What Cerha Hempel Spiegelfeld Hlawati does

Cerha Hempel Spiegelfeld Hlawati, operating commercially as CERHA HEMPEL, is a leading Austrian corporate law firm headquartered in Vienna at Parkring 2, organized as CERHA HEMPEL Rechtsanwälte GmbH. Founded in 2000 and operating for 25 years, the firm maintains affiliated law firm offices in seven Central and Eastern European jurisdictions — Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Slovak Republic, and Slovenia — with each affiliate rendering services independently under local bar supervision. The firm serves primarily enterprise corporate clients on cross-border mandates, with disclosed deal work including the EUR 400 million hybrid convertible bond for AT&S (the first deeply subordinated perpetual convertible bond by an Austrian issuer), a EUR 650 million syndicated secured borrowing base financing for Cefetra Group, and the acquisition of Smart Hygiene GmbH by Rentokil Initial. The firm describes itself as a "first port of call" for long-term clients whom it advises comprehensively on day-to-day legal matters.

The firm operates 21 distinct practice areas including Antitrust & Competition, Banking & Finance, Capital Markets, Compliance & Investigations, Corporate, Distribution Law, Employment Law, FinTech & Crypto-Assets Law, Healthcare, Insolvency & Restructuring, IP & Unfair Competition, IT & Privacy, Litigation & Arbitration, Mergers & Acquisitions, Private Clients & Trusts, Public Law & European Law, Public Procurement, Real Estate, Private Equity & Venture Capital, Tax Law, and White Collar Crime. It complements legal advisory with a content and events platform comprising specialized blogs (Corporate Hub, Real Estate Insider, Insolvency & Restructuring Blog, Higher Education Law Blog, Start-ups/VC/PE, FinTech Ledger, ESG Forum, AI Legal Lens, Competition and Foreign Investment Blog, Private Clients), the Podcast Perspectives series ("Was ist eigentlich" and "Real Estate Insider"), and recurring events including the Interdisciplinary M&A Summit and the Legal 500 GC Powerlist Austria Awards. The firm is a member of the Lex Mundi global network of independent law firms for cross-border mandates. Headcount is 251-500, with 22+ named partners including Senior Partner Hon.-Prof. Dr. Irene Welser and Managing Partners Dr. Clemens Hasenauer and Dr. Albert Birkner.

Revenue is generated through hourly billing specified in individual Engagement Letters, supplemented by a 3% office disbursement surcharge on net fees, with monthly or quarterly invoicing on 14-day payment terms and CPI-linked inflation adjustments. Pricing is not publicly disclosed. The firm is partner-owned with no external private equity or venture capital ownership, and there is no parent company. International cross-border reach is reinforced through Lex Mundi rather than owned offices outside the seven CEE jurisdictions.

Name

Cerha Hempel Spiegelfeld Hlawati

Legal name

CERHA HEMPEL Rechtsanwälte GmbH

Website

https://cerhahempel.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Cerha Hempel Spiegelfeld Hlawati is a leading Austrian corporate law firm with affiliated offices in seven CEE countries, offering 21 practice areas and serving enterprise clients on cross-border M&A, capital markets, and complex transactions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Legal & Compliance (CLE, Paralegal CE) (EDAAALAB)

Keywords

• Corporate legal services
• Mergers acquisitions advisory
• Capital markets law
• Banking finance law
• Litigation arbitration

Headquarters

HQ city

Vienna

HQ country

Austria

HQ region

Europe

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Legal Advisory Services: CERHA HEMPEL charges on the basis of hours spent on legal advice. Hourly rates for specialists are set out in the Engagement Letter (in Euro, excluding VAT). The firm also charges a lump sum for regular office disbursements in the amount of 3% of the net total amount of hourly fees charged. Other disbursements such as travel expenses, court fees, or translation costs are billed separately. Invoices are issued monthly or quarterly and become due and payable 14 days after receipt.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CERHA HEMPEL is a full-service international corporate law firm delivering comprehensive legal advisory through affiliated offices in seven Central and Eastern European countries (Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Slovak Republic, and Slovenia). The firm advises long-term corporate clients on day-to-day legal matters as well as complex cross-border M&A, capital markets, banking and finance, litigation, and regulatory mandates, supported by Lex Mundi network membership for worldwide coverage.

