As the largest Czech-Slovak law firm, HAVEL & PARTNERS was honoured at the 13th annual Law Firm of the Year competition in Slovakia, where it claimed the top spot in the International Law Firm category for the fourth consecutive year. It also won first place in the Competition category for the fourth time and triumphed in the Mergers & Acquisitions category. In other 14 categories, the firm was ranked among highly recommended and recommended law firms, further underscoring the high quality and exceptional comprehensiveness of its services. These achievements are complemented by the firm’s success in the Czech Law Firm of the Year competition, where it won the Best Domestic Law Firm and the Best Client Service categories for the fifth consecutive year in 2024. With a total of more than five dozen awards in Czech and Slovak competitions in previous years, HAVEL & PARTNERS stands as the most successful and comprehensive law firm in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
“Winning the main award in the International Law Firm category for the fourth consecutive year confirms our ability to provide comprehensive international support for Czech and Slovak law firms. Our unique know-how of the legal and tax environment, combined with our international reach, makes us a reliable partner anywhere in the world. Last year, we became the first law firm from the CEE region to establish a direct presence in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Moreover, ONE FAMILY OFFICE, a new multi-family office established in cooperation with HAVEL & PARTNERS, adds a new and even more global dimension to our international support,” commented Jaroslav Havel, Managing Partner of HAVEL & PARTNERS.
The Competition team at HAVEL & PARTNERS, comprising nearly thirty top lawyers and economists, is one of the most experienced, largest, and fastest-growing practices not only in Slovakia and the Czech Republic but also in the entire CEE region. This year, the team secured its fourth consecutive victory in the prestigious Law Firm of the Year competition in the Competition category.
“Over the past three years, we have significantly strengthened our local presence in Slovakia. With a team of five experienced colleagues, we can handle even the largest projects and the most demanding clients. This victory is the result of the efforts of all our colleagues who contributed to providing competition law advice in Slovakia, and the clients who trusted us last year,” said Partner Lenka Štiková Gachová.
Partner Robert Neruda added: “As the only law firm in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, we offer clients a combination of legal and economic advice in competition law matters. We possess unique know-how utilised by more than 190 local and international clients, to whom we are deeply grateful for their trust.”
In addition to the main award for International Law Firm and the victory in the Competition category, HAVEL & PARTNERS also won the Mergers & Acquisitions category at this year’s Law Firm of the Year competition. “We thank our clients for their trust in us to handle strategic issues in mergers, acquisitions, sales, and company reorganizations, which have a significant impact on their future business and expansion abroad,” said Ondřej Majer, Partner responsible for M&A in Slovakia. “Thanks to our unique international network of contacts and our recent direct representation in Frankfurt, we can now execute and manage cross-border transactions practically anywhere in the world,” added Ondřej Majer.
The transaction team, providing comprehensive advice on mergers and acquisitions, comprises more than 80 lawyers, making it the largest and most experienced in Central Europe. The team consistently ranks among the top in the number of transactions completed in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Central Europe.
Law Firm of the Year is a prestigious industry competition evaluating the legal services of law firms operating in the Czech and Slovak Republics, organized by the publishing house EPRAVO Group, s.r.o. It was first announced in the Czech Republic in 2008, and since 2013 it has also been held in Slovakia in cooperation with the weekly TREND. Find out more information here.
The awards ceremony took place on 9 April during a grand gala evening organised by EPRAVO Group, s.r.o. in cooperation with the weekly TREND at the Radisson Blu Carlton Hotel in Bratislava.
Author: Štěpán Štarha, Petra Kováčechová
In 2025, as last year, SMEs will be able to receive financial assistance from the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). The grant provides the opportunity to protect your brand, designs or innovations with financial support from the EUIPO of up to EUR 6,420.
Small and medium-sized enterprises have the possibility to apply for a grant to fund the costs associated with the registration of:
The EUIPO also offers the possibility of financial support for IP Scan services aimed at diagnosing an enterprise’s intellectual property.
Please note that grant funds are limited and operate on a “first come, first serve” basis until they are exhausted. We therefore recommend that you apply for a grant as soon as possible.
All SMEs established in the European Union with fewer than 250 employees and an annual turnover of less than EUR 50 million are eligible to apply for grant support.
