FOREWORD

Dear Clients and Business Partners,

HAVEL & PARTNERS is celebrating its 20-year anniversary, which is covered in this special issue of our H&P Magazine. We would like to share with you our recollections and values, reflect on the pillars of our success, outline our further plans, and thank you for being with us.

When the five of us founded the firm on 1 June 2001, we were determined to build a top law firm in the Czech Republic offering comprehensive legal services according to an international model. It never occurred to us that what started as an ambitious start-up would, in 20 years, turn into the largest law firm in Central Europe, with 2,500 clients and a turnover of one billion. In an interview with Robert Nešpůrek and Marek Vojáček, two other founders still working in the firm, and myself, we look back on our history, which was not easy, especially at the beginning. In the interview, you will also find out how hard we worked at the beginning so as not to end upsetting up private limited companies, a fate other fellow lawyers predicted for us.

However, we have more than overcome all those predictions, building up a globally acknowledged firm. The main reason why we have succeeded is our ability to immediately respond to what the market and our clients need. Over the past 20 years, the economy and whole society have experienced dynamic changes. We have always taken them as an opportunity, and instantly adapted.

This magazine summarises the dynamics of the first 20 years of the new millennium in three fields that are and have been of paramount significance to the law firm. First, you can read about the turbulent changes in real estate; second, about private equity and venture capital as an essential impetus for the economic growth of the CEE region, and third, the way this growth has transformed the protection and administration of private property.

Our special relationship with our clients, who reach out to us with their business and private matters, has been another pillar of our success. Not only do we advise them, but it is also important to us to build long-term strategic partnerships with them, continuously providing our clients with value added and taking an active approach to the development of their business. We are proud that our clients include the most successful companies across all industries. At the same time, there is a lot to learn from them, as they, too, have achieved global success. In this magazine, you will find inspiring stories of our long-term strategic partners with whom we have been growing together for many years, true to our motto of “Connected through success”.

A successful company is always made up of the excellent people working there. A top-level team is another pillar of our law firm’s story. You can see some of us on the cover page, while others guide you through the timeline inside the magazine. Let me, however, extend my thanks to all my colleagues who make sure every day that HAVEL & PARTNERS is the most successful Czech-Slovak law firm, having repeatedly obtained the prestigious Chambers Europe Awards as well as exceptional brand and top employer awards.

Moreover, we are still “vigilant” and want to push ahead with our continuous development – precisely as Jim C. Collins puts it in his book “Great by Choice”. You can also find some of the ideas in our magazine. For instance, the author says in his book that the best companies aren’t luckier but rather distinguish themselves by the way they handle “luck events”. 

I hope you will find this magazine inspiring and wish you both enough luck events as well as vigour and determination in combatting all the less favourable circumstances, such as those that have occurred over the past few months. Let me thank you on behalf of all my colleagues for helping us shape our success story over the last 20 years, and I look forward to continuing the story.