Bernt Elsner

Bernt Elsner is Head of the CMS Public Procurement Group. In this position, he leads an international team of more than 140 specialist lawyers. Further, he leads the Austrian teams for public procurement, EU competition and regulatory.

Bernt Elsner is one of Austria’s leading specialists in the changing and dynamic field of public procurement with 20+ years of experience in Vienna and Brussels. He has influenced Austrian public procurement law through his numerous publications and lectures. He advises contracting authorities on structuring complex tender proceedings, advises and represents clients in procurement litigation matters and has extensive experience in compliance issues in tender procedures.

Bernt Elsner studied law at the University of Vienna and business administration at the Vienna University of Economics and Business. In 1993/1994, he assisted Austrian Constitutional Court Justices Prof. Dr. Karl Spielbüchler and Prof. Dr. Karl Korinek as a law clerk. In 1997 he worked at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton in Brussels. He was a managing partner at CMS Reich-Rohrwig Hainz from 2004 to 2010 and has sat on the CMS Executive Committee since 2004.

He is the author of six books on public procurement, numerous book contributions and articles and co-editor of Austria’s leading journal on public procurement and building contract law (“Zeitschrift für Vergaberecht und Bauvertragsrecht”). He often lectures on public procurement and advises on all aspects of public procurement law and public private partnerships.

Bernt Elsner has specific industry knowledge in the construction and infrastructure, healthcare, financial, energy, and waste sectors.