So, what's the Big Deal?

On 23 October 2024, CERHA HEMPEL staged the "Big Deal" event. As part of the "Big Deal" workshop, fifteen high potentials simulated an M&A transaction and received valuable practical tips and advice.

CERHA HEMPEL invited participants to attend its traditional "Big Deal" networking event in the evening and to an exciting panel discussion. Together with Dr. Andreas Brandstetter, CEO of UNIQA Insurance Group AG, CERHA HEMPEL Partner MMag. Dr. Benjamin Twardosz, LL.M. discussed career prospects, the secrets of success and their own careers. 

CERHA HEMPEL is delighted about the success of this format. Each year for the past fifteen years, selected applicants have been given the opportunity to simulate a transaction during the course of a practical workshop and to gain an insight into M&A practice. This year, the focus was primarily on the subject of "Warranty & Indemnity Insurance".

"We want to create a forum – which brings together theory and practice – for people who show great potential. By looking at the kind of deals we are involved in on a daily basis, the Big Deal gives top students and graduates the opportunity to gain an insight into the professional world of the transaction lawyer, something their university education does not provide. The quality of the participants has demonstrated once again that we can look forward to a new generation of exceptionally well-qualified M&A lawyers in the future", said Dr. Clemens Hasenauer, Managing Partner and Head of the Corporate Transactions Department at CERHA HEMPEL. 

A success story over the past fifteen years: CERHA HEMPEL "Big Deal" 

Each year, the CERHA HEMPEL "Big Deal" workshop offers undergraduates, graduates and PhD students of law or commercial law the opportunity to take a look behind the scenes of an M&A transaction. Those participating in the workshop perform a variety of tasks ranging from organising the sales process, drafting a confidentiality agreement, and submitting a takeover offer, to issuing ad hoc publicity, performing due diligence, signing and closing the deal, and implementing post merger integration. Using real life M&A model documents, participants work together in groups to develop and present solutions. CERHA HEMPEL offers high potentials the opportunity to put the knowledge they have acquired at university into practice during a workshop.