Legalink concludes a landmark General Meeting in Budapest

This year's business programme reflected the extraordinary complexity of the world in which Legalink members operate — spanning geopolitics, emerging technologies, legal psychology, and the wellbeing of legal professionals.

Geopolitical and Economic Trends

The meeting opened with a keynote address by Amb. (r.) Dr. Réka Szemerkényi, former Hungarian Ambassador to the United States and former National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of Hungary. Her presentation — "Geopolitical and Economic Trends: Maybe the End of Globalization and the Need to Learn New Rules?" — set a bold intellectual tone for the days ahead.

Drawing on decades of experience at the intersection of diplomacy, security, and foreign policy, Dr. Szemerkényi offered a rigorous analysis of the forces reshaping the international order: the erosion of trust in multilateral institutions, the weaponisation of the global economy, and the emergence of what she described as a "poli-crisis" in political values. Her examination of China's quiet strategic expansion across European infrastructure, Russia's hybrid warfare, and the mounting pressure on Europe to develop genuine strategic autonomy was both sobering and clarifying. For legal practitioners advising clients on cross-border investment and international strategy, her framework for how small and medium-sized states navigate this new order was immediately applicable.

Outward Investment: Managing Risks, Trade Barriers and Dispute Resolution Across Borders

Dr. Eszter Soós PhD, independent political scientist and adjunct professor at ELTE and Milton Friedman University, and one of Hungary's foremost experts on corporate political risk, delivered a focused and timely presentation on the political landscape following the Hungarian elections. Her analysis — "What to Watch After the Hungarian Election: Scenarios and Consequences" — offered the kind of clear-eyed, forward-looking intelligence that business leaders and cross-border legal practitioners need when advising clients in a period of political transition.

Her session was complemented by a panel on Dispute Risk and Resolution in Outward Investment, which explored the legal and commercial complexities that arise as businesses expand across borders — from managing regulatory exposure and trade barriers to navigating dispute resolution mechanisms in unfamiliar jurisdictions.

Space and Defence Technologies: The New Legal Frontier

One of the most captivating sessions of the meeting was the panel on Space and Defence Technologies, moderated by Josh Smith of Bell Nunnally & Martin LLP (Dallas), currently specialising in space law through an LL.M. at the University of Mississippi.

The panel featured Fruzsina Tari, head of the legal team supporting space and defence technologies at 4iG — one of Europe's fastest-growing technology groups — and Dr. Balázs Bartóki-Gönczy, Vice-Dean for Academic Affairs and Director of the Institute of Aerospace and Telecommunications Law at Ludovika University of Public Service.

Together, the panellists guided the audience through the foundational frameworks of international space law, the liability regimes that apply when commercial satellites collide, the extraterritorial reach of the new EU Space Act, and the governance challenges posed by large private constellations and the militarisation of space. The session closed with a look beyond Earth orbit — to the Artemis Accords and the legal questions that await humanity on the Moon and beyond. For many in the room, it was a reminder that space law is no longer a field for the future. It is the present.

Psychology of the Courtroom and Negotiations

Perhaps the most provocative session of the meeting was the panel on Psychology of the Courtroom and Negotiations, which opened with a live social experiment conducted by Dr. János Vajda, Partner at Szecskay Attorneys at Law.

Using priming, authority bias, and strategic framing, Dr. Vajda demonstrated — in real time, on an audience of legal professionals — how easily a compelling narrative can override critical thinking. The experiment sparked a frank and fascinating panel discussion with Prof. Dr. András Osztovits, Judge of the Curia of Hungary, and Jorge A. Mestre, renowned international litigator and Partner at Rivero Mestre (Miami).

The panel explored how storytelling must be recalibrated when moving between a U.S. jury trial and a continental or arbitral setting; whether professional judges are more susceptible to cognitive tunnel vision than a diverse jury; the conscious construction of narrative frames — villain, rational actor, damages anchor — in high-stakes litigation; and the growing role of AI in legal reasoning, and what is lost when we outsource deep reading to a machine. Jorge Mestre's account of serving as arbitrator alongside a colleague who relied on AI to process thousands of pages of briefs — while he read every word himself — provoked one of the meeting's most candid exchanges on legal intuition, cognitive atrophy, and what it means to truly understand a case.

Lawyer Wellbeing

Rounding out the business programme was a session on the mental wellbeing of lawyers — a topic that resonates deeply across the profession and one that generated genuine conversation among delegates. As the demands on legal practitioners continue to intensify, the network's commitment to addressing wellbeing as a professional priority reflects Legalink's belief that strong networks are built on strong people.

The social programme was every bit as memorable as the business sessions. The North America Regional Group opened the meeting with a warm and convivial cocktail reception on the eve of the General Meeting, setting a collegial spirit that carried through the days ahead.

The welcome cocktail reception at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences — one of Budapest's most storied institutions — offered a magnificent setting for members to reconnect and forge new relationships across the network.

The gala dinner at Aranybástya, perched above the Danube on the Buda Castle hill, was the defining social moment of the meeting. With the lights of Budapest shimmering below, it was an evening that encapsulated everything the Legalink General Meeting is meant to be: exceptional company, extraordinary surroundings, and a shared sense of what this network has built together.

Legalink extends its deepest gratitude to the entire team at Szecskay Attorneys at Law for their extraordinary organisation, generosity, and hospitality — and in particular to András, Judit, Annegret, and Viktoria, whose dedication and care ensured that every detail of the meeting was handled with excellence.