One of the world’s top international legal ratings, the British company Lexology Index Awards (formerly Who’s Who Legal), has ranked HAVEL & PARTNERS the best law firm in the Czech Republic for the seventh time.
In quick succession, HAVEL & PARTNERS has secured its second major accolade, underscoring the exceptional quality of its services. Earlier this November, at the 17th annual Law Firm of the Year competition, HAVEL & PARTNERS was honoured as the best domestic law firm for the fifth consecutive year and also received the award for best client services.
“With the opening of our office in Frankfurt this year, we are further expanding our international activities and strengthening our position as a top legal advisor in Central and Eastern Europe. Thanks to our unique market knowledge and comprehensive services, we are ready to assist clients not only in CEE but also with their global activities and cross-border transactions. We are pleased that international ratings also recognise us as a leader in this region,” said managing partner Jaroslav Havel.
Lexology is one of the most respected legal rating agencies. Each year, it announces the best law firms in over 70 jurisdictions. The Lexology database includes information from more than 900 law firms worldwide, covering over 170 jurisdictions and 50 areas of law.
The results of this year’s rating were announced at a gala event in London on 7 November 2024.
HAVEL & PARTNERS, the largest independent law firm in Central Europe, has been ranked among the TOP 100 most valuable companies under Czech ownership according to the Czech Elite ranking. The ranking has been compiled for the second time by the editorial team of Seznam Zprávy in collaboration with Deloitte. Recently, the prestigious advisory firm Patria valued the HAVEL & PARTNERS Group at over 3.3 billion CZK. The results were announced at a gala event on Tuesday, 12 November, in the historic Fanta hall at Prague’s main railway station.
According to an analysis conducted this year by Patria Corporate Finance, HAVEL & PARTNERS, including its Slovak office and training Academy, is worth approximately 2.8 billion CZK. The entire group, which also includes the debt collection agency Cash Collectors and other specialised entities, is worth over 3.3 billion CZK. Given these figures, HAVEL & PARTNERS ranked 99th on the Czech Elite list. However, this valuation was made before the establishment of ONE FAMILY OFFICE, officially founded on 1 January 2024, which has increased the overall value of the group significantly.
“The high figures from the 2023 valuation and our position in the TOP 100 of the Czech Elite ranking are proof of our exceptional economic stability and position in the domestic legal market, as well as the continuous growth and development of our entire group. This includes our service portfolio, technological innovations, and especially our financial results. Being ranked among the top in Czech business confirms that we are one of the most stable players in the market,” commented Jaroslav Havel, managing partner of the firm.
HAVEL & PARTNERS, the largest Czech-Slovak law firm, opened a representative office in Frankfurt earlier this year in May. The firm’s exceptional economic results and successful management are further recognised by the AAA Bisnode certificate of outstanding credibility, awarded by Dun & Bradstreet agency. The certificate places the firm among companies with consistently excellent financial results in the market.
This year’s Czech Elite ranking features both well-established companies with deep historical roots and a number of start-ups founded in recent years. The editorial team at Seznam Zprávy compiled a broad sample of entities using databases from Deloitte, competitive rankings, and their own data and insights into the domestic business landscape. The team considered two main criteria: the predominance of domestic capital among the owners and sufficient size.
The complete ranking results can be viewed here.
For the fifth consecutive year, HAVEL & PARTNERS has been recognized as the Best Czech and the Best Client Service law firm in the 17th annual Law Firm of the Year competition. The firm also earned top awards in the IP and M&A categories. Additionally, HAVEL & PARTNERS was among the most recommended law firms across other practice areas.
“In this rapidly evolving business landscape, we strive to be a trusted partner for our clients, being able to anticipate developments and risks, craft tailored solutions and deliver expert guidance at the highest level. Our teams demonstrate daily that the right formula is a blend of expertise, innovation, and personal commitment,” said Managing Partner Jaroslav Havel. “We constantly expand and improve our services and not only in business consultancy. Most notably, we became the first CEE firm to establish a direct presence in Frankfurt, Germany, in May. This year, we have also focused on distinctly separating our corporate services from those tailored to private clients, which are very distinctive in many respects. As a result, we have expanded our group to include a dedicated ONE FAMILY OFFICE,” Jaroslav Havel explained.
