CEE Legal Matters
In-depth coverage of the news and newsmakers that shape Europe's emerging markets
In The Debrief, our Practice Leaders across CEE share updates on recent and upcoming legislation, consider the impact of recent court decisions, showcase landmark projects, and keep our readers apprised of the latest developments impacting their respective practice areas.
In The Corner Office, we ask Managing Partners at law firms across Central and Eastern Europe about their backgrounds, strategies, and responsibilities. This time around, we dug deeper into a discussion point that came up during our last event: During our annual General Counsel Summit held in Prague recently, we’ve learned that even with the inflation in CEE having hovered around 14-20% in recent years, legal fees have remained static or have even decreased in some jurisdictions. Given that, how has your firm managed to consistently deliver high-quality service under these constraints?
An increasing number of law firms have been publicly warning about the misuse of their names in phishing and cyberattacks. PRK Partners Partner