In the latest edition of BBJ’s Top 50 Legal Executives in Hungary András Nemescsói, Head of Litigation and Regulatory at DLA Piper Hungary shared his thoughts on the current and future challenges of the legal market.
How has the legal profession changed since you qualified and what’s been the biggest challenge for you?
When I started my career as a lawyer in 2004, we were working in a very different environment. Compared to the tools available now, there were limited technical resources in terms of legal research, document and database review, translations and, first of all, communication. Being part of a multinational organisation, all of these developments played a crucial role in making our professional life more effective, efficient and convenient. DLA Piper itself has changed and evolved dramatically over the last couple of decades: in 2004 it was almost a newcomer in the global legal arena, while today it’s one of the (if not the) biggest law firm in the world. The firm has been the most transformative in the last decade, I believe.
Having said that, the central element of our profession; understanding and properly addressing our clients’ needs, hasn’t changed and most probably won’t change in the future.
How do you expect digitization and AI to affect the legal profession?
Digitalization and AI are already affecting in our life at DLA Piper. From the due diligence processes, through the internal cartel or anti-bribery investigations, to the automated document creations, we already use them everyday. DLA Piper has also launched its own AI products, like Aiscension. It scans and analyses millions of communications in a minute to identify suspicious patterns or behaviours that are out of the ordinary. It’s great tool to increase business security and compliance.
New technology can be used best where it exceeds human capacities. I certainly expect this tendency to accelerate. Nevertheless, these tools – no matter how fantastic they are – are to make our services more accurate and efficient, but can’t replace the human element, at least not for a while. We face, however, a new IT revolution and no one really knows what the long-term consequences might be. The legal profession is also exposed to this change. The most important qualities in such a period are flexibility and ability to quickly adapt.
Background
András Nemescsói is the head of the Litigation and Regulatory group at DLA Piper Hungary. He has significant experience in both regulatory matters and M&A transactions. András is also a high-profile dispute resolution lawyer, especially in the field of investment (BIT-based) arbitration. His primary focus is on capital market and financial regulatory (stock exchange, clearing and settlement, banking and investment services). Before joining DLA Piper in 2004, he worked for the Hungarian financial regulator, where he held various leading positions.
András is a member of the Advisory Board and the Issuers’ Committee of the Budapest Stock Exchange and was Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Hungarian Investor Protection Fund between 2016 and 2022.
Outside his professional career, he’s interested in the winemaking and spirit distilling sectors. He takes part in several sports (including tennis and sailing) and he has four children.
Technology aside, what will be the next significant legal trend to shape the market here?
It was quite a while ago when the Big Four accounting firms launched their legal services provider spinoffs. But in the last few years, big law firms have also started entering the business advisory market. I expect this to continue. As one of the first to do this, DLA Piper’s Budapest office established DLA Piper Business Advisory, providing a wide range of advisory services, including business planning, state aid advice and valuations. There are more and more engagements when our lawyers and our business advisors can work together, addressing challenges with a holistic approach and a real problem-oriented mindset. Our clients really like this. And our colleagues also benefit from this cooperation: our lawyers understand the underlying economics of a corporation or a transaction better, while our advisory colleagues get to know regulatory considerations. At the end of the day, our clients get higher quality services.
Given that Hungary has a very tight labour market in almost all fields, are you concerned about finding enough suitably qualified junior lawyers?
I see some negative tendencies but I’m not really concerned. Talent always finds a way, and good firms can attract talent in any market.
András Nemescsói
Head of Litigation and Regulatory
András Nemescsói
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