Dr. János
Kopasz
- Practice
- Counsel · Head of IT, Data & Cyber · Taylor Wessing Budapest, an international law firm
- Teaching
- Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary, Faculty of Law, Department of Digital and Technology LawAcademy of European Law (ERA), Trier, Germany
- Recognition
- The Legal 500 Recommended lawyer 2023 · Rising Star 2024 · Leading individual 2025 · Data privacy and data protection, HungaryIP STARS (Managing IP) Rising Star 2023 · 2026
- IAPP
- AIGP · CIPP/E · CIPMContributor, IAPP AIGP textbookCo-Chair, KnowledgeNet Hungary ChapterAdvisory Board Member, Privacy Bar Section
- Author
- OneTrust DataGuidanceHungary: Employee Monitoring guidance note, 2024 and 2025Data Protection Expert since 2021
I have been with Taylor Wessing in Budapest since 2011 and have led the IT, Data & Cyber practice since June 2026. Most of my matters are decided where legal and compliance meet product, information security or procurement; in international groups, often between the Hungarian subsidiary and headquarters, in English and Hungarian.
US and Western European groups operating in the EU get an international firm’s Budapest team for their Hungarian matters; what I take on, I lead personally.
Digital compliance rarely stops at one statute. GDPR, the AI Act, NIS2, DORA, the CRA, the DSA, the Data Act, the ePrivacy rules and accessibility, consumer and employment law often touch the same systems, vendors, evidence and failure modes. My work is to make them run as one: clear ownership, a workable process and an audit trail.
The longer argument, on who answers for AI systems when deadlines move, is in The Accountability Gap.
“…heralded as ‘one of the most impressive lawyers in Hungary’ for his knowledge of AI, regulatory, and privacy matters”
Client feedback · The Legal 500, Hungary: Data privacy and data protection
“His judgement inspires confidence and he remains calm and constructive under time pressure.”
“I place particular trust in János Kopasz’s expertise.”
“…exceptional regulatory knowledge with the ability to explain complex issues clearly and practically”
“…comes up with innovative solutions to challenging situations”
Legal work runs through Taylor Wessing’s Budapest office: the Advisory page sets out the six practice areas and how an engagement works. The Journal, the talks and the teaching are in my own name.
A good decision is one you can still defend later.
That is why every piece of my work ends with a documented rationale, a named owner and the evidence, so that it holds up before an authority, a counterparty or a court.
Portfolio Digital Compliance · Budapest · Photo: PortfolioThe short dossier
Counsel
Head of IT, Data & Cyber practice
International law firm, Budapest. Practice head since June 2026, with the firm since 2011. Attorney-at-law, Budapest Bar Association.
Taylor Wessing profile ↗ Appointment announcement ↗The Legal 500 · Managing IP
The Legal 500: Recommended lawyer 2023 · Rising Star 2024 · Leading individual 2025, Data privacy and data protection, Hungary; Recommended lawyer, Intellectual Property, 2024.
Managing IP, IP STARS: Rising Star, 2023 and 2026.
Three years in The Legal 500
AIGP · CIPP/E · CIPM
All three IAPP certifications are current; the public verification records are linked below.
Advisory Board Member, Privacy Bar Section, 2025 to 2026. Co-Chair, KnowledgeNet Hungary since 2022. IAPP Volunteer Leadership Recognition.
Member of the Hungarian AI Coalition and the Hungarian Corporate Compliance Society.
University of Szeged · Pázmány
JD, University of Szeged, with earlier law studies at Pázmány Péter Catholic University. Working languages: English and Hungarian.
WSET Level 2 Award in Wines.
Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary · Academy of European Law
Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary, Faculty of Law, Department of Digital and Technology Law: visiting lecturer since September 2025. In 2026/27, “Bevezetés az MI szabályozásába” (Introduction to AI regulation) and “Bevezetés az MI technológiájába” (Introduction to AI technology) on the new LL.M. in Artificial Intelligence and EU Digital Law, and the first-year “Introduction to the application of AI”.
Academy of European Law, Trier, invited trainer on AI and legal technology. Lead instructor of a certificate-issuing course in five units on AI systems in the organisation, with Én Konferenciám.
The LL.M. programme on the faculty’s website ↗
AI Summit Budapest · Portfolio · Én Konferenciám
AI Summit Budapest: a legal roundtable in 2023 and a talk every year since 2024; the Portfolio conferences, the Én Konferenciám GDPR & AI Year-End Conference and the Wolters Kluwer LegalTech Meetup with “Kód vs. Kódex”.
Full speaking record →OneTrust DataGuidance · ComputerTrends
OneTrust DataGuidance Data Protection Expert since 2021 and author of its Hungary Employee Monitoring guidance note. ComputerTrends cover contributor, with coverage in Portfolio, hvg.hu, 24.hu, Világgazdaság, Jogi Fórum and other business media, plus radio commentary since 2019.
The guidance note below ↓Wolters Kluwer Jogászdíj
Legal team of the year (team member), Intellectual Property, 2018.
AI Governance: From Strategy to Execution
The official IAPP textbook for the AI Governance Professional (AIGP) training programme. I am one of its contributors, with research support to chapter 6.
- Publisher
- IAPP, 2026
- Role
- contributor, chapter 6
- Certificate
- AIGP, with its public record
Hungary: Employee Monitoring
I wrote the Hungary guidance note on employee monitoring for OneTrust DataGuidance’s international privacy research platform. It was published as a new note in 2024, and I updated it in 2025 for the AI Act, workplace AI, shadow AI, and high-risk and prohibited HR systems.
- Publisher
- OneTrust DataGuidance
- Role
- author, 2024; update, 2025
The certificates behind the letters
Each item opens its live verification record on credential.net (Accredible).
AIGP, Artificial Intelligence Governance Professional · IAPP
CIPP/E, Certified Information Privacy Professional/Europe · IAPP
CIPM, Certified Information Privacy Manager · IAPP
Advisory Board Member, Privacy Bar Section · IAPP
Volunteer Leadership Recognition · IAPP
Cross-border matters, speaking invitations and press
The contact page sends each enquiry to the right address: legal matters, speaking and press, and everything else.