The firm has now secured its third consecutive victory in the International Law Firm category of the Law Firm of the Year awards in Slovakia, building on its excellent results in the Czech Republic.
Besides the award for Best Czech Law Firm, the award for Best Client Service, HAVEL & PARTNERS earned also earned the award for their specialised M&A group. “Our unique network of international contacts, combined with our direct presence in Frankfurt, empowers us to execute and manage cross-border transactions worldwide,” explained Jan Koval, the firm’s M&A partner.
“Amidst the persistent global market challenges and inflationary pressures that have impacted our firm and clients in recent years, we are gradually stabilising our position and maintaining our leadership in the central European legal market,” said Jan Koval. The transactional team of over 80 seasoned lawyers remains to be the largest and most experienced in the region, consistently leading the number of completed transactions across the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and central Europe.
HAVEL & PARTNERS claimed first place in the Intellectual Property category as well. The firm’s advisory group in this field comprises more than 25 experienced lawyers and patent attorneys. “Last year, we strengthened our IP practice by establishing H&P Patents. Clients choose our patent agency not only for our large, specialised IP team – the largest in the Czech market – but also for our comprehensive IP services. These range from registering industrial rights to representing clients in complex IP disputes and technology transactions, as well as providing venture capital advice and legal counsel for the film and music industries. We have long served ambitious Czech companies, multinational corporations, innovative entrepreneurs, investors, and startups, protecting their original ideas and products. The award in the Intellectual Property category confirms our leadership in this field and our commitment to the future,” said Ivan Rámeš, the partner co-responsible for leading the team.
Last year, the IP team was significantly strengthened with the addition of experienced European patent attorneys. The newly established patent agency H&P Patents, where these attorneys work, now offers comprehensive patent services across all technical fields. This includes the validation of European patents, supplementary protection certificates, and utility and industrial designs in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
HAVEL & PARTNERS was ranked among the top tier of highly recommended law firms in the Law Firm of the Year competition across multiple professional categories, namely 18. With the most nominations and titles earned over the course of the history of the awards, the firm remains the most successful and comprehensive law practice in the Czech Republic.
The official results of the legal competition, organised by EPRAVO.CZ under the auspices of the Ministry of Justice and the Czech Bar Association each year, were announced at the Žofín Palace in Prague on Monday, 4th November.
HAVEL & PARTNERS, the largest Czech-Slovak law firm, which has long been the top M&A law firm in the Czech Republic in terms of the number of completed transactions, and has ranked among the top law firms in the CEE Region, and ONE FAMILY OFFICE, a family office with an international reach, are further expanding their specialised M&A and corporate finance services. They are deepening their cooperation with advisors from the Czech company Nexia One Corporate Finance CZ, which is continuously building on the activities of VGD Corporate Finance under the new brand.
Nexia One Corporate Finance with a new name symbolising its affiliation to the wider ONE FAMILY OFFICE Group, with its experienced team comprising nine members, covers all areas of corporate and project finance advisory. As for the legal aspects of the transactions, it uses the background and experience of the specialised M&A team of 80 lawyers at HAVEL & PARTNERS.
“We are responding to the strong demand from a significant part of our clientele for integrated legal, tax, accounting and corporate finance advisory services in the broadest scope under one roof, with one managing partner. Of course, we will continue to cooperate with other corporate finance leaders in the Czech Republic and Slovakia according to our clients’ preferences,” Jaroslav Havel, managing partner of HAVEL & PARTNERS and ONE FAMILY OFFICE, explained.
Since 2003, the Nexia One Corporate Finance team has successfully completed over 170 business sales, mergers and acquisitions. Senior team members worked on transactions with a total volume of over EUR 7 billion. It is now joining forces with HAVEL & PARTNERS, which over the past 18 years has participated as legal advisor in the execution of 870 transactions, not only in the field of mergers, acquisitions, sales and restructurings, with a total value exceeding CZK 850 billion, and also with ONE FAMILY OFFICE, which covers all services in the field of asset management, protection and development.
“We perceive the collaboration with Nexia One Corporate Finance as a strategic step that will enable our partners to benefit from a combination of legal and financial advice at the highest level. The Nexia One Corporate Finance team has many years of experience and proven success in M&A. Together, we offer a comprehensive solution that covers not only the legal aspects of transactions, but also financial structuring, valuation and investor negotiations. This allows us to serve even the most demanding requests more effectively and further expand the search for business opportunities abroad for corporate clients as well as business partners of the ONE FAMILY OFFICE,” Jaroslav Havel, managing partner, commented.
