DLA Piper Weiss-Tessbach, the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) arm of DLA Piper, launches today (9 October) in Bulgaria’s capital Sofia.
The opening increases the number of DLA Piper and DLA Piper-affiliated offices in the region to 12. The firm opens in Sofia with eight fee-earners, half of which have joined from CMS Cameron McKenna’s office in the capital, including office head Peter Valert.
DLA Piper, Camerons and Italian independent Studio Legale Sutti, which has developed a CEE niche, are the only international law firms currently operating in Bulgaria.
As reported on www. thelawyer.com (15 September), Valert quit Camerons last month for DLA Piper, initially moving to Prague before returning to Sofia as office managing partner.
The office will grow to nine lawyers, with the arrival of a lawyer from the Bulgarian ministry later in the year.
Regional managing partner Stefan Eder said: “This is a key development for our practice and its continued efforts to extend its reach across Central and Eastern Europe.”
The Sofia office will focus on corporate M&A, telecoms, IT, IP, real estate, infrastructure and employment.
The Weiss-Tessbach arm of DLA Piper has offices in Bratislava, Budapest, Prague, Salzburg, Sarajevo, Vienna and Zagreb.
