Dr. Levente Antal Szabó on the Top Legal Executives list – It’s not the size that matters, but the entrepreneurial spirit.

Dr. Levente Antal Szabó, partner and managing director of the law firm LeitnerLaw Szabó & Partners, is featured on the list of our country's most prominent legal leaders. In an interview conducted on this occasion, he presents the latest trends in the legal field.

How has LeitnerLaw adapted to the world transformed by AI?

The change is indeed so significant that only the largest companies are able to keep up. Fortunately, our international background ensures that we are capable of integrating developments that are impeccable from both a data protection and cybersecurity perspective. But we haven’t discarded so-called ‘rule-based’ technological solutions either — for example, we have very strong tools for document automation. We will continue to use both approaches side by side for a long time.

Is technology having an impact on staffing levels and revenues?

The jobs of those who are unwilling to use new technology — or who rely on it entirely — may be at risk. We want to provide opportunities for those who are ready to grow, but this increases the costs of training and development.

Answers provided by AI must be treated critically — for example, the hallucination effect can only be overridden by a lawyer with a systems-thinking approach. Using an automotive example: in critical situations, we need to be able to drive better than AI, but routine everyday tasks can be entrusted to it.

AI will reduce revenues from the routine or low-value tasks, but since a significant part of our revenue comes from high value-added consulting, we do not need to worry.

What impact will the EU AI law have on the Hungarian legal environment?

The prohibited use of artificial intelligence must be avoided, such as for emotion recognition, admission decisions based solely on AI, or social scoring. Appropriate measures must be taken to mitigate the risks, such as staff training, documentation of AI use, human oversight, and post-training evaluation.

Where is the legal market headed? Will it continue to consolidate?

Yes, the concentration of the market is still expected. Who will stay afloat depends on who will be able to operate well in the new ‘hybrid’ world. I continue to believe in small and medium-sized enterprises; I think it’s not the size that matters, but the entrepreneurial and innovative spirit. The biggest difference between large and smaller firms is that in a small firm you have to manage resources very wisely, and there is no room for mistakes.

What is your opinion about the young colleagues graduating from university?

I really enjoy working with young people – they are open and curious. They will learn precision and a systematic approach in time. However, they are no longer willing to sacrifice their entire lives on the altar of work, and they can show us how to create balance. We strive for empathy, and we are also learning to coexist in the world of work.

Dr. Levente Antal Szabó is a partner and the head of LeitnerLaw Szabó & Partners Law Firm. His main areas of expertise are advising family businesses, corporate transactions, and competition law.

In 2024, he began working more closely with LeitnerLaw | LeitnerLeitner, as the Austrian firm LeitnerLaw Rechtsanwälte is the market leader in the region in legal services for medium-sized enterprises, including family businesses and their owners, particularly in the areas of succession and wealth planning. This allows him to leverage his previous experience at the EU level as well.