Based on the number of transactions the team is involved in, Nexia One Corporate Finance CZ regularly ranks among the top M&A advisors on the Czech market. “We aim to go even further. Thanks to our experience and network of contacts, as well as our efficient processes, where we ensure a truly comprehensive process of mergers, acquisitions, company valuations and due diligence for clients and investors according to individual strategies, we plan to increase the number of successful transactions in a short time, aiming to become the market leader in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and the CEE region,” said Michal Černý, a partner at Nexia One Corporate Finance, who has 14 years of experience in project and structured financing.
The company covers all areas of corporate and project financing advisory – whether it is the sale or acquisition of companies or selected assets; preparation of companies for IPOs; project, real estate, acquisition and investment financing; restructuring; business status analyses, including the business plan development; company valuations, as well as rating advisory.
“For strategic reasons, our company has also become part of the prestigious international group Nexia International, which allows us to provide our clients with an even wider range of services and direct contacts with an international reach,” added Václav Strýhal, founding partner of Nexia One Corporate Finance, who has over 20 years of experience in the M&A market.
NEXIA International, a global advisory network of independent accounting, auditing and consulting firms, has been in the business for 25 years. It offers a consistent and interconnected portfolio of financial advisory services, particularly transaction and tax advisory, accounting, legal advisory, valuation and audit services. NEXIA International has 650 offices in 115 countries and employs more than 20,000 professionals. By revenue, it ranks among the top 10 global advisory firms.
According to a recent analysis prepared by the consulting company Patria Corporate Finance, the value of the law firm HAVEL & PARTNERS, including the Slovak office and the educational Academy, is around CZK 2.8 billion. The value of the entire group, including also the Cash Collectors collection agency and other specialised entities, was estimated by Patria at more than CZK 3.3 billion. The law firm thus once again confirms its exceptional position on the Central European legal market, which is supported by excellent economic results in the first six months of this year.
The valuation was made by the renowned consulting company Patria Corporate Finance on the basis of income and comparative company valuation methods. As part of the analysis, it determined the total value of the HAVEL & PARTNERS group at CZK 3,327 million as of 31 December 2023. This is more than CZK 1 billion above the valuation from late 2020 (CZK 2,289 million) when the value of the group was last quantified by that company. Moreover, the current valuation was completed before the formation of ONE FAMILY OFFICE, which was officially established on 1 January 2024 and significantly increases the value of the entire group.
“I consider the leap of more than CZK 1 billion in three years to be an extraordinary success for an independent law firm,” said Jaroslav Havel, managing partner of the firm. “The analysis declares our exceptionally strong position on the legal market in the whole of Central Europe. The firm’s continuous economic growth and long-term economic stability are also a confirmation for our clients and business partners that they are working with a maximally trustworthy firm with minimal risk, which is constantly investing in expanding its portfolio of services, innovative technologies and overall development,” he said.
According to the analysis, the high level of the valuation is based on the fact that HAVEL & PARTNERS is the largest independent law firm in Central Europe and has in the long term been the most successful law firm in the Czech Republic and Slovakia in terms of ratings and awards. The firm’s success and excellent reputation are supported by a top-notch legal team with extensive know-how in almost all areas of law and business sectors, a broad portfolio of clients, strategic financial management and marketing, a unique business development and CRM system and synergies within the group.
As the greatest opportunities for the future, the study identifies further intensive integration of legal, tax and economic advisory services, the expansion of the clientele through the recently opened office in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, and the close cooperation with ONE FAMILY OFFICE which provides an integrated combination of advisory services for the management and protection of the wealth of wealthy families and individuals.
The exceptional economic condition and successful management of HAVEL & PARTNERS is also confirmed by the Bisnode AAA highest creditworthiness certificate awarded by Dun & Bradstreet, which has consistently ranked the firm among the most stable companies on the market.
HAVEL & PARTNERS, the largest law firm in Central Europe with 350 lawyers and tax advisors, 500 associates and 6 offices in Czechia and Slovakia, has become the first law firm from the CEE region to open an office in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, on 1 May 2024. The German office will be managed by Philip Smitka, a partner with 24 years of experience as a lawyer in the German and Czech legal markets.
