In the 18th annual Law Firm of the Year awards, HAVEL & PARTNERS was named the Best Domestic Law Firm in the Czech Republic for the sixth consecutive year, while also receiving the award for Best Client Service. In addition, HAVEL & PARTNERS received a special honour as the Innovative Law Firm of the Year. The firm’s specialised teams also won in the practice categories of Competition Law and Asset Management. In other areas, the firm ranked among the most recommended law firms.
“This is our best result in the history of this competition. We have once again succeeded in being recognised as both the best Czech law firm and the most client-preferred firm. This confirms that our long-term focus on service quality, stability, and strategic business advice with added value is the right direction. Our success is built on a strong team and exceptional client relationships that have the nature of genuine partnership, which we truly appreciate. Our clients give us, as their advisors, the opportunity to become part of their business and their story – and we strive to reciprocate by addressing their ambitions and goals with contextual understanding, precision, speed, and a focus on their further growth,” says managing partner Jaroslav Havel.
In addition to the main and client service awards, the firm also received a special distinction this year as the Innovative Firm of the Year. HAVEL & PARTNERS actively integrates artificial intelligence into its legal practice, develops its own legal-tech applications, and uses state-of-the-art systems for file management, communication, and client relationship management. The firm implements automation tools to enhance the efficiency of its teams. With its exceptional know-how and dedicated technology law team, HAVEL & PARTNERS brings this expertise into client collaboration as well, helping clients make meaningful and effective use of new technologies within their business operations.
“We have long been among the leaders in the use of technology in law, and we are already actively integrating artificial intelligence into our daily practice. But we want to keep improving. This is why, this year, in cooperation with the consulting company M.C.TRITON, we launched the transformational project TIGER, the most extensive internal change in the history of HAVEL & PARTNERS. The aim is to further adapt the structure and operation of the firm to the new era of advisory services shaped by rapid technological development, artificial intelligence, and increasing demands for efficiency and quality,” adds Jaroslav Havel.
The repeated victory in the Asset Management category confirms the firm’s strong position in providing comprehensive advisory services to private clients. HAVEL & PARTNERS has long offered a wide spectrum of services – from legal and tax planning to the structuring of family arrangements and intergenerational wealth transfer. These specialised services for high-net-worth families and individuals have been further expanded by the affiliated ONE FAMILY OFFICE, which provides comprehensive support in areas such as investment and wealth management, protection of family assets including fiduciary services, and ensuring the highest possible quality of life for families in the areas of health, security, next-generation education, and philanthropy.
The firm’s team of 50 lawyers, tax and accounting advisors provides services to one-third of the wealthiest Czechs and Slovaks, as well as leading entrepreneurs, investors, athletes, and successful women in business. “Advisory work for private clients requires not only top-level expertise, but also a high degree of trust and understanding of personal and family contexts. Our team has more than eighteen years of experience in this field. We have had a specialised team dedicated to this area since 2007, and over that time we have prepared more than 550 foundation and trust structures. This combination of legal, tax, and business know-how enables us to offer clients solutions that truly work – solutions that securely protect their assets, simplify their management, and enable their growth across generations,” says partner David Neveselý.
The specialised team at HAVEL & PARTNERS has also won the Competition Law practice category for the sixth time, following its success earlier this year in the Slovak Law Firm of the Year awards, where it likewise took first place in the same category.
HAVEL & PARTNERS’ Competition Law team at is one of the most experienced and largest in both the Czech Republic and Slovakia. More than 20 lawyers and economists at the firm focus on competition law and economics, providing clients with the full spectrum of services in respect of antitrust agreements, dominance, and merger control. Their portfolio also includes matters related to state aid, significant market power, and foreign investment screening.
“Competition law is a field that is constantly evolving. The rules change, decision-making practice shifts, and the priorities of competition authorities move. New markets emerge and conduct that was once acceptable may now be problematic. Our work consists of safely guiding clients through this jungle – in other words, in prevention and strategic risk management. We help clients structure their business models so that they are compliant, yet still flexible and competitive. And when an issue does arise, we strive to minimise its impact. I see this award as confirmation that we are able to combine our legal expertise with a detailed understanding of how markets function and transform this into long-term partnerships with our clients,” says Robert Neruda, the partner in charge of the firm’s competition practice.
In 18 additional specialist categories, HAVEL & PARTNERS was ranked among the highly recommended firms (top tier) in the Law Firm of the Year awards. Based on the results of this year’s competition as well as all previous years, the firm remains – by the number of all nominations and awards – the most successful and most comprehensive law firm in the Czech Republic.
The official results of the awards, organised annually by EPRAVO.CZ under the auspices of the Ministry of Justice and the Czech Bar Association, were announced at a ceremony held on Wednesday, 26 November, at the Municipal House in Prague.
