The Attila S Horvath Attorneys at Law is a specialist Hungarian law firm with a particularly strong focus on client service that has helped us build long-term relationships with major banks, corporations, business ventures and institutions that look for practical experiences and innovative legal solutions. The lawyers working in the office have been involved in advising leading financial institutions and investors in Hungary for over twenty years that enabled them to develop relevant legal and structuring expertise in special areas. The Firm in the recent years has developed, besides advising on traditional civil and commercial law issues, a robust cross-border and Hungarian law based transaction practice utilizing the unique skill set and proven track record of its attorneys.
RELEVANT PRACTICE
The Firm possesses the full range of skills and legal expertise that our clients may require in assignments and we strive to ensure that the Firm’s internal control mechanisms will meet our clients’ expectations.
FOCUS
Once a mandate is granted we will appoint a partner with primary responsibility for the representation and that colleague will be the initial point of contact for instructions, questions or concerns that the clients may have. We may involve other attorneys or legal assistants in the office as we deem appropriate in each matter, to ensure that your representation is carried out in the most efficient and cost-effective manner possible.
SUPERVISION
We confirm that it is our Firm’s policy for all work carried out on the client’s behalf to be supervised by an experiences senior lawyer or partner, who is ultimately responsible for the performance of the other team members. Other attorneys and legal assistants of the Firm will provide assistance as and when required.
COMMUNICATION
We envisage regular telephone conferences between representatives of the client and senior members of our team to ensure efficient co-ordination of legal advice to the client at all times. All draft documents will be prepared or reviewed by senior members of the team. In addition, we will provide all parties with weekly progress reports in writing at no extra cost, upon request.
FEE ARRANGEMENTS
In general, our fees are based on the amount of time expended. Unless we enter into alternative fee arrangements, we charge fees based on the actual time spent by attorneys and legal assistants who perform services on your matters. Our hourly rates for attorneys and other members of the staff are based on years of experience, specialization in training and practice, and level of professional attainment. Rates are reviewed and readjusted from time to time, generally (but not always) on an annual basis. The Firm may change its prevailing rates from time to time upon prior written notice to the client.
| Partners | € 200-300 |
| Associates | € 125-180 |
| Paralegals | € 50 |
BILLING
We generally submit invoices at regular intervals. If a transaction or other matter is expected to be completed within a short period, we may agree not to deliver our bill until exchange or completion (signing of documentation). We reserve the right to issue a bill at the end of each calendar month, or when we incur or agree to pay disbursements on the client’s behalf, or on completion of a transaction or other matter.
PROTECTED INFORMATION
Our advice and documentation provided to clients or prepared in connection with transactions forms part of the Firm’s intellectual property and is subject to intellectual property and copyright protection. We reserve the right for damages (actual and general) and other sanctions and restraining orders in respect of any unauthorized use or distribution of such advice and documentation to any third parties.
CONFIDENTIALITY
We are bound by strict confidentiality rules and, accordingly, we will treat any commercially sensitive information about our clients’ business and affairs as confidential (unless we are required to disclose any information by law or any regulatory authority). We will use our clients’ personal information to provide them with our services and to provide information on relevant news (such as firm-related announcements and forthcoming events) and legal developments. Our clients may contact us at any time to let us know if they do not wish to be provided with this information. We may also use non-confidential details about our work for our clients for promotional purposes, unless you inform us otherwise.
CONFLICT MANAGEMENT
Conflicts of interests occasionally arise, for instance, where we discover information while acting for other clients but making a disclosure to our current client would conflict with our duty to them. If we identify a conflict of interest, we will notify the relevant clients promptly. We may, however, be obliged to withhold information, or terminate our engagement in relation to the particular matter.
MISSION
The Firm offers inventive and effective legal advice to its clients, primarily building on strong client relationships and the legal skills of the team of experienced Hungarian lawyers capable of covering all aspects of domestic and international law, including corporate, banking, project and asset finance, M&A, restructuring and insolvency advice, real estate and EU law. We believe that the right combination of expertise, focus and dedication benefits our clients significantly and enables us to maintain a long term relationship based on mutual trust and confidence.
MAJOR MANDATES
Based on the independent research of Chambers and Partners, following its previous recommendation in 2004, noted the Firm’s practice and consequently its dedicated staff in the 2006 issue of the Europe guide and recommended the Firm in finance & banking as follows:
“Market feedback suggests that since leaving Baker & McKenzie, Attila Horvath has benn very successful in building up his own practice, which concentrates on finance (syndicated loans, structured finance, debt restructuring, acquisition finance and most importantly project finance), M&A and complex real estate transactions. Clients described him as “a very reliable lawyer, who knows our expectations and delivers on them.” He is also valued for providing “international standards and an excellent service, but at a more flexible price.”
