Čechová & Partners

Managing Partner: Tomáš Maretta

Number of partners worldwide: 7

Number of other lawyers worldwide: 20

Languages: Slovak, Czech, English, French, German, Russian, Croatian, Italian

Firm Overview:

Čechová & Partners is an independent Slovak law firm with a 34-year history. Since its establishment in 1990, the firm has been solving its clients’ legal issues in the areas of Slovak and European law. Its skills are reflected in its work and the satisfaction of its clients, as well as by its top ratings in numerous international and Slovak legal rankings every year.

The firm's primary focus is on corporate clientele. Its clients include foreign companies (often multinational organisations and their subsidiaries), as well as large international law firms and local businesses. The firm is delighted that many of its clients return to it and have sought its advice on a regular basis for many years. With some of its clients, the firm cooperates almost on a daily basis. With others, the firm works on specific individual projects.

The firm's attorneys speak many different languages – Slovak, Czech, English, French, German, Italian, Russian. Therefore, the firm is able to communicate with its clients better and also understand their requests from their perspective. This is part of the firm's first value – Professionalism. It views its clients as its partners. The firm is able to bring together a comprehensive team of experts, enabling it to provide clients with advice on different types of agenda.

The firm's second value is – Flexibility. It knows that only having good knowledge of the law is no longer enough if it wants to be among the best. It aims to identify and adapt to unique and changing requirements as rapidly as possible.

And last, but not the least, the firm's main value – Integrity. It values the trust that its clients place in it. The firm works in line with the principles of decency and honesty, which it puts first in the relationship between its law firm and clients. In recognition of these values, it advocates the principles of the fight against corruption, and applies the principles of internal compliance. The firm encourages all its employees to adopt the same approach.

Membership:

Lex Mundi, World Services Group, IBA, AIJA, AmCham Slovakia, Slovak Bar Association

PRACTICE AREAS:

■ Banking & Finance

■ Competition & Antitrust

■ Corporate & Commercial

■ Dispute Resolution

■ Insolvency & Restructurings

■ IP & Media

■ Labour & Employment

■ M&A

■ Project Finance

■ Real Estate & Construction

■ Regulatory & Compliance:

-Electronic Communications & E-Commerce

-Energy

-Forensic Services

-Life Sciences

-Privacy

-Transportation & Postal Services

Main Areas of Practice:

M&A Transactions:

M&A advice forms the core of the firm’s practice. Čechová & Partners regularly advises foreign investors, multinationals and local clients on a variety of M&A and restructuring matters. It has acted in various transactions involving acquisitions of shares, direct sales of local enterprises, mergers of multinationals’ subsidiaries, international acquisitions and implementation of joint ventures. Čechová & Partners has advised its clients on acquisitions of major Slovak companies, including international airports, electricity production and distribution companies, telecommunications operators and the largest Slovak banks, major Slovak construction companies, or the national provider of terrestrial and satellite television and radio broadcasting services.

Contacts: Lenka Šubeníková

Competition & Antitrust:

Čechová & Partners is a leading competition practice in the country. Its team acts on a broad range of competition matters including compliance issues, representing the clients vis-à-vis the Slovak competition authority on antitrust investigations, and assisting clients with merger clearances. The firm’s lawyers have been involved, inter alia, in local clearances for numerous worldwide transactions of multinationals, particularly in the construction, energy and chemical industries.

Contacts: Tomáš Maretta, Marek Holka

Corporate & Commercial:

Čechová & Partners is regularly involved in a large number of corporate matters and procedures, as well as contract drafting and reviews, including the areas of commercial, financial, civil and specially regulated contracts. A commercial and practical approach is taken in the course of such assistance.

Contacts: Tomáš Maretta

Labour & Employment:

The firm provides full employment and labour law assistance including employment contracts, employment termination, damage actions, works councils, collective bargaining, antidiscrimination, employee data protection, health and safety at work, employee pensions, share plans and benefits.

Contacts: Tomáš Rybár, Lenka Šubeníková

Banking & Finance:

Čechová & Partners has established its reputation throughout the banking and financial community. The firm’s clients include foreign and Slovak banks, facility arrangers, foreign investors, security houses, financial institutions, insurance companies.

Contacts: Simona Haláková, Michaela Jurková

Data Protection & Privacy:

Čechová & Partners is a leading privacy practice in Slovakia, with a dedicated, experienced and duly staffed privacy practice. It advises on standard data protection duties of controllers and processors, notifications and registrations, communication with the Office for Personal Data Protection, internal documentation, security of personal data, monitoring, cross-border transfer of personal data, Binding Corporate Rules, Privacy Shield, and GDPR.

Contacts: Tomáš Rybár, Peter Fedor

Real Estate & Construction:

Čechová & Partners gained respectable experience in the field of real estate development, advising in significant real estate deals to major international clients, investors, private equity funds, developers, banks, other providers of financing, property managers and other clients, dealing with all aspects of real estate transactions. Among others, the firm has advised a leading foreign construction company on the construction of a motorway as a part of the first such PPP project in Slovakia.

Contacts: Lenka Šubeníková

Regulatory & Compliance:

Regulatory assistance is one of the fastest growing practice areas within the firm, in particular in the fields of pharmaceuticals, life sciences, food, IT, privacy, consumer protection, product safety, energy, transportation, postal services and public procurement. The law firm is a leading team in life sciences matters, including promotion, reimbursement and clinical trials. It also regularly acts on data protection matters, including trainings, registrations and cross-border transfers. Compliance reviews and forensic assistance are of growing prominence.

Contacts: Simona Haláková, Tomáš Rybár

Dispute Resolution:

Čechová & Partners’ rapidly expanding litigation team represents clients in various types of disputes at courts, arbitration tribunals and in administrative proceedings. The firm’s lawyers also regularly participate in arbitration proceedings held by foreign and domestic arbitration tribunals and also serve as arbitrators.

Contacts: Katarína Čechová, Kristína Maschkanová

Insolvency & Restructurings:

Čechová & Partners regularly advises its clients on insolvency and restructuring matters. Its team has participated in long-term assistance provided to coordination committee of a group of international banks in financial restructuring and reorganisation of a Slovak largest steel producer. Its team includes a trustee for bankruptcy and restructuring proceedings registered with the Ministry of Justice of the Slovak Republic and also a specialised trustee registered with the National Bank of Slovakia for regulated financial institutions.

Contacts: Katarína Čechová, Michaela Jurková

IP & Media:

Čechová & Partners’ practice covers legal services in the area of IP law advising in particular on trademarks, domain names, copyright and unfair competition matters.

Contact: Michaela Jurková