“Achieving certain size, when our annual sales are around €60 million, HAVEL & PARTNERS has become a major player in the European legal market. Now we want to be closer to our international clients and international law firms that work with us, as well as to international private equity and venture capital funds, investment and private banks, family offices, and other stakeholders and business partners. That is why we have taken the important step of expanding our direct representation to include an office in Frankfurt, the gateway for business worldwide,” Jaroslav Havel, the firm’s Managing Partner, commented on the expansion.
The German office in Frankfurt and its three-person team will be led by partner Philip Smitka. With 24 years of experience in the German and Czech legal markets, he worked as a lawyer and later as a partner in one of the largest German law firms Noerr for 18 years, including 7 years as a partner in its Prague office. Philip specialises in corporate law, mergers and acquisitions (including real estate transactions), contracts, international trade and litigation, and commercial and investment arbitration. He also focuses on advising clients in the automotive and information technology sectors.
Philip also conducted internal investigations and advised on compliance issues . He studied law at the University of Tübingen, Deusto University Bilbao and the University of Cologne. Before joining HAVEL & PARTNERS, Philip worked for more than 5 years as a partner in the US-based international law firm Squire Patton Boggs in Stuttgart.
Besides Philip Smitka, another senior lawyer of HAVEL & PARTNERS with extensive experience will be based in the Frankfurt office – Josef Bouchal, a senior associate specialising primarily in M&A, private equity, venture capital, financings and alternative funds.
The Frankfurt office of HAVEL & PARTNERS focuses on providing support to international clients targeting the CEE region, as well as to clients from the Czech Republic and Slovakia looking to expand further abroad. The Frankfurt team will advise on Czech and Slovak law aspects of international corporate and financial transactions and other matters, and provide strategic advice on doing business in Germany and the Central European markets.
Jaroslav Havel adds: “We will not be competing with local law firms, but instead aim to deepen cooperation with local partners and law firms based in Germany. Many local and international businesses are interested in long-term cooperation with Central and Eastern Europe. We also have growing number of Czech and Slovak clients who would like to do business in Germany or elsewhere in the West. The opening of our German office will therefore further enhance our existing infrastructure, enabling improved client and business partner cooperation.” In addition to Jaroslav Havel and Philip Smitka, such cooperation will be supported by the firm’s other partners, namely Robert Nešpůrek, Jan Koval, Martin Peckl, and Marek Lošan, and partner Štěpán Štarha will be responsible for cooperation with clients in Slovakia.
HAVEL & PARTNERS has a 25-member team, including 7 partners, specialising in serving German-speaking clients, making it one of the largest teams of this kind in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The firm has around 500 clients from German-speaking countries. Such clients include the largest and most prominent companies from German-speaking countries across all business sectors. Members of the team have many years of work and study experience in Germany or Austria or have worked at leading German or Austrian law firms in Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
The Frankfurt office will also be an opportunity for the firm’s lawyers aspiring to become partners to undertake a secondment to the Frankfurt office, allowing them to gain experience in international trade, law and business environments.
In addition to its Frankfurt office, HAVEL & PARTNERS currently operates directly in Prague, Brno, Bratislava, Plzeň, Olomouc and Ostrava and provides its clients with the most comprehensive international support available to Czech and Slovak law firms and the highest international standard of service quality, a flexible and creative approach, and business-oriented solutions tailored to solving legal matters.
HAVEL & PARTNERS provides legal and tax advice in 12 languages and has assisted clients in more than 110 countries around the world. Up to 70% of the firm’s cases involve an international element. By collaborating closely with leading law firms across Europe, Asia, North America, Africa and Australia, HAVEL & PARTNERS gives its clients access to both international and local knowledge and expertise through a network of over 90,000 lawyers in about 160 countries.
