In the 16th year of the Law Firm of the Year Awards in Czechia, HAVEL & PARTNERS, the largest Czech-Slovak law firm, has again won the Best Domestic Law Firm award and become the most popular law firm among clients. HAVEL & PARTNERS has received these two awards for the fourth consecutive year. The firm’s specialised teams have also won the Asset Management, Development and Real Estate Projects, and Health Law categories.
“After the previous covid years and the last year affected by the war in Ukraine, 2023 continued to require our full attention and focus on client needs, especially related to the economic changes that have had a major impact on many business sectors. We therefore appreciate winning the Law Firm of the Year awards and believe that these excellent results reflect our team’s strong efforts and excellent professionalism,” says Jaroslav Havel, managing partner of the firm. “Together, we have proven that hard work, integrity, and uncompromising quality are the keys to success, for which I thank all my colleagues. I would also like to thank all our clients for their long-term trust, which continues to commit us to work on further improving and expanding our legal, tax, and advisory services and to remain a reliable partner to them, whatever new challenges the present and future may bring," says Jaroslav Havel.
The firm’s excellent results in Czechia follow its victory in this year’s Law Firm of the Year ranking in Slovakia, where it received the top award in the International Law Firm category.
In addition to the Best Domestic Law Firm and Best Client Service awards in Czechia’s Law Firm of the Year ranking, the specialist private client services team of HAVEL & PARTNERS has now won the Asset Management category. This is the first time that an award has been presented in this category. The firm's team handles the private and asset matters of more than 250 prominent clients and their families. They are one third of the wealthiest Czechs and Slovaks and the most important Czech and Slovak businesspersons and investors, including many successful women. Private clients are looked after by a stable team of 10 partners and a total of 45 experienced lawyers and tax experts. The law firm is currently expanding its portfolio of services with a new multi-family office called ONE FAMILY OFFICE, which will offer first-class services in asset protection, management, and administration.
“We have many years of experience in working for private clients. Established on the market as the first of its kind, our specialised team has been operating since 2008. We have implemented hundreds of family holdings and holding structures in Czechia and Slovakia, as well as dozens of private foundation and trust solutions. Together with other partners, we have managed to build a successful firm. Thanks to this personal experience, we can offer our clients our management and investment know-how as well as our excellent advisory services,” says David Neveselý, the partner responsible for leading the private client team.
After last year's victory in the Development and Real Estate Projects category, the HAVEL & PARTNERS team has won this award again. Its 30+ lawyers, including 8 partners, specialise in construction and real estate law. “We annually work on 20 to 30 real estate transactions, which are among the largest on the market. However, this year was very specific as the real estate market saw fewer large acquisition transactions. This has made us more focused on providing legal services in building permitting, public law, legislation, and modernisation of building regulations, and on assisting clients, their investments, and projects to be protected against economic fluctuations. At the same time, we help clients find ways to combine innovation with sustainability and meet both the current market demands and the requirements of stricter environmental standards,” says partner Lukáš Syrový on the developments in the real estate market.
The HAVEL & PARTNERS team has also won the Health Law category. The firm was awarded in this area in 2021 and won the same category in this year’s Slovak Law Firm of the Year. The firm has been focusing on the pharmaceutical and life sciences sector and its regulation since 2009. “Our team of more than 13 lawyers specialised in pharmaceutical and health law is one of the most experienced and largest in Czechia and Slovakia. We provide a broad portfolio of services to pharmaceutical and healthcare clients, biotechnology companies, telemedicine startups and others who require advice on the related regulation and business opportunities,” says Kateřina Slavíková, a partner who co-leads the specialised health law team.
In 17 practice categories, the firm has also been ranked among the top tier firms. In terms of the number of nominations and titles as well as the results in all years of the Law Firm of the Year ranking, HAVEL & PARTNERS remains the most successful and most comprehensive law firm in Czechia.
Organised by EPRAVO.CZ under the auspices of the Ministry of Justice and the Czech Bar Association, a gala evening to celebrate the Law Firm of the Year award ceremony took place in Prague’s Žofín on Monday, 6 November.
