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David Dederick
BACKGROUND David Dederick is the managing partner of the Budapest Office of Bird & Bird. He is a U.S.-qualified attorney and has been practicing law in Central and Eastern Europe since 1991.
Prior to joining Bird & Bird in 2018, he was managing partner of Weil, Gotshal & Manges’ Budapest office for nearly 20 years.
His practice is primarily focused on international, cross-border corporate/M&A, private equity and real estate transactions.
He has been consistently recognized and ranked as a leading lawyer in his main practice areas by top law firm ratings guides. In its 2020 edition, he was named to the Legal 500 “Hall of Fame” for his M&A practice. Chambers Global and Chambers Europe have recognized him an “Eminent Practitioner” in M&A for the past five years.
His practice is also regional in scope and includes other markets in Central and Eastern Europe, in particular South East Europe, as well as emerging markets elsewhere in the world.
He is a native of Stony Brook, New York and attended Cornell University and George Washington University Law School.
OF WHICH ACHIEVEMENTS ARE YOU MOST PROUD? In my more than 30 years of practice, I have had many achievements and successes. Early in my career, I was particularly proud of the work we were doing for the U.S. Government Enterprise Fund program, which began in 1990. The idea behind this foreign assistance program was that the way to kick-start a private market economy in a post-communist state is to invest in the private sector. In all, I handled more than 70 investment transactions, not only for the fund in Hungary but elsewhere in the region, including Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
The Enterprise Fund Program was instrumental in helping launch the private equity industry in the region. Also, the benefits of the program to host countries in terms of the growth and establishment of private businesses and creation of new jobs, gave the sense of both “doing good, and doing well.”
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More recently, I would say that I am proud of having organized the move of the entire team from Weil to Bird & Bird in 2018 after Weil decided to withdraw from the region. We were able to transfer all of our more than 30 personnel as well as clients and ongoing business seamlessly to Bird & Bird and smoothly merge with the firm’s existing operations in Hungary. Bird & Bird has proven to be an excellent platform, in particular with its strategy of focusing on technology, both in the practice of law and as a client sector.
WHAT DREW YOU TO LAW AS A PROFESSION? Becoming a lawyer was an ambition from childhood. It was my professional goal for as long as I can remember. Maybe it was inspiration from watching re-runs of the classic U.S. TV series, “Perry Mason”, which featured a heroic trial lawyer battling for justice.
HOW DID YOU PICK YOUR LEGAL SPECIALTY AREA? After completing law school in Washington, D.C. and passing the bar, I initially focused on developing a litigation practice. I clerked for a U.S. federal district level judge for one year. However, that experience led me to re-consider litigation, which often has a zero-sum, win/lose dynamic.
I was drawn to corporate deal work, which can have a different win/win aspect, and decided to join Weil, which had thriving corporate and commercial practices.
But working as a junior associate in a major “Big Law” U.S. firm left me feeling bored and unfulfilled.
It was only after I had the opportunity to work in Central and Eastern Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall and changes throughout the region that I truly felt excited about my work. I have been in the region ever since.
WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE TO IMPROVE THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT IN HUNGARY? After three decades, the international legal services business in Hungary has considerably matured, and with that has come a perceptible improvement in collegiality within the profession. I would like to see that continue.
Also, after the transformation of the region began in the early 1990s, organized pro bono practice was in its infancy at international firms, but has grown considerably since. I would like to see international firms do more in terms of pro bono, public service and social responsibility. It would improve the image of the profession and obviously lead to benefits for the community.
Name of law firm Siegler Bird & Bird Ügyvédi Iroda
Name of associate non-Hungarian law firm or cooperation network Bird & Bird LLP
Address 1027 Budapest, Kapás utca 6–12.
Managing partner David Dederick
In charge of position since 2018
Year of Hungarian law firm's establishment 2008
No. of attorneys with license to practise in Hungary on Sept. 15, 2020 23
No. of partners of Hungarian law firm on Sept. 15, 2020 6