Product overview

CERHA HEMPEL is a Central and Eastern European law firm offering comprehensive legal services through a network of affiliated offices in Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Slovak Republic, and Slovenia. The firm provides 21 distinct legal service practices covering corporate, finance, litigation, and regulatory matters. These services include Antitrust & Competition, Banking & Finance, Capital Markets, Compliance & Investigations, Corporate, Distribution Law, Employment Law, FinTech & Crypto-Assets Law, Healthcare, Insolvency & Restructuring, IP & Unfair Competition, IT & Privacy, Litigation & Arbitration, Mergers & Acquisitions, Private Clients & Trusts, Public Law & European Law, Public Procurement, Real Estate, Private Equity & Venture Capital, Tax Law, and White Collar Crime. The firm complements its legal advisory with knowledge content products including the Podcast Perspectives series (featuring 'Was ist eigentlich' and 'Real Estate Insider' podcasts) and event series under Legal Perspectives and Global Perspectives brands. Services are delivered across multiple jurisdictions under local bar association supervision, with the Austrian entity operating as CERHA HEMPEL Rechtsanwälte GmbH.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Antitrust & Competition Competition law advisory including merger control, cartel investigations, and antitrust compliance matters across Austrian and EU jurisdictions, delivered to corporate clients.
• Banking & Finance
• Capital Markets
• Compliance & Investigations
• Corporate
• Distribution Law
• Employment Law
• FinTech & Crypto-Assets Law
• Healthcare
• Insolvency & Restructuring
• IP & Unfair Competition
• IT & Privacy
• Litigation & Arbitration
• Mergers & Acquisitions
• Private Clients & Trusts
• Public Law & European Law
• Public Procurement
• Real Estate
• Private Equity & Venture Capital
• Tax Law
• White Collar Crime

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Lex MundicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCERHA HEMPEL is a member of the Lex Mundi global network of independent law firms. This membership ensures that clients receive high-quality and sound advice across borders, providing access to member firms in jurisdictions worldwide for coordinated cross-border legal advice.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Wolf Theiss: Vienna-headquartered corporate law firm with a deep CEE footprint across ~13 jurisdictions. Direct competitor to CERHA HEMPEL in Austrian corporate, M&A, and capital markets mandates and the most frequently named peer in CEE cross-border deals.
• Schoenherr: Vienna-headquartered full-service law firm with strong CEE presence in 14 jurisdictions. Closely comparable to CERHA HEMPEL in practice-area breadth, client base (corporates/institutionals), and CEE regional coverage strategy.
• Kinstellar: CEE-focused law firm with offices in 10 jurisdictions including Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Czech Republic and Slovakia. Directly comparable regional peer for CEE cross-border corporate and finance work, though lighter on Austrian coverage than CERHA HEMPEL.
• bpv Huegel: Leading Vienna-based corporate law firm with strong Austrian and CEE practice. Direct local peer competing for many of the same Austrian corporate, M&A, and capital markets mandates as CERHA HEMPEL.

Broad incumbents

• Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer: Global magic-circle law firm with an established Vienna office. Competes with CERHA HEMPEL on Austrian cross-border M&A and capital markets work but operates at much greater global scale with deeper cross-border bench.
• CMS: European-headquartered law firm (CMS Reich-Rohrwig Hainz in Austria) with extensive CEE coverage and a strong corporate practice. Competes with CERHA HEMPEL across Austrian and CEE mandates as a broader, multi-jurisdictional incumbent.
• DLA Piper: Global law firm with a Vienna office and strong CEE presence. Competes for the same Austrian and CEE corporate mandates but at much larger global scale, often taking the lead role on larger cross-border transactions.
• Hogan Lovells: Global law firm with an established Austrian presence via its Vienna office. Competes for Austrian/EEA corporate and finance mandates, particularly on cross-border deals requiring deeper global bench than local firms can offer.
• Noerr: European law firm with strong CEE presence (offices in Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania). Competes with CERHA HEMPEL for CEE M&A and corporate finance mandates as a broader European incumbent.
• Baker McKenzie: Global law firm with a long-established Vienna office. Competes for large Austrian and cross-border corporate, finance and capital markets mandates, particularly where global brand and full multi-jurisdictional bench are required.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cerhahempel

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cerha Hempel Spiegelfeld Hlawati