András Szecskay

MANAGING PARTNER, SZECSKAY ATTORNEYS AT LAW

BACKGROUND András Szecskay is the founder and managing partner of Szecskay Attorneys at Law, a business law firm with an international clientele and full scope of business law activities. He specializes in litigation and arbitration, corporate / M&A and IP law. He is a listed arbitrator in Hungary and in Austria.

He received his JD at the József Attila University in Szeged and later participated in a lawyers’ internship program in Canada. He was a partner at the SBG&K Patent and Law Office until 1992, then founded his own law firm that acted initially as the Hungarian office of the French law firm Moquet Borde until becoming fully independent in 2004.

Over the course of his career, Szecskay has taken leading roles in various legal associations. Between 2002 and 2019 he served as vice president of the Budapest Bar Association; since 2010 he has been vice president of the Hungarian Bar Association and President of the Hungarian Association for the Protection of Industrial Property and Copyright (MIE), positions that he still holds today. OF WHICH ACHIEVEMENTS ARE YOU MOST PROUD? I’m immensely proud of the law firm that grew under my management over the past almost 30 years: a leading independent law firm that is known for mapping out feasible business solutions and rendering focused and user-friendly advice. A firm that is based on its dedicated and loyal lawyers who deliver the highest quality. I have always been in favor of organic growth. Most of them started as trainee lawyers at the firm, then became lawyers and later partners. Their expertise and the cohesion among them make up the heart of our firm.

In the international law firm rankings, in some of our key practice areas like dispute resolution and IP we have been ranked Tier 1 for 15 years and longer. Areas like employment law, competition and data protection have experienced significant growth over recent years.

I’m also proud of the appreciation my skills and vision in the legal profession have received from the legal community and associations. I am honored to have received some of the highest awards in the legal profession, which is an unbelievable acknowledgement of everything I have fought for and believed

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in. Among others I was awarded the Knight’s Cross Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary by the President in 2008. In 2019 I was awarded the highest award of the Hungarian Bar Association, the “In the Service of Justice” Award.

WHAT DREW YOU TO LAW AS A PROFESSION? My father was a highly respected lawyer, my great-grandfather was a judge. The conversations and debates that surrounded me have influenced me from a very young age. Growing up, I could never imagine studying anything else but law. I understood the key skills of a lawyer very early: an eye for details, the art of questioning, building up an argument. This understanding has been the backbone of my career.

HOW DID YOU PICK YOUR LEGAL SPECIALTY AREA? With the change of the economic and political set-up in the beginning of the ’90s, I felt that I should step out from my previous role and start something new. Some people would have said quitting my job was a crazy idea. I earned well, I worked at a prestigious firm. However, when I completed my training in Canada in 1990, I saw that there were so many opportunities. Corporate law and M&A transactions were completely new areas at that time, as Hungary saw a lot of foreign investments. Being part of the privatization in the early years of running my own firm, I found that litigation and arbitration, corporate / M&A practice and IP are what I do best, the practice areas that became the foundation of my career and my success. WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE TO IMPROVE THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT IN HUNGARY? I would make legislation more transparent. I would allow for more time and opportunities for debate before passing new laws. In most cases legislation is rushed. Also, I would improve the relationship between judiciary and lawyers. It works well at the highest level but on an everyday level the cooperation is not satisfactory. In the ’70s and ’80s you could still talk to a judge directly; it was not prohibited for judges to enter a discussion with lawyers in the corridor of the court building. At that time nobody confused fair and collegial relationships with a court room discussion. What we see in Hungary right now is the scissors opening wider and wider between the two professions. U.K. courts are a good example for us: Not long ago I had the opportunity to visit a judge in Birmingham; he invited me for lunch in the canteen. I saw judges and lawyers sitting at the same table, having friendly professional chats. You could see their respect for one another. We should consider each other not as enemies but as assistants to law and procedure. In Hungary, substantial improvement would do good for both sides and, most of all, benefit the client.

“I would improve the relationship between judiciary and lawyers. It works well at the highest level but on an everyday level the cooperation is not satisfactory.”

Name of law firm Szecskay Attorneys at Law Name of associate non-Hungarian law firm or cooperation network WSG – World Services Group, TerraLex, Legalink, EuroJuris, SCG –State Capital Group, DORDA Best Friends Network, Biolegis, Lexicom, LEGUS, INBLF Address 1055 Budapest, Kossuth Lajos tér 16–17.

Managing partner András Szecskay

In charge of position since 1992

Year of Hungarian law firm's establishment 1992

No. of attorneys with license to practise in Hungary on Sept. 15, 2020 34

No. of partners of Hungarian law firm on Sept. 15, 2020 17