News

2018.04.05.

We have been asked by a number of members about the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) - what it might mean to their firms and what advice they should be providing to their clients.

The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation comes into force on May 25 2018 and will fundamentally change the legislative framework for the use and protection of personal data in Europe.

The GDPR applies to every organization, regardless of their size, who service customers located in the European Union (i.e. offer goods or services, irrespective of payment, or monitor their behavior). If a company, or firm, has customers or clients in the EU, even if the organization itself is based outside the EU, it is likely that  they will need to comply with the GDPR.

The financial sanctions for non-compliance with the GDPR are significant with fines reaching up to 4% of a company’s  global annual turnover or Euro 20million, whichever is larger. Recently both Facebook and WhatsApp were fined in Spain for data transfer issues. While the fines imposed on Facebook and WhatsApp were not significant in this case, the potential for massive fines make compliance with the GDPR a major strategic issue for all companies.

Top 10 issues and recommended next steps we recommend you should take:
The GDPR imposes upon companies a number of obligations in terms of the processing  (capture, use and storage) of personal data. The following are our top 10 issues that you need to consider to ensure they are compliant. You must:

1. Review and amend all legal text and documentation which describes how you use personal data to ensure it is GDPR compliant
2. Create and implement proper policies and procedures that govern the use of personal data, handling data subjects rights and which ensures accountability in the compliance of all obligations established by the GDPR
3. Employ and train suitable individuals to oversee the company’s data processing activities and GDPR compliance obligations.
4. Appoint a representative within the EU, to ensure you only have to deal with one single national data protection authority.
5. Train all staff who process customers’ personal data to ensure they are aware of their new obligations under the GDPR.
6. Ensure that all data processors enter into proper Data Processor Agreements.
7. Maintain a register or record of all data processing activities.
8. Ensure that all data transfers to and from other regions outside the EU meet the standards defined by the GDPR.
9. Incorporate robust data security systems to minimize the likelihood of data breaches and have proper procedures in place to follow in case of a breach.
10. Ensure that data privacy is incorporated ‘by design’ into any new system adopted by a company which processes personal data.

For more information and articles, view the Data Protection webpage of the Meritas Data Protection Group.

Also available is a short video on the steps companies should be taking to comply with the GDPR.

The full text of the GDPR can be downloaded here.

2017.09.15.

The Meritas EMEA Litigation Group is pleased to announce the release of its new brochure: European Guide to Debt Collection. This 44-page, full-color brochure presents a comprehensive overview of the actions and measurements available across 22 European countries to effectively recover claims against debtors. This Guide does not only offer an insight in the two relevant EU Regulations on the subject, but also provides a summary per EU Member State on the principles of asset tracing, conservatory measures, recovery proceedings for undisputed claims and enforcement measures. We hope that you will find this Guide helpful - For more information, or for detailed legal advice, please contact any of the lawyers listed at the end of each chapter of the Guide.

2017.06.27.

We are pleased to present our Labor and Employment Law Guide (Labor Law Guide), which gives a comprehensive summary about the fundamental provisions of Hungarian Labor Law. We hope you will find this Guide helpful – should you need more detailed information, please feel free to contact us.

2017.06.07.

May 31 is an important milestone in the life of Hungarian companies: corporations are required to publish their annual accounts by this date each year. Compliance with this statutory obligation is important also from the perspective of the company management: pursuant to Hungarian insolvency regulations, if the directors of the company failed to publish the financial accounts prior to the commencement date of the liquidation of the company, by law the detriment to the company’s creditors is to be presumed, which may have, as a consequence, that the management’s liability for the claims of the creditors of the company will be established.

There have been numerous court decisions dealing with the interpretation of Section 33/A § of the Hungarian Insolvency Act. A recent decision of the Metropolitan Court of Appeals underlines in terms of non-compliance with the obligation to publish the financial records that although the presumption is rebuttable, but it does shift the burden of proof, meaning that the company is required to prove that the best interests of the creditors of the company were given first priority.

In addition, the court decision sets out further important aspects in terms of how to determine the date when the debtor company is to be deemed insolvent.

Please feel free to contact us if you need guidance as to the interpretation of the relevant laws or if you require legal representation either as a plaintiff or defendant in a lawsuit initiated under Section 33/A § of the Hungarian Insolvency Act.

2017.05.16.

The Annual Labour & Employment Group Meeting of the European Meritas firms took place on May 11 and 12 in Vienna, where Dr. Nóra Kovács represented our firm.

We had a couple of excellent talks with clients and we also heard from a visiting professor from Vienna University, who spoke about one of today's hottest labour law challenges, the Labour & Employment law implications of the Gig Economy (Crowd working). We shared the feedbacks on how our latest publication, the European Guide to International Mobility has been received so far. We furthermore agreed on the topic of our next guide and Dr. Kovács was elected to the committee responsible for outlining the contents of our upcoming brochure.

The Practice

Our practice is directed primarily towards corporate, financial and international trade sectors. Projects of the firm have included representation of numerous American and European companies in connection with their investments in Hungary, including start-ups, acquisitions of, and investments in existing businesses. Services provided have included negotiation and preparation, in English, German and Hungarian, of share purchase and joint venture agreements, shareholder agreements, employment and management contracts, loan agreements, and other commercial documentation, including conduct of extensive due diligence.
The range of industries where the law firm has gained substantial experience varies from the automobile industry, through steel, chemical and beauty industry to commercial, food, real estate development and film industries. The firm has flourishing, multiyear relation with international insurance and banking groups, in the course of which the firm has represented clients in litigation and bankruptcy matters, as well as provided full range legal services in setting up businesses, affiliates and representative offices, including – where applicable – assistance in obtaining all necessary permits and licenses required for the registration.

