József Antal is a Special Counsel in the Budapest office focusing on litigation and arbitration. He is a highly respected dispute resolution and arbitration expert with over 25 years of experience.

József is widely recognized for his expertise in arbitration and litigation matters. He also worked on numerous public procurement cases.

József spent 20 years at Baker & McKenzie Budapest, where he was leading the disputes resolution practice as a Partner. He also worked as head of legal and lead legal counsel for various companies such as Metro Cash & Carry and Grundfos, where he strengthened his commercial experience.

József has been working as an arbitrator before the Permanent Court of Arbitration attached to the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry since 2017.

His extensive experience gained in both private practice and in-house legal roles makes him a valuable addition to Kinstellar as the firm continues to expand its dispute resolution capabilities.

RECENT ENGAGEMENTS INCLUDE ADVISING*

DISPUTE RESOLUTION & LITIGATION

• A LEADING HUNGARIAN CONSTRUCTION COMPANY in the first three Hungarian private enforcement cases (follow-on actions). The total claimed amount was around EUR 70 million (In one of these cases, the Curia accepted our passing on defence, which was a landmark case in Hungary.)
• THE HUNGARIAN SUBSIDIARY OF AN INTERNATIONAL TOBACCO GROUP in approximately 150 administrative litigation matters initiated for various, alleged consumer protection law infringements
• THE HUNGARIAN SUBSIDIARY OF A LEADING INTERNATIONAL AUDITING COMPANY in connection with the so-called "Postabank scandal" before the Permanent Court of Arbitration attached to the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in order to secure and enforce a recourse claim of EUR 567 million
• THE HUNGARIAN SUBSIDIARY OF A MULTINATIONAL FINANCIAL GROUP before the Permanent Court of Arbitration of the Financial and Capital Markets in several arbitration cases arising from the so-called "Kulcsár broker scandal". Among these cases, the largest claim was around EUR 14 million
• A JAPANESE CAR MANUFACTURER before the Permanent Court of Arbitration attached to the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in an arbitration case initiated against a German supplier for the supply of defective parts, causing two recall campaigns; the amount of the claim was around EUR 80 million, the two recalls concerned approx. 220,000 cars

PUBLIC PROCUREMENT

• THE HUNGARIAN PARTY in connection with certain procurement law aspects of the extension of the Paks nuclear facility
• A MAJOR JAPANESE CONSTRUCTION COMPANY in a negotiated public procurement tender launched for the tunelling works of the most recently built metro line in Budapest
• A HUNGARIAN COMPANY SELLING MILITARY, POLICE AND INTELLIGENCE EQUIPMENT in various public and special procurement procedures

*Experience prior to joining Kinstellar.

EDUCATION

• 1999: József Attila University of Sciences, Szeged, Hungary, Faculty of Law

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATION

• Budapest Bar Association
• Hungarian Arbitration Association (vice president)
• ICC Central and Eastern European Arbitration Group
• Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Fellow member)
• Hungarian Food Bank Association (supervisory board member)

LANGUAGES

Hungarian, English