H&P Magazine II/2023

From an employee to a millionaire

What ESOP plans are good for?

The history of companies, especially those that have changed the world, is full of stories of employees who became millionaires thanks to holding shares in the company. How did companies achieve this success? They used employee stock ownership plans, so-called ESOPs. How do such incentive programmes work and what options do we have in the Czech Republic?

Jaroslav Baier, Josef Žaloudek a Josef Bouchal · 11 September 2023

With health problems to a medical expert,

With assets to a multi-family office

When you break your leg, you want the best surgeon or orthopaedic surgeon to take care of you. It should be the same when it comes to family assets. Today, experienced professional management is increasingly used, not least because the family successors of entrepreneurs who have managed to build significant wealth over the last 30 years now face the difficult task of ensuring that their assets are managed so that their value does not fall, and the revenues continue to provide for the family.

Foreword II/2023

We live in an era where perhaps the only constant is change. The world is changing at a pace like never before in history. Those who cannot keep up and adapt to change have little chance of success in such a reality.

Jaroslav Havel · 11 September 2023

The unexpected obstacles on the road to a successful acquisition

The clear regulatory environment for corporate acquisitions in the Czech Republic and Slovakia is a thing of the past. Regulators’ ability to check transactions expanded in the areas of competition, foreign investments, and foreign state aid.

Robert Neruda a Lenka Gachová Štiková · 11 September 2023

Pro bono II/2023

A mosaic of the firm’s pro bono and CSR activities — a night run for Světluška, donations of IT equipment, a charity clothing collection for MOMENT ČR, a flower arranging workshop for International Women’s Day and a partnership with the Jizera arterial cross-country skiing trail.

Preventive restructuring

How to overcome a company crisis

Uncertainty and rising prices in Slovakia have caused a number of entrepreneurs to see their cash flow decrease, leading to a risk that they will not be able to pay their debts on time in the coming months. But legislation offers the possibility of overcoming a financial crisis in the company in the form of preventive restructuring. When is it time to act and when is it too late?

Ondřej Majer a Lenka Ostró · 11 September 2023

Transaction overview

Overview of selected transactions with the involvement of HAVEL & PARTNERS II/2023

Over the past 17 years, we have been involved in 840 transactions with a total value of CZK 825 billion. Here is an overview of the most significant ones from the recent period.

Unwitting VAT fraud. Did you know? Could you have known?

That there is no way your company can be involved in VAT fraud? What you may not realise is that all it actually takes is for one link in the supply chain to fail to pay VAT and then you find out that you weren't careful enough when verifying your business partners. And the problem arises. The tax office may then ask you to pay the VAT that the potential fraudster has not paid. So how can you effectively defend yourself against unwitting involvement in VAT fraud?

David Krch, Josef Žaloudek a Petr Tušakovský · 11 September 2023

Who manages Czech family assets?

Increasingly, it’s women

Women are becoming more actively involved in managing assets and addressing financial issues. A fifth of women decide on family wealth independently. They tend to invest more conservatively than men, taking sustainability into consideration. This was found in an extensive survey conducted by our law firm in cooperation with RSM CZ and the research agency Ipsos.

Interview

Real estate bonds may face problems, warns an expert

Many real estate bond issuers will not be able to pay interest, says Jan Topinka, partner at HAVEL & PARTNERS. He explains why bonds will "fall" and what investors should be careful about.

How to implement AI in a company with a lawyer’s blessing

Artificial intelligence (AI) can already handle some tasks much more efficiently than humans. And we're only just getting started. AI integration opens up unprecedented opportunities for business and entrepreneurship. But as with any new technological advancement, there's always a BUT. In the case of AI, there are a number of legal considerations you should address before implementing AI in your business.

Dalibor Kovář · 11 September 2023

How to stop raids of speculators in agriculture?

Shareholders’ mutual disputes, as well as disputes between shareholders and the company, are as old as business corporations themselves, and agricultural companies are no exception. On the contrary. Agriculture has become an increasingly attractive investment area in recent years, attracting those with potentially speculative intentions. How to resist these modern-day raiders? Prevention is the key.

Jan Koval a Jiří Kunášek · 11 September 2023

What happens after death? A philosophical but also practical question that everyone should answer

Life brings different situations and some of them are unfortunately not very happy. Safety and security – that’s what anyone would want for their loved ones. Yet many people do not address what will happen to their property when they are gone. They thus put their family in an unenviable situation.

Jiří Kunášek · 11 September 2023

The future of real estate is green. How the rules of the game are changing

The European Union has undertaken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030. What are the implications for the real estate and construction industry? Buildings will have to be greener and comply with new legal requirements that the EU is adopting on its journey towards carbon neutrality. Here is our overview of the requirements.

What’s New II/2023

In the Law Firm of the Year competition in Slovakia in 2023, our law firm again won the main prize in the International Law Firm category and also won in the Competition and Health Law categories.