The grant amount varies according to the type of protection as follows[1]:
The maximum amount of costs that can be reimbursed under the EUIPO grant is:
Grant applications can be submitted from 3 February 2025. If the applicant meets the grant conditions and there are still funds available, the EUIPO will issue a voucher and the applicant can apply for the relevant services, e.g. file a trade mark application.
Please note that individual services can only be applied for once the grant application has been approved and then within 2 months of approval, with the possibility of extending by additional 2 months. Thus, the grant cannot be used for costs incurred for a trade mark or design application filed before the grant application is approved.
After filing a trade mark, design or patent application and paying the relevant administrative fee, the voucher holder may apply for reimbursement of the costs.
The EUIPO grant scheme is an interesting opportunity for SMEs to strengthen the protection of their intellectual property rights. SMEs can benefit from the EUIPO’s support, for example, when extending their portfolio, expanding abroad or planning a rebranding.
Intellectual property law is one of the core areas of practice of our firm. According to THE SLOVAK SPECTATOR, we were the largest intellectual property law firm in Slovakia for the years 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. At the same time, we are very pleased that our female colleagues have played a major role in these successes. We are one of the few law firms to have a predominantly female IP/IT team, something we are extremely proud of.
If you decide to use the EUIPO grant, please feel free to contact us. We will be more than happy to assist you with its application.
[1] Amounts are subject to change.
In the 12th annual Law Firm of the Year 2024 competition in Slovakia, the largest Czech-Slovak law firm HAVEL & PARTNERS received the main award for International Law Firm for the third time in a row, and also won the Competition category. In other 14 categories, the firm was ranked among highly recommended and recommended law firms. The results thus confirm the high level and exceptional comprehensiveness of the services, which is also underlined by winning in the Czech Law Firm of the Year competition, where HAVEL & PARTNERS won the Best Domestic Law Firm and the Best Client Service categories in 2023. With a total of more than five dozen awards in the Czech and Slovak competitions in the past years, HAVEL & PARTNERS is the most successful and most comprehensive law firm in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
“Our firm has confirmed its exceptional position on the Slovak and Czech legal markets, which is also unique in Europe. Winning the main award in the International Law Firm category for the third time in a row confirms that thanks to our profound knowledge of the legal and business environment, comprehensive services and a unique international reach we are able to complete and manage cross-border transactions and projects anywhere in the world. We also want to significantly expand our international support for our clients and as the only law firm from the CEE region we are opening our direct representation office in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, on 1 May 2024,” commented Jaroslav Havel on the winning.
HAVEL & PARTNERS Competition advisory group with nearly three dozen top lawyers and economists once again confirmed its exceptional position on the Slovak market by winning the award in the Competition category for the third time in a row in the prestigious Law Firm of the Year competition.
The team, led by partner Robert Neruda, former Deputy Chairman of the Czech Office for the Protection of Competition, and partner Lenka Štikova Gachová, is one of the most experienced and respected in the CEE region. With a unique combination of legal and economic know-how and extensive practical experience, HAVEL & PARTNERS offers clients comprehensive solution in the field of protection of competition and regulatory. “Winning this category for the third time in a row is a great recognition of our work and commitment to providing our clients with the highest quality services in the field of competition law,” said Robert Neruda, partner at HAVEL & PARTNERS.“We are proud of our team, which is one of the most experienced and reputable in the CEE region, and we thank our clients for their trust,” added partner Lenka Štiková Gachová.
HAVEL & PARTNERS’ team of competition law experts is characterised by a unique combination of extensive legal and commercial knowledge with a close specialisation in clients’ business. Thanks to this approach, when providing its services, the firm is able to meet the individual needs of its clients to the maximum extent possible.
Law Firm of the Year is a prestigious specialist competition evaluating the legal services of law firms active in the Czech and Slovak Republics, organized by the publishing house EPRAVO Group, s.r.o. It was first announced in the Czech Republic in 2008, and since 2013 it has also been held in Slovakia in cooperation with the TREND weekly. Find out more information here.
The official announcement of the results took place on 24 April 2024 at a gala dinner organised by the publishing house EPRAVO Group, s. r. o. in cooperation with the TREND weekly at the Radisson Blu Carlton Hotel in Bratislava.
