The Right to Legal Aid When the Law HelpS

At HAVEL & PARTNERS, we believe that when things are going well, it is important to give back, and that success is only real when shared. That’s why, we are grateful that our work allows us not only to grow but also to extend a helping hand where it is needed most. Our pro bono and CSR activities rest on four pillars. First and foremost, we help by doing what we do best – providing pro bono legal advice. Over the past decade, we have delivered 10,000 hours of pro bono legal advice worth CZK 50 million to foundations, charities, public organizations, and community projects. The other pillars include direct financial aid, volunteering our time and skills, and choosing suppliers who bring added value through their support of charitable initiatives.

Legal aid with empathy

For us, helping is a natural continuation of our profession and the values we uphold. We believe that expertise shared with respect and empathy can truly make the world a better place. That is why we share our exceptional legal and tax expertise with the nonprofit sector.

Through pro bono legal advice, we support Světluška, which helps light up the world for the blind; the Nadace Krása pomoci foundation, caring for seniors; the Nadační fond AutTalk endowment fund, supporting children with autism; Sirius, focused on protecting vulnerable children; LOCIKA Centre, assisting victims of domestic violence; and Bílý kruh bezpečí, which provides help to victims of crime. As lawyers we also stand alongside Nadační fond vzdělávání a podnikání (an education and entrepreneurship endowment fund), and initiatives like Zachraň jídlo (Save Food) and Plant for the Planet, which advocate for a sustainable future. We also help re-use centres that combine ecology and creativity, and give things a second life.

Financial aid that makes sense

Each year, we contribute over one million CZK to pro bono and CSR activities. We regularly financially support meaningful projects and organizations, including the Naše dítě foundation, Nadační fond Českého rozhlasu Světluška (Czech Radio endowment fund), the Nadace Via foundation, the Dejme dětem šanci project, and the NGO Člověk v tísni (People in Need).

For many years, HAVEL & PARTNERS has also donated to charitable causes through the Lawyer of the Year Gala. In recent years, we have distributed nearly two million CZK among organizations such as Loono, proFem, Dejme dětem šanci, the Czech Bone Marrow Donor Registry, the Nadace Krása pomoci foundation, Bílý kruh bezpečí, the Nadační fond Krtek endowment fund, the Nadační fond AutTalk endowment fund, the Children’s Oncology Department at Motol University Hospital, and the nonprofit Dobrá rodina. At the Forbes Top Covers gala in Slovakia, our financial contributions – amounting to thousands of euros – traditionally went to nonprofit organizations and civic associations that support children’s education, help sick children, assist young people, and provide care for those struggling with mental health issues.

We also fund the School of Human Rights for law students and young lawyers. We also provide extraordinary financial aid in response to unexpected natural disasters.

We buy to make the world a better place

At our firm we prioritize products and services that carry added social value. We source flowers from Aranžérie, which employs people disadvantaged in the labour market, such as individuals with epilepsy, parents caring for children with disabilities, seniors, and people with other difficulties.

Our gifts come from Srdcerváči, a project of the NFOZP (an endowment fund supporting employment for people with disabilities). We also often give clients and colleagues tickets to charity concerts or exhibitions organized by nonprofits we have supported for years. Our fabric gift bags are made in sheltered workshops. We believe these small decisions can help make the world around us a better place.

Environmentally friendly and responsible

We strive to minimize our environmental impact while promoting responsible business practices. We are the proud recipients of the Responsible Company Award. We were the first law firm in the Czech Republic and Slovakia to join the UN Global Compact, a United Nations initiative supporting sustainability, equality, and anti-corruption efforts. In 2024, we earned a bronze rating from EcoVadis, a prestigious international agency that benchmarks companies on sustainability and ESG performance. Our Prague office is located in the Florentinum, a building with LEED Gold certification, and we participate in the Green Company program. Every day, we work to reduce energy and paper consumption as well as transportation costs.

Volunteering when it matters

When help is needed, our colleagues do not hesitate and lend their hands, and sometimes legs, and pitch in. For eight years now, we have been lacing up our running shoes and switching on our headlamps for the Night Run for Světluška. We also run to support Memory of Nations and Post Bellum, take part in the RunCzech half marathon, RunAut, and the Teribear charity run, covering tens of thousands of kilometres every year.

We regularly clear out our closets and donate clothes and items to Moment, an organization that gives them a second life. Proceeds from sales then go to support charitable projects.

Whenever a major crisis strikes – whether at home or abroad – we organize collections in our offices: from the war in Ukraine to the South Moravian tornado and floods in the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 2024.

And here is our secret recipe for help straight from H&P’s kitchen: Take the enthusiasm of a group of amateur and semi-professional cooks, add a generous handful of willingness to help, mix with the appetite and kindness of our colleagues – and you get our traditional annual charity breakfast. Part of the team cooks and bakes, while the rest comes to work hungry and buys breakfast made from home sources. The proceeds go to a good cause, and colleagues vote on where the money should go. Every year, we raise tens of thousands of CZK this way.

Information in times of uncertainty

When the COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a sudden halt, we joined forces with a sincere goal: to support society as a whole. We dedicated more than 1,400 hours to sharing our know-how, helping everyone navigate the consequences of extraordinary government measures and manage their legal and tax implications. Every day, we delivered a free information service on the latest changes – articles, summaries, and recommendations across law and business – bringing clarity at a time when certainty was scarce. For this comprehensive COVID information service, we earned first place in the Services category at the industry competition Lemur – Czech PR Awards.

HAVEL & PARTNERS Foundation

To ensure long-term, strategically managed support, we established our firm's own foundation in 2013. It ensures the selection and monitoring of supported activities, combining legal expertise with the firm’s philanthropic goals, and our focus on cooperation with respected nonprofit partners.

Respect within the firm

Our goal is to create an environment where every team member can thrive – regardless of personal or professional differences. We emphasize equal treatment for all employees, prevent discrimination, uphold fair working conditions, and foster an open culture built on respect. We care about the mental well-being of all our team members and offer them Hedepy, a high-quality online therapy service, as a company benefit. We are proud signatories of the Charter Against Domestic Violence and provide support to colleagues facing difficult life situations. We want our firm to be a place where everyone feels safe and respected – and where asking for help is not only accepted but encouraged.