Association of European Energy and Climate Lawyers

“Delivering European Energy Solutions”

Association of European Energy and Climate Lawyers

“Delivering European Energy Solutions”
AEEC MEMBER DETAILS
Ratky & Partner Attorneys

Our firm led by Miklós Rátky as managing partner has a staff of forty professionals, representing outstanding experience in nearly all fields of law. We hold together a powerful group of dynamic and professional lawyers whose expertise involves almost all field of business law. Our services do not just involve giving legal advice; we strive to help the work as strategic partners. Besides providing full support for domestic clients from all over the country, most of our colleagues have a firm professional command of English and German. We are proud that most of our colleagues have studied and/or practiced abroad and that they provide services for clients arriving from a multitude of foreign jurisdictions and conducting business activities in Hungary. We concentrate our energies mainly to Hungary but also beyond: the complex, fast-developing markets of the CEE and SEE regions. It is an area that requires specialist knowledge and contacts – and we have plenty of both. We put a strong emphasis on providing a highly personalized and all-round legal service that corresponds to the individual needs of our clients.
Concerning the energy, utilities & mining practice, our lawyers continuously involved in direct client management and care vis-a-vis almost all big energy industry players. This became a firm built-up reputation for a decade both in term of personal and firm contacts
in electricity transmission and system balancing, electricity distribution and trade (state-owned Hungarian players, wholesale incumbent, distribution companies), the oil & mining industry (e.g. with a leading Hungarian oil company), gas distribution and trade (with a
leading Hungarian trade company, gas distribution companies), and power plant industry (owners of Hungarian power plants). During the past years we advised and led an outstanding number of regulatory projects, energy related m&as and our lawyers have also elaborated unique legal products (e.g. electricity private line usage). We also have outstanding experiences concerning energy-related international investment dispute, energy-related dispute resolution and litigation as well, and – obviously – extensive knowledge in corporate and company law matters.
Our energy, utilities & mining practice led by Máté Tóth comprises a number of well-­prepared lawyers and the practice group is continuously growing. Our lawyers have developed specialized knowledge in high profile regulatory issues in the gas, oil and electricity sectors including transmission system operation related legal queries, renewables, power construction, network connection and usage, pricing and tariffs, fuel supply and power purchase agreements, trading agreements, licensing and concessions as well as environmental law, and have comprehensive skills and understanding of the domestic and international power markets, gained through their ongoing involvement in working for major players in the energy sector. Our clients include state-­owned energy companies, multinational and domestic operators, regulators, utilities, energy service contractors, renewable energy companies, financial institutions as well as growing number of other market players requiring the local or regional legal expertise for the purposes of advising and assisting their service needs.
Whatever the demands of the case, we put together a team with the best applicable knowledge only limited law firms can offer in Hungary and in the region.

Offices
Budapest
Staff
approx. 60
Accredited professionals
40
Partners
4
Dedicated departments in the field of energy
Energy, Utilities & Mining
Accredited professionals active in the field of energy
approx. 8
Other departments
Public Procurement; Corporate & M&A; Litigation and Arbitration; Real Estate; Banking; Law of Contracts; Competition Law; Bankruptcy and insolvency proceedings, enforcement of claims; Employment; Intellectual Property (Copyrights, Trade Marks); Communications and IT.
Clients
Our clients include international firms, local businesses (as well as big incumbent companies) and individuals. Our major clients are: Energy companies, Banks, other financial services companies, Construction companies, International agriculture company, International commercial companies, International pharmaceutical company, International publisher, International software developer companies, Internet service provider, Public utility companies, Real Estate developers, Telecommunication company, Transport companies, Venture capital investment. In the field of energy, our clients include state-­owned energy companies, multinational and domestic operators, regulators, utilities, energy service contractors, renewable energy companies, financial institutions.
Approach
Modern, flexible and client-­centred, with deep local and regional knowledge to find the best solutions.
Selection of references
Some of our recent mandates (Q3/Q4 2017): • advice on EU legal and domestic legal (regulatory) issues related to the development of nuclear power plant, for the legal foundation of high priority decisions. Our advice enabled outstanding management decisions in the light of recent legal and economic developments; • advice on the EU's regulatory tendencies in electricity system operation and balancing, in order to protect the legal arguments against the TSO-­‐related proposals of the 'winter energy package' and to protect the autonomy of the Member States' system operators. Contribution is also related to the activities of TSOs outside Hungary; • advice on the legal regulatory environment of electricity storage facilities, including the possibilities offered by the current legal environment, the possible directions for modifying them and the expected future EU regulatory changes. • Advice on the incidence of electric energy incumbents in relation to the legal risk, the persuasiveness of state-­‐subsidized PPAs; • counseling for a large electricity incumbent in a high-­‐amount purchase price correction dispute following a large domestic acquisition and in a preparatory phase of legal dispute with specific strategic proposals; • Advice on disputes concerning cross-­‐border shipments of one of the largest gas traders, including long-­‐term contracts, as well as on infrastructure (interconnector) issues with regard to international and EU regulatory aspects; • Advice on one of the largest natural gas retailers in connection with a foreign wholesale contract, including issues related to the enforceability of state system usage pricing and market pricing issues; • Advice on the Hungarian power plant regarding power plant infrastructure development issues, with regard to their legal qualification and licensing aspects; • Advising and legal representation in a gas-­‐ related international investment protection lawsuit against Hungary in regulatory, energy and domestic law matters; • Contribution to the preparation and negotiation of agreements related to the acquisition of a major natural gas distribution licensee.

Publications of Ratky & Partner Attorneys

The AEEC member has no publications yet.