In 14 other categories, we are among the highly recommended and recommended firms in Slovakia. The results confirm the high standard and exceptional comprehensiveness of our services, which is further underlined by our victory in the Czech Law Firm of the Year competition. With a total of more than fifty titles in Czech and Slovak competitions in recent years, HAVEL & PARTNERS is the most comprehensive law firm in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
“We have confirmed our exceptional position on the Slovak and Czech legal markets, which is indeed unique in Europe as a whole. With our in-depth knowledge of the legal and business environment, comprehensive services and unique international reach, we are able to close and manage cross-border transactions and projects anywhere around the world,” said managing partner Jaroslav Havel.
We again won the award for the best domestic law firm and became the most favourite law firm among clients in the Law Firm of the Year competition in the Czech Republic in 2023. This is the fourth year in a row that we have won both awards. Our specialist teams also won in the Wealth Management, Development and Real Estate Projects, and Health Law categories.
“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 for them, whatever new challenges the present and future may bring,” said managing partner Jaroslav Havel.
In 17 professional categories, we rank among the highly recommended law firms (top tier). Based on the results of the most recent and all previous years of the Law Firm of the Year competition, our law firm HAVEL & PARTNERS remains the most successful law firm in the Czech Republic in terms of the number of nominations and awards.
We have added one more win to the previous five wins in the Czech Republic, and in the autumn of 2023 HAVEL & PARTNERS again became the best law firm on the domestic market according to the prestigious Who’s Who Legal Awards.
“Though it may seem that every next victory in legal competitions is a matter of course for us, the opposite is true. We are aware how much incessant professional work of all the members of the firm is behind these achievements. I wish to thank the entire team, as well as all clients and business partners,” said Jaroslav Havel, the firm's managing partner.
For the tenth time in a row, we topped the TOP Employers survey in 2024 and we are again the most attractive employer according to law school students. Like last year, our firm also succeeded in the related Lawyer category, in which only students with the best academic results vote.
“Our work with students has been long-term and continuous. Our colleagues lecture at universities, we organise educational seminars for students, so we are in intensive personal contact with the young generation. Thanks to the involvement of senior colleagues who attend to students, we have an opportunity to pass on our experience to them; and we work directly in the law firm with those who are keenly interested in law and have enough enthusiasm,” explained Daniel Soukup, HR Director at HAVEL & PARTNERS. The firm currently works with more than 50 students.
Our law firm’s total turnover in 2023 was CZK 1,183 million. Revenue from net legal and tax services in the Czech Republic and Slovakia grew by 16.4%. Profit grew at a similarly fast double-digit pace. The turnover of the entire group, including the Cash Collectors collection agency and other specialised services, exceeded CZK 1.5 billion.
The strongly positive trend has been boosted by performance of the firm’s practice groups dedicated to venture capital, technology law and public procurement. Besides, practice groups handling banking and finance, restructuring and insolvency, and dispute resolution have grown as well. Legal and tax services for private clients were also in high demand in 2023. This also entails a significant expansion of our portfolio of such services in the form of the establishment of ONE FAMILY OFFICE, a multi-family office providing comprehensive services to high-net-worth individuals.
We defended the silver medal awarded to us for the second time by EcoVadis, an international rating organisation in the field of corporate sustainability, which is one of the largest and most respected in its field globally. Our firm has once again demonstrated its long-term commitment to leading by example in integrating sustainability and CSR principles into its management.
The assessment involves annual obligations to complete a comprehensive questionnaire and to substantiate claims in the four areas monitored (environment, labour and human rights, ethics, sustainable sourcing) with concrete documents or supporting evidence. Since its inception in 2007, EcoVadis has evaluated more than 100,000 companies worldwide, from the largest corporations to local businesses.
The traditional New Year’s promotion of colleagues took place at the start of 2024, with a total of 15 lawyers moving up to more senior positions. Pavel Ondrák and Petr Vohnický are now working at the counsel level, and the firm has also filled the position of Legal Technologist for the first time, which is held by Jiří Nečas.
“This year we continue to follow our internal HR policy of allowing fast career growth for all colleagues who demonstrate exceptional expertise in their respective practice areas and have a long-standing record of excellent performance,” said managing partner Jaroslav Havel. “At the staff level, we are also responding to the evolving needs of our clients. We have been experiencing increased demand for consultancy related to digitalisation, electronisation and new technologies, which is why we have newly introduced the position of a legal digitalisation expert to manage and implement innovative digital processes and technologies so that we can support our clients in this area as efficiently as possible. He will also coordinate technology development internally in our office,” added partner Jan Koval.
Twelve other lawyers have also been promoted. Pavel Amler, Josef Bouchal, Pavla Kaufmannová, Jan Králíček and Marián Minárik all became managing associates, and Arbër Balliu, Ondřej Dostál, Tomáš Chmelka, Michal Kandráč, Kamil Kovaříček, Jozef Krkošek and Ivona Zurynková Hladíková moved to the position of senior associates.
We work for clients from all regions and we know that there are many companies that have succeeded abroad and continue to spread the good name of the Czech Republic around the world. HAVEL & PARTNERS and ONE FAMILY OFFICE as partners have therefore decided to support the Diamonds of Czech Business award, which highlights the success stories of such companies.
“I am convinced that there are many successful companies in the Czech regions that can be a model for their communities, but do not have the publicity they deserve. The Diamonds of Czech Business ranking is an opportunity to share the stories of these successful entrepreneurs. That is why we supported the restoration of this award after the pandemic hiatus and became its partner,” explained Jaroslav Havel, managing partner of HAVEL & PARTNERS and of ONE FAMILY OFFICE.
The basis of the Diamonds of Czech Business ranking is the evaluation of economic criteria (sales growth, growth in assets, ROE, and current liquidity) and regional evaluation, which combine to form the so-called Diamond Index. Based on this, a ranking is drawn up in each region and the top three companies are awarded.
The organiser is COT group and the ranking is under the auspices of the Czech Chamber of Commerce. This year the basic Diamond Ranking was supplemented by the regional Hall of Fame. “We would also like to stress the non-financial aspects of doing business, that companies that fulfil the essence of responsible business by emphasizing the ecological aspect of products and services, the sustainability of values over time, the development of traditional industries and production methods, the preservation of craftsmanship and support for the development of the region, deserve recognition and appreciation,” said Eva Frindtová, co-founder and managing director of COT group.
We will go directly to the regions to find the best. The awards are presented to companies at ceremonial meetings between April and October in six regions – Brno (for the Zlín, South Moravia and Vysočina regions), Pilsen (the Pilsen and South Bohemia regions), Karlovy Vary (the Karlovy Vary and Ústí nad Labem regions), Pardubice (the Liberec, Hradec Králové and Pardubice regions), Olomouc (the Moravian-Silesian and Olomouc regions), and Prague (the Prague and Central Bohemia regions).
