Robert Neruda is the head of the Firm’s team of lawyers and economists specialising in competition law. He focuses on advising clients relating to cartels, abuse of dominance, assessment of mergers and acquisitions from a competition perspective, significant market power, state aid, and public procurement. Robert typically represents clients in proceedings related to the concentration of undertakings and advises them on related issues, represents businesses suspected of anti-competitive conduct, and advises clients on the competition aspects of their contemplated projects. He also specialises in the compensation for damage caused by anti-competitive conduct. In addition, Robert is active in the area of competition and internal investigations, advises, for example, companies operating in the energy sector, telecommunications, the automotive industry, or fast-moving consumer goods. He is co-responsible for managing the Brno office of the law firm.
Before joining our law firm, Robert worked for eight years at the Czech Office for the Protection of Competition, from 2000 to 2003 at the International Department, later as Director of the Analytical Department and Deputy Chief Director. He then served as an assistant to the judge at the Czech Supreme Administrative Court in 2004 and 2005. After his return to the Office for the Protection of Competition, he worked as the chairman of the appellate committee for antitrust and mergers and as a member of the appellate committee on public procurement. Beginning in 2007, Robert served as the head of the Competition Section; in 2008 as Vice-Chairman of the Office; and in 2009 as the Office’s acting chairman.
Robert practices law both in the Czech Republic and Slovakia where he practices as Registered European Lawyer. He is a co-author of important commentaries to the Competition Act (2004 and 2006) and the Public Procurement Act (2005 and 2007), and author of several dozen professional articles. Robert lectures at Masaryk University in Brno and also at international conferences.
Recommendations of international publications
Robert is recommended as an expert in competition law by such international publications as The International Who's Who of Competition Lawyers & Economists, ILO Client Choice, and Chambers Europe Guide. Under his management, the Firm was also successful in other prestigious legal rankings relating to competition law, in particular, Law Firm of the Year in the Czech Republic (winner of the Competition Law category in 2013, 2015–2017, 2020) and the law Firm of the Year in Slovakia (winner of the Competition Law category in 2022 and 2023), Chambers (2015–2023), and Global Competition Review (2016–2023). In 2017 he was one of the six lawyers awarded in the Innovative Lawyer of the Year competition, Global Competition Review named him as Thought Leader. Robert was the only one in his field from the Czech Republic (and Slovakia) to be included in the most elite group of the world’s best lawyers in the list of WWL Thought Leaders: Global Elite 2024, published by the prestigious rating organisation Who´s Who Legal.
Membership in professional associations
Czech Bar Association
Slovak Bar Association
