HAVEL & PARTNERS has continued its success at the Chambers Europe Awards 2020 for the Best Law Firm on the Czech market and became the absolute winner in the Law Firm of the Year 2020 awards in the Czech Republic. In the 13th year of the competition, the firm has won four awards: the main prize for the Czech law firm and for the Best Client Service, and at the same time, was ranked first in Mergers and Acquisitions and Competition Law. These are the firm’s best results in its history. This year, HAVEL & PARTNERS also achieved excellent results at the Slovak Law Firm of the Year awards, having won 3 awards, including the Best Client Service award. The results of these prestigious awards, regularly organised by EPRAVO.CZ under the auspices of the Czech Bar Association and the Ministry of Justice of the Czech Republic, were announced online on 3 November 2020.
HAVEL & PARTNERS has been awarded the best Czech law firm for the fourth time in the last six years. At the same time, it retained the award for Best Client Service, which it also received in Slovakia this year. With a total of four awards, HAVEL & PARTNERS became the absolute winner of the 13th year of the Law Firm of the Year awards in the Czech Republic. “This year has been extremely difficult for the entire world. All the more we value our victory in the most prestigious global and domestic awards. It is primarily an appreciation of the top expertise, loyalty and maximum commitment of all our colleagues and their ability to cope with all the adverse circumstances brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. This is what I want to thank them for. To our clients, this is a confirmation that they work with the best law firm in the market that is a leader not only in times of prosperity but also in times of crisis and that can effectively help them deal with its consequences,” said the firm’s founder and managing partner Jaroslav Havel. “I would also like to thank our clients, because it was their references that allowed us to become the law firm most popular with clients in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. I actually want to thank our clients too, for entrusting us with their business and purely private matters and motivating us to continue moving forward,” added Mr Havel. He views this year’s success as the best possible entry into 2021, in which the firm will celebrate its 20th anniversary.
For the second time in a row, HAVEL & PARTNERS took home the first place award for Mergers and Acquisitions, which have been the firm’s flagship since its foundation in 2001 and in which it has been the market leader for more than 10 years in the Czech Republic as well as in Slovakia and throughout Central Europe. “The past period has been very successful for our firm in terms of transaction advice. We conducted the largest number of transactions and became the winner of the Law Firm of the Year in the Czech Republic awards for the second time in a row. This year, we were even recognised by the same award in Slovakia. My thanks go to the team of more than eighty colleagues, because it is their excellent knowledge, unique know-how, as well as their human and proactive approach that have allowed us to carry out more than 700 transactions with a value exceeding 700 billion Czech crowns in the last 15 years,” commented Jan Koval, a partner participating in the management of the largest transaction team on the market, of the victory. In terms of the number of successfully completed transactions, since 2009 the firm has been regularly ranked at the top of the recognised international rankings EMIS DealWatch and Mergermarket in the ranking for the entire region of Central and Eastern Europe.
HAVEL & PARTNERS received the recognition for Competition Law for the fifth time in total and is the most successful law firm in this branch of law by a large margin. “The fifth victory out of nine years in which this category was announced confirms our exceptional position among law firms focusing on competition law. We are the only firm in the market who effectively links legal and economic competition advice. This allows us to offer our clients unique know-how for resolving complex issues relating to competition protection and regulation,” said Robert Neruda, the partner leading the competition practice group, which is comprised of more than 20 lawyers and economic experts.
HAVEL & PARTNERS has been included among highly recommended firms (top tier) in other 13 categories and among recommended firms in 2 categories. This is proof of the firm’s versatility and the quality of all of its teams. In Criminal Law, in which category HAVEL & PARTNERS does not directly participate itself, SEIFERT A PARTNERS, a law firm cooperating with HAVEL & PARTNERS on an exclusive basis in criminal law advice, was named among the best rated firms. “These excellent results are proof of our versatility and exceptional quality of all our specialised teams. I strongly believe that we will continue our achievements in the next year, which will be our firm’s anniversary year,” concluded Havel.
According to the total number of nominations and awards received in all years of the Law Firm of the Year awards, HAVEL & PARTNERS continues to be the most successful and all-encompassing legal practice in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