Mandates
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Acted as senior counsel in two of the recent major bank mergers in Hungary
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Acted as senior counsel in the first European high-yield debt offering of a Hungarian telecommunications service provider
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Acted as lead counsel in three of the infrastructure loans with the largest ever deal size in Hungary
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Acted as lead counsel in several multi-purpose commercial centre, office and residential real estate development, secured finance and refinance transactions
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Acted as lead Hungarian and transaction counsel to eight Hungarian banks in the first major multi-jurisdictional debt and corporate restructuring of a listed company
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Acted as lead counsel representing commercial banks in respect of several power and cogeneration facility projects
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Acted as corporate and transaction counsel in the establishment and development of the real estate based life annuity and reverse mortgage business of the largest Hungarian commercial bank
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Acted as transaction counsel in a number of sale and purchase transactions, involving real estate and equity
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Represented banks and investors in over a hundred major club, syndicated and project loan transactions
CLIENTS
The clients of the Firm represent a broad range of Hungarian and foreign businesses operating in Hungary, including leading commercial banks and specialized credit institutions, high net- worth individuals and investors regulated market participants, sophisticated investors, real estate developers and commercial companies. In addition, the attorneys regularly provide advice to SMEs and large Hungarian and multinational conglomerates requiring specialist legal advice and an innovative approach. Since, the relevant current Bar Association Rules prevent the Firm from referring to its clients directly on our home page, please contact us for further references.
THE OFFICE
The head office of the Firm is located in Budapest, in the traditional heart of the business and legal district and is well equipped with state of the art IT and office facilities, including well appointed meeting rooms, various communication equipments in order to best service its clients. Most importantly, the work of the associates is assisted by a competent and dedicated professional support team that has proven to be indispensable in several major transactions. In order to better address various client needs, the associates of the Firm are able to respond rapidly to requests in several languages, including Hungarian, English, German and Spanish.
LOCATION
The office is situated in a national heritage protected building of No. 7 Arany János street in Budapest, within 2 minutes walking distance from the Parliament, the Budapest Bar Association, the Hungarian Ministry of Justice, the Hungarian Supreme Court and the Metropolitan Court.
ATTILA S. HORVÁTH, DR
Attila S. Horváth, dr has more than twenty-five years’ experience in business law, finance, project finance, corporate finance, M&A, international and investment related laws. He has lived and worked as a lawyer in London for several years. He has been involved in legal trainings and university education since 1994.
ÉVA SUBASICZ, DR
Dr. Éva Subasicz is a recognized litigator and legal counsel in private law, company and family law matters. She is an elected member of the governing council of the Budapest Bar Association and has also contributed to a number of relevant educational, academic and pro-bono initiatives in Hungary.
ISTVÁN HORVÁTH, DR
His main practice focus lies in strategic litigation, corporate law, criminal law, compensation, insurance and other civil law matters. He is is an elected member of the governing council of the Budapest Bar Association. Besides his recognized pro-bono practice of almost three decades, István Horváth, dr has considerable experiences in dealing with cross border legal issues and is fluent in English.
“Attila Horváth heads Attila S. Horváth Attorneys at Law and has a strong reputation in the market. Clients highly appreciate his “excellent negotiation skills and outstanding expertise in financial matters.”
NEWS
Europe 2014 Report of Chambers & Partners Hungary Banking & Finance ranks Attila S. Horváth
Based on its independent research, Chambers & Partners noted the Firm’s practice in the 2014 issue of the Europe Guide. It follows a constant stream of similar recommendations since 2004.
Recommendation of Chambers and Partners Global 2010 – Banking & Finance : Hungary
The Firm’s Hungarian and cross-border banking and finance practice has been noted in the recent Global guide and its lead attorney, Attila S Horvath was ranked highly (Band two)
Recommendation of Chambers and Partners Global 2010 – Restructuring/Insolvency : Hungary
The Firm’s Hungarian and cross-border restructuring/insolvency practice has been noted in the recent Global guide and its lead attorney, Attila S Horvath was ranked highly (Band two).
Chambers Europe 2009 Ranking in Restructuring and Insolvency
The Firm’s Hungarian and cross-border restructuring and insolvency practice has been noted in the recent Europe guide and its lead attorney, Attila S Horvath was ranked in the highest category (Band one)