSI Global Alliance, as being one of the largest organizations of independent law firms, auditors and tax advisors, the law office established close cooperation with auditors, tax advisors, law firms, and financial institutions both on domestic and international levels during the last decades, providing thereby a full range of services to its clientele.
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Practice Overview
Real estate law
The legal counseling in the course of the implementation of real estate investments, sale, purchase, lease and the preparation of the related agreements belong to the main profile of our office as well as the acquisition of project companies owning real estates, the legal setup of shopping centers. The real estate law is connected to several branches of law. Our team of attorneys specialized in the regulations of constructions and environment-protection, tax law, and bank law in the case of bank financing of real estate investments, provide a complex legal service for our clients. Our office contributed as legal counselor to the construction of several apartment houses and office buildings both in Budapest and in the countryside, to the implementation of city-rehabilitation projects in Budapest and of green-field investments in the countryside.
Administrative law, public procurement law
We represent many clients – principally economic organizations – in construction administration procedures, in authorization procedures relating to commercial matters and company sites as well as in general administration cases. We also secure the protection of our clients’ rights and interests during the remedies of the administrative procedure. We gained broad experience in the so-called administrative lawsuits.
The practical use of public procurement law, the development of law, and the monitoring of the decisions of courts and arbitration committees require special skill, needed for the successful legal assessment of the announcements for bidding and the documentations of the public procurement procedures as well as needed for the legal representation during the public procurement remedies. Our law office represents both bidders and acceptors in cases relating to public procurement.
Bank and tax law
The orientation in the rules of the tax law is indispensable in every part of the business life. In several cases these rules influence directly the establishment of some projects. The choice of the most suitable company structure for investments, the in depth analysis of tax law aspects relating to certain options before the forming of the employee’s structure are indispensable. Within the frame of strategic counseling by resorting external experts we inform our clients on the tax law aspects of their planned transactions. Through the offices of MSI , which are specialized in auditing and tax counseling, we provide outstanding service even in international comparison.
We also provide legal service for the banks belonging to our clientele, by preparing loan and collateral agreements, documents, regulations needed for the prudent operation of banks.
Corporate law
We have gained broad experience in all fields of the corporate law (among others foundation, modification of company forms stipulated by the Hungarian law, foundation of project companies, transfer of company shares, dissolution, final settlement, compilation of documents needed for general meetings and members’ meetings). We help our clients to find the most suitable company structure for their business activities in Hungary. In case of representing companies registered in Hungary, we safeguard that the structure of the company is always in full accordance with the corporate law modifications and the new regulations.
Labor law
We handle the labor law regulations as a complex whole with the regulations relating to social insurance and tax law. This global view makes it possible to find the solution to our clients, which assures the most favorable conditions possible both for them and for their employees. We help our foreign clients to acquire the permissions needed for settlement and working in Hungary. Through our MSI offices we are able to give legal counsels to both private individuals and ventures that are willing to take a job abroad or to venture. In case of settlement of disputes our clients are represented by our lawyers specialized in labor litigations.
Copyright law and protection of industrial property
We help our clients to find the best solution for their claims or problems relating to copyright law or the neighboring rights arising from their business or other (art, invention) activities. Among others we represent our clients in their announcements of national or international trademarks and patents, and we also take action in the favor of our clients, in case they are violated in their copyrights or neighboring rights.
Commercial law
Our office provides its clients with high quality legal service during the negotiations before the conclusion of commercial agreements as well as during the preparation of these contracts. Among others we concentrate on the following items:
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Contracts at sale, transportation, freight contracts
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Mandate contracts
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License and franchise contracts
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Cooperation agreements
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Sponsor agreements
Privatization law, PPP projects law, public utility law
Our law office took part as legal counselor in the privatization procedure of public utilities and industrial companies (among others in the privatization of gas, water, channel sectors and power-plants). Therefore, our attorneys have outstanding knowledge of the structuring of privatization transactions, the lining up of agreements relating to complex buying ups and acquisitions, and of the post-privatization monitoring procedures (e.g.: enforcement of warranty undertakings).
After the abolishment of the public ownership forms and the termination of the Hungarian privatization process, the so-called PPP (Public-Private Partnership) projects, based on the cooperation of the public and private spheres came to play an increasingly great role. These projects comprehend a wide spectrum of issues from city-rehabilitation projects based on individual project agreements to concession solutions in public procurement procedures. In the case of privatization projects based on PPP, our law office represents its clients before the National Competition Authority in order to obtain its permission for the transactions.
Our law office also represents several public utility providers, and takes part as legal counselor in several cases relating to operation of public utilities, principally in the sectors of sewage-construction and wastewater treatment.
Project managing and financing
The complex legal counseling, in the projects implemented by our clients, takes a prominent part in the life of our office. The comprehensive knowledge of the most diverse branches of law is necessary from the birth of a project’s idea to its implementation. During the counseling in connection with the projects we involve our teams compiled of lawyers specialized in the area of corporate law, tax law, bank law, insurance law, construction law and administration law.
In the course of the bank financing needed for the realization of the project our bank law specialists are continuously in touch with the respective banks and provide the clients with their opinion on the bank agreements.
Offshore services
Through the partner offices of MSI (MSI link) and the Wenczel Law Office we enable our clients to resort to our all-inclusive off-shore service in the following countries: United States of America, Anguilla (GB), Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Chile, Cyprus, Republic of South Africa, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, El Salvador, Gibraltar (GB), Guatemala, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles, India, Japan, Jersey, Cayman Islands (GB), Republic of China, Liechtenstein, Man Island, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Panama, Portugal, Saint Lucia, Seychelles, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Uruguay, Zimbabwe.
Competition law
The importance of competition law has been velorized after Hungary’s admission to the European Union. Before every planned company buy up, concentration we carefully examine the correspondence to the merger control regulations, what is considered the most important for our clients out of the different fields of competition law.
Mediation and litigation
In case of any kind of litigation we try to represent the interest of our clients by settling the disputed situation between the parties. We principally consider the opportunity of reaching an agreement even if the former mediation process was ineffective and we represent our client in the proceedings before the ordinary courts or other alternative forums aimed to settle disputes. We put great stress on the overall exploration of the situation prior to the dispute, and on the analysis of the acquired information. During the conduct of a certain situation we consider it important that the attorney-at-law, who represents the client has a significant experience in litigation, and is also an expert of the special field of law in question.
Sport law
In cooperation with the Wenczel Law Office one of our significant activities for years has been legal counseling concerning international football transfers, the employment of international sportsman in Hungary and the operation of first division sport clubs. Our office was among the first that carried out and won a lawsuit before the Sport Arbitration Court, participated in the transfers of several Hungarian football players to Great Britain and Turkey, in the related contracts, provided legal representation in FIFA procedures and in the procedures of the Hungarian Soccer League. Besides football we deal with matters in connection with basketball and golf investments as well. The legal service contains the preparation of civil law contracts, legal counseling needed for the negotiations between the clubs. We also have great references in the field of various other types of contracts (among others merchandising, sponsor and labor contracts).
Mining law
Owing to the special activities of our certain clients, our office undertakes unique fields of law such as mine law. In the frame of this we provide our clients with the adequate legal counseling on the creation, maintenance of the outcrop mines’ operation conditions, we represent them in procedures relating to the authorization of mining activity, we undertake the reporting on and the preparation of contracts in connection with mining activity, we represent our clients in administrative procedures as mine entrepreneurs.
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