ONE FAMILY OFFICE, an innovative multi-family office providing a new dimension in professional wealth management and protection, is coming to the market. It provides solvent families and individuals comprehensive advisory services with international reach and for maximum client convenience. ONE FAMILY OFFICE was established in cooperation with the largest Czech-Slovak law firm HAVEL & PARTNERS. The combined assets under management of the founders, partners and a limited circle of business friends who participate in the ONE FAMILY OFFICE platform amounted to CZK 7.5 billion as at 1 January 2024. By merging with other selected or pre-negotiated partners, the multi-family office is to be on track to reach the USD 1 billion necessary to successfully operate in the international market during 2024. Senior members of the ONE FAMILY OFFICE team are based in Prague, Bratislava, London and Dubai; in 2024, the multi-family office is planning to expand its operations to open offices in Zurich and Frankfurt.
The services of ONE FAMILY OFFICE are based on comprehensive advice for high-net-worth families and individuals with disposable wealth of USD 10 million (comprehensive services). Nevertheless, ONE FAMILY OFFICE also provides individual co-investment opportunities for partners with disposable assets exceeding USD 1 million. According to available data and studies, there are about 50 thousand people in the Czech Republic and Slovakia with wealth exceeding USD 1 million and some 3 to 4 thousand people with a total wealth above USD 10 million.
“When you achieve success in business or another activity and manage to build up a certain amount of assets, the question arises as to how to manage them effectively so that they do not lose value and continue to develop. This is a question that we have addressed ourselves. Already in 2012, we slowly began to create a system for the comprehensive management, protection and financial management of our own assets built up through our legal practice. Now, after more than 10 years, we enable other business friends to become an equal part of this system and enjoy the benefits of our multi-family office on a partnership basis. For this purpose, we have established ONE FAMILY OFFICE, which enables not only sharing experience and co-investment opportunities on a club basis, but also participation in joint projects and closer connection of participating persons and families,” said Jaroslav Havel, partner of ONE FAMILY OFFICE and managing partner of HAVEL & PARTNERS.
Based in Prague, ONE FAMILY OFFICE is an entity managing private investments of shareholders of HAVEL & PARTNERS, the largest law firm in Central Europe. It primarily manages funds of the partners of HAVEL & PARTNERS and several close business friends. It focuses on investment management and operates independently from H&P’s core business of legal services.
An integral part of the unique combination of ONE FAMILY OFFICE services is access to top-notch service in legal protection, risk management, tax and accounting consultancy, corporate finance, health care, personal and data security, and reputation protection. The professional team will also take care of all statutory duties, including administration. ONE FAMILY OFFICE also brings its business partners extensive co-investment opportunities in the Czech Republic and abroad, including their regular evaluation.
The team consists of 15 top investment professionals with extraordinary experience from abroad and from the largest Czech-Slovak financial groups or family offices, including 4 partners, as well as a supporting team of HAVEL & PARTNERS’ Private Clients practice group comprising approximately 50 legal, tax and accounting advisors with unique know-how in asset management and protection.
Besides Jaroslav Havel, another partner of ONE FAMILY OFFICE on the consultancy’s part is David Neveselý of HAVEL & PARTNERS, who is responsible for asset protection and strategic asset management at ONE FAMILY OFFICE. “We provide comprehensive services for structuring the holding, protection and long-term management of private and business assets. And this includes an appropriate scope of fiduciary and trust services – especially with respect to the very popular private foundation and holding company solutions. We focus on protecting assets from adverse influences and the impact of family storms or unfortunate events,” David Neveselý explained.
ONE FAMILY OFFICE’s partner in charge of investments is Kateřina Zychová, CEO of Verdi Capital, who has many years of experience working for large investment banks in New York’s Wall Street and in the City of London. “At ONE FAMILY OFFICE, we analyse and evaluate opportunities in which we want to invest ourselves. The breadth of international and local contacts provides us with a unique range of knowledge – regular briefings from analysts at top global investment banks, Swiss or London-based private banks, as well as leading asset managers from the CEE region, information from private equity, venture capital and hedge funds. According to our findings, we offer a unique multi-family office service that is exceptional in our region for its breadth of information, team of experts and international reach. We believe that we are absolutely unique in this respect and can provide high-net-worth families with an excellent analytical and investment environment,” said Kateřina Zychová.
Another partner of the firm is Peter Bálint, who previously worked in a leading Slovak single-family office or as a portfolio manager of hedge funds. At ONE FAMILY OFFICE, he is responsible for foreign investments. “Our aim is to introduce our business partners to opportunities that are unavailable here and that basically no one has made in our region so far. We want to facilitate invstments and co-investments with top names – the Rolls Royce in investment, private equity, venture capital, hedge funds or other alternative investments,” said Peter Bálint. Nevertheless, the safety of the investment is crucial and always takes precedence over potentially higher returns.
