New Partner at EY Law Austria: Martin Hanzl, Attorney for NewTech

Martin Hanzl (32) is EY Law’s youngest partner in Austria

As of July 1, 2024, Dr. Martin Hanzl has been promoted to partner at EY Law Austria, making him the youngest partner. The NewTech team – led by Martin Hanzl since 2021 – is one of the fastest-growing areas of EY Law, with artificial intelligence, blockchain, and crypto-assets having become mainstream, especially since the advent of ChatGPT. This comes with complex legal questions, which the team around Martin Hanzl, as one of the market leaders in Austria, manages.

The practice group led by Martin Hanzl is distinguished not only by its very successful advisory services to the leading national FinTechs and traditional financial institutions in this field but also by advising some of the world’s largest crypto asset service providers as part of their European strategy.

“I am very pleased to be part of the EY Law partnership from now on and to be able to continue working on our leading position in the NewTech sector in this role. The European legislator has laid the foundation for legally secure innovation with the digitalization strategy, especially with the AI Act, Data Act, and MiCAR, and we look forward to navigating our clients safely through the regulations,” says Martin Hanzl, attorney for NewTech about his new role as a partner.

“Martin has been convincing for years with his comprehensive knowledge in the NewTech sector. With his ability to solve complex regulatory and technical legal questions in a client-oriented manner, he brings enormous added value to our firm. Therefore, it was clear and more than deserved to welcome him now as our youngest partner. Congratulations!” says EY Law partner Mario Gall, with whom Martin Hanzl began his professional career as a legal trainee.

Martin Hanzl’s NewTech Team

The attorney for NewTech, Martin Hanzl personally and his NewTech team have been repeatedly recognized for their leading and competent advice and support for companies in the technology and digitalization sector at national and international law firm rankings, such as being named the only Austrian firm in Band 1 of the AT Chambers FinTech Rankings and other rankings in Juve, Legal500, WTR1000.

The EY Law NewTech team of the new partner currently includes: attorney Marie Winter, attorney Daniela Birnbauer, legal associate Alexander Glaser, legal associate Paul Neubauer, associate Ralph Rirsch, legal associate Eva Arene, legal associate Matthias Schmid, project manager Anja Moser, and legal student Celina Thiess, and is continuing to grow in the future.

Lecturer, Keynote Speaker & Author

In addition to his work at EY Law, Martin Hanzl shares his expertise as a lecturer at renowned national and international educational institutions such as universities, including Harvard Law School, and is a sought-after keynote speaker at various globally known FinTech and AI events (most recently in Denver, USA, Dubai, UAE, and more).

Furthermore, as the author of several handbooks and numerous specialist articles, or podcasts on topics such as digitalization, AI, smart contracts, new technologies, he makes a significant contribution to the scientific development of various legal fields. At the European level, the NewTech lawyer is regularly involved as a project manager in various research projects of the prestigious European Law Institute (ELI), such as on “Blockchain and Smart Contracts” or “Succession of Digital Assets, Data and other Digital Remains”.

EY Law partners in Austria

Partners at EY Law in Austria are Martin Hanzl (NewTech), Mario Gall (M&A), Georg Perkowitsch (M&A/ Corporate), Helen Pelzmann (Corporate / Labour), Katrin Speigner in Salzburg (Corporate), Julia Karl and Stephan Größ (both Real Estate)