HAVEL & HOLÁSEK – OVERALL WINNER OF THE LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR 2009 COMPETITION

Havel & Holásek has won in three out of eleven categories of the Law Firm of the Year 2009 competition. The results were announced yesterday by epravo.cz, the competition organizer.  Havel & Holásek placed first in the following categories: the Largest Law Firm in the Czech Republic, Telecommunications & Media, and Public Procurement. The firm was also nominated as one of five recommended law firms in Mergers & Acquisitions and Restructuring & Insolvency.  Based on the assessment of independent evaluators, including representatives of local and international corporations, law firms and epravo.cz, Havel & Holásek is the most successful law firm in the Czech legal market in 2009, confirming its position as the best independent Czech law firm according to this year’s prestigious ranking by Practical Law Company for the Czech Republic.

Compared with last year’s results, Havel & Holásek has continued its forward progress. In 2008, the firm was nominated among the top 5 firms in four categories, but did not win any of them.

“This year, we have won in two practice-based categories and are now recognized as the largest law firm in the Czech Republic,” said Jaroslav Havel, a founding partner of Havel & Holásek. Jaroslav Havel believes that the ranking reflects Havel & Holásek’s position as one of the fastest growing law firms in the market, and acknowledges long-standing dedication to clients. The firm’s business development strategy in all key practice areas of its specialization has proved to be successful. 

For Havel & Holásek, 2009 has been a year of numerous significant changes. “We opened a new office in Brno earlier this year, established new specialized practice groups, engaged two executive economists to fully professionalize our managerial team, and considerably expanded our staff by approximately 35%. We currently have more than 80 lawyers, 60 paralegals, and a total of more than 200 employees,” said Jaroslav Havel.

“We are grateful to our clients for their confidence in us. Our success is a projection of their business success. We also highly regard the opinions of our competitors and independent evaluators which was critical for our success in this competition,” added Jaroslav Havel.

“To me, the first place in Telecommunications & Media means a major commitment for the future. I wish to thank all my colleagues whose efforts underlie this prestigious award,” said Robert Nešpůrek, Havel & Holásek’s partner in charge of the Telecommunications & Media Practice Group. “The award confirms the quality of our services and my colleagues’ professionalism. We truly appreciate the award and wish to thank our clients for working with us,” said Daniel Zejda, Havel & Holásek’s partner in charge of the Public Procurement Practice Group.

Another one of Havel & Holásek’s achievements this year was the fourth-place award in the prestigious ranking by the UK-based agency Practical Law Company for the Czech Republic, closely following the best Anglo-American law firms practicing in the Czech Republic. Among purely Czech law firms, Havel & Holásek ranked first.

About “Law Firm of the Year”

Law Firm of the Year, held for the first time in 2008, is a competition assessing the quality of legal services rendered by major law firms in the Czech Republic. It is organized by EPRAVO.CZ, an Internet-based company that operates the server www.epravo.cz. EPRAVO.CZ also organizes the Lawyer of the Year competition on an annual basis. The results of the two competitions are based on the decisions of a jury of evaluators comprising representatives of major local and international corporations, law firms, and professionals of EPRAVO.CZ.