The basic distinction and the reason for the creation of ONE FAMILY OFFICE was the need to invest efficiently and internationally. “That is why we contacted professionals with investment experience abroad. We have also been inspired by the principles of Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger in their company Berkshire Hathaway, who are considered the best investors since World War II, and we also draw on the principles of Ray Dalio, who built Bridgewater, one of the most important private companies in the United States,” added Jaroslav Havel.
Besides the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the senior team members are also active directly in London and Dubai. The multi-family office is also planning to open offices in Zurich and Frankfurt, where HAVEL & PARTNERS is also planning to have direct representation.
Structure of ONE FAMILY OFFICE makes investments abroad and plans to invest in shares, bonds, as well as top hedge funds, private equity funds and venture capital funds, particularly in the USA. In addition, it also invests in individual private deals in venture capital, growth equity and IPOs on foreign stock exchanges, or in various real estate funds or individual properties.
The services ONE FAMILY OFFICE are targeted at high-net-worth families and individuals, which may include successful entrepreneurs or managers who, after decades of practice, have accumulated a large part of their private assets. However, the clients also include top athletes with exceptional incomes whose careers may come to an abrupt end and are looking for someone to help them protect and grow their existing wealth. In addition, our expertise can be a benefit to successful people at the end of their careers who have no successors in asset protection and management and are looking for a workable solution for their family and future generations.
ONE FAMILY OFFICE closely cooperates and will expand cooperation with other single or multi-family offices in the Czech Republic, Slovak Republic and abroad; and creates an open cooperative architecture (platform), especially in the area of investments.
In addition to dedicated practice groups focused on investment opportunities, wealth management consulting, concierge services, fiduciary services or philanthropy, ONE FAMILY OFFICE can also rely on an Advisory Board. This is a loose association of respected investment, economic and business figures comprising representatives of entrepreneurs, investors and senior executives, clients and business friends of the group. The aim of this informal platform is to develop business over the long term, to share experience and know-how as well as investment ideas and opportunities, and to further support the intellectual, relational and financial development of the ONE FAMILY OFFICE Group, its members and partners.
“We want to enable the business partners of ONE FAMILY OFFICE to use our intellectual and relational know-how, including marketing and business development, to protect our assets together. In doing so, we pride ourselves on solid value pillars such as strategic thinking, individual approach, a top-notch team and developing long-term partnerships. We believe that success is not just about short-term profits, but about vision, patience, and an emphasis on values and ethics,” concluded Jaroslav Havel, Partner of ONE FAMILY OFFICE.
We wish you a wonderful, peaceful Christmas with those you love. We appreciate having had the opportunity to stand by your side this year and are ready to continue support you on your path to success in the New Year 2024.
The prestigious rating organisation Who’s Who Legal, sponsored by Lexology, announced the winners of this year’s Who’s Who Legal Awards at a gala event in London on 9 November. HAVEL & PARTNERS has added another win to its previous five ones in the Czech Republic and has once again become the best law firm in the domestic market according to the ranking.
At the beginning of September, for the fourth consecutive year, HAVEL & PARTNERS also won the Best Client Services and the Best Domestic Law Firm categories in the Law Firm of the Year competition in the Czech Republic, which it is now following up with success on the international stage.
“As much as it may seem that every other winning in legal competitions is a matter of course for us, the opposite is true. We are aware of the continuous professional work of all the members of the firm behind these achievements. I would therefore like to thank the entire team, as well as of course all clients and business partners. And because we always want to provide the highest possible level of legal services in all circumstances, we will continue to pursue every new challenge and assignment from our clients with the same determination and perseverance in the future,” said Jaroslav Havel, managing partner of the firm.
The Who’s Who Legal Awards annually recognise the best legal experts and law firms in more than 35 practice area categories and 75 jurisdictions. The winning law firms were selected by Who’s Who Legal based on several criteria – primarily feedback from clients and other competitors in the market, as well as professional references, breadth and depth of legal specialisations, and among others, the number of attorneys listed as individuals in the WWL Thought Leaders individual rankings.
Who’s Who Legal has been mapping leading law firms, consultancies and individual professionals in its analyses and publications since 1996.