We provide our professional services in three languages: Hungarian, English and German.

Fields of Practice


Corporate Law:

full-range legal assistance in the establishment of business in Hungary, in any company form; amendment of the deed of foundation of companies; mergers & acquisitions; drafting of by-laws, shareholder’s agreements etc.;


Bankruptcy Law:

Through the representation of numerous international credit insurance companies, our law firm has gained substantial experience in the field of enforcing claims again Hungarian debtors either through concluding out-of-court agreements, or through the representation of the creditor in liquidation or litigation procedures; we have also supervised the voluntary dissolution and liquidation of numerous Hungarian companies;


Employment Law:

drafting of employment contracts; legal advice on the legal aspects of the daily employment issues of companies; assistance in the termination of employment; expertise in collective redundancy; obtaining work permits and other licenses etc.


Real Estate Transactions:

drafting Purchase & Sale Contract; representation of the client in the land registry registration procedure; obtaining the government permit for foreigners for the acquisition of a real estate in Hungary; obtaining reliable information on the legal status of the real estate to be bought; (also: escrow account available!) drafting Lease Agreements;


IP Sector:

We have represented numerous huge international firms in their trademark registration procedure at the Hungarian Patent Office; legal assistance in furnishing the trademark application with all necessary attachments; representation in court procedures etc.


Litigation & Arbitration:

When representing a client in a litigation or arbitration procedure, we put the emphasis on the followings: our legal services cover the procedure from the very beginning, i.e. drafting the claim, through the representation of the client at the trials, as well as to the representation before the competent court of appeals. In this regard, our goal is to provide information to the client to the best of our knowledge both on the outcome of the lawsuit and on the chances of actual recovery. All of our lawyers are qualified and approved to act at all courts of Hungarian jurisdiction.


Mission


We believe that it is our mission to find the best possible solution to every issue our client refers to us. With this said, we determine the essence of our profession as "solving problems" rather than using a variety of legal means no matter how inadequate they might be or what reverse consequences they might lead to. To this end, we have developed a business approach towards our clients.
In order to achieve this, we believe in the absolute priority of understanding the particular policies and needs of our client. We also believe that this can only be done through personal contact with the client, since this can facilitate in-depth harmony and cooperation between the client and its consult. Therefore, we make sure that we are easy to contact, our clients can be certain that they can always get through to us, and thus, they will get the high level of legal service they rightfully expect from the same advisor who has convinced the client to be worthwhile to lay trust in.
In addition to that, we also have an international background by being the exclusive Hungarian affiliate of Meritas, an international association of business lawyers.
Learn More

About Meritas

Meritas is an established global alliance of independent, full-service law firms. Since its founding in 1990, Meritas has been distinguished by our quality standards. Leon Steinberg, a practicing lawyer and founder or Meritas, created the organization in response to a need: He was frustrated by the difficulty of finding and hiring qualified, local counsel. And he was disappointed by the lack of quality control in firms outside his jurisdiction. Steinberg developed a rigorous system for evaluating firm performance and launched Meritas.
Over the years, Meritas has carefully vetted and invited select, like-minded firms to join the non-profit alliance for their mutual benefit. Today there are more than 170 Meritas law firms worldwide, in over 60 countries. Firms become members through invitation. To maintain membership, they agree to perform under our uniquely comprehensive Quality Assurance Program, ensuring that clients receive the same high quality legal work and service from every Meritas firm.
The Meritas model provides essential peace of mind for business owners, in-house counsel and others who can easily connect with carefully qualified, independent business legal expertise worldwide.

For more information about Meritas, please visit www.meritas.org
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Partners




Dr Kovács Nóra

Partner of the firm, a graduate of the Eötvös Loránd University Faculty of Law, with magna cum laude. Dr. Kovács has been involved in corporate law, in a number of international commercial transactions as well as liquidation procedures. She also specializes for general labor law matters, including labor law litigation. Dr. Kovács is fluent in Hungarian and English, she also speaks German.
Bloomberg BNA recognizes her as their expert: https://www.bna.com/nra-kovcs-m17179935983
She is the author of Business Operations in Hungary (Bloomberg BNA Tax Management Portfolio) - to be published
Partner of the firm, a graduate of the Eötvös Loránd University Faculty of Law, with magna cum laude. Dr. Forrai has been involved in corporate law, in a number of international real estate transactions as well as litigation matters. She also specializes for general civil law matters, representing clients at courts. Dr. Forrai is fluent in Hungarian and English, she also speaks Finnish.


Dr Forrai Judit


Publications




Meritas Guide to Employee

Non-Compete Agreements


Download

Meritas Guide to Employment

Law on a Business Sale


Download

Offshore Financial Services

Guide


Download

Meritas European Guide to

International Mobility


Download

Labor Law

Guide


Download

Meritas Guide To Debt Collection

In Europe Final Draft


Download

Contact




Address:

1092 Budapest
Ráday utca 42.
VI/605

Phone:

(36-1) 266-9168

Fax:

(36-1) 485-0000

This website is operated by the Association of Dr. Kovács Nóra Law Firm and Dr. Forrai Judit Law Firm (registered with the Budapest Bar) according to the laws and internal regulations relating to lawyers which may be found on the website www.magyarugyvedikamara.hu along with information on client rights.