HAVEL & PARTNERS advised its client, the Sekyra Group, a property development company, on the acquisition of the remaining land in the vicinity of the Smíchov railway station in Prague from České dráhy, a.s. The large-scale project Smíchov City is already being built on the land, where approximately 12,000 people are expected to live and work upon completion. In terms of its total purchase price, the transaction ranks among the largest on the domestic market.
Smíchov City is a new Prague-based comprehensive district with a number of commercial and residential buildings, services in the form of shops, supermarkets and restaurants, two hectares of green space in the form of three parks, a school and a link to the transport terminal or the existing Smíchov railway station. However, it is also awaiting extensive modernisation as part of the whole project.
The district is divided into two parts, northern and southern. Both parts will be connected by a pedestrian boulevard named after Madeleine Albright, a U.S. politician of Czech origin. The first residents should move into the northern part of Smíchov City by the end of this year. In the southern part of the city a large complex of Česká spořitelna, a hotel and a number of other multifunctional buildings are to be built.
The project will enable a large area of transport-industrial character in the wider centre of Prague, which has been deserted for many years, to come to life and find a new purpose.
Dear Clients and Business Friends,
We live in an era in which perhaps the only constant is change. The world is changing at a pace like never before in history. Those who cannot keep up and adapt to change have little chance of success in such a reality. In the new issue of H&P Magazine, both online and in PDF format, we bring you articles, commentaries, interviews, and analyses that will familiarise you with the latest trends and prepare you for the current challenges of our time.
Our colleagues from the IT/IP team will give you ten tips on how to use AI in your company with the blessing of a lawyer. You can also learn what good incentive programs, so-called ESOP plans, are for and how to practically make an employee a motivated driver of the company who is committed to stay.
These days bring not only new challenges, but also risks. For example, did you know that virtually any company that does not check its business partners thoroughly can unwittingly become involved in VAT fraud? How is that possible? Our tax specialists will answer your questions in the magazine.
And there’s more. How best to protect your loved ones for the times when you can no longer help them is also discussed by our colleagues in the article dedicated to inheritance. On the pages of the magazine we also discuss the situation on the real estate bond market, the green revolution in real estate, multi-family office solutions or the new rules for the oversight of transactions by competition authorities.
We believe you will find all the information useful and practically applicable for the further development of your business strategy or private activities.
We wish you pleasant and inspiring reading, and look forward to our further cooperation, in which we will be happy to be your reliable guide to the new reality in business.
In the first half of 2023, HAVEL & PARTNERS, the largest Czech-Slovak law firm, recorded double-digit growth in revenues from net legal and tax services, which increased by 12% year-on-year. Excellent economic results were achieved particularly by the Slovak office.
HAVEL & PARTNERS’ revenues from legal and tax advisory services for the first six months of 2023 amounted to CZK 502 million. Compared to the results for the first half of 2022, revenues have increased by 12% year-on-year. The positive development of the economic results was supported by both the Czech and Slovak offices, which reported revenue growth of more than 20%. The entire group’s revenues exceeded CZK 600 million in the first half of the year.
“Through a targeted strategy and adaptation to the current needs of our clients, we successfully responded to the dynamic market situation in the first half of 2023, while economic activity is gradually recovering. In the first half of 2023, we thus saw an overall positive trend with a good growth rate, which was also reflected in revenues. Compared to 2022, demand for legal services has increased, particularly in the areas of technology, venture capital, digitisation, tax advisory and other areas. At the same time, we continuously offer legal advice to clients in situations where they are still coping with the consequences of the events of the last two years, especially the consequences of the conflict in Ukraine, high inflation or high interest rates, and our team offers them help with an effective solution,” said Jaroslav Havel, managing partner, commenting on the market situation.
The firm’s economic growth was supported by services in the public sector, restructuring and insolvency, litigation practice, as well as advice on technology and commercial sector law. There was also interest in tax legal advisory services, with revenues from this area increasing by 24% year-on-year. HAVEL & PARTNERS has been growing continuously since the firm was founded in 2001. It has long offered top-quality and comprehensive legal and tax services and advice to leading Czech, Slovak and international companies, as well as Czech and Slovak entrepreneurs. It currently has more than 3,000 clients and provides legal services in all practice areas and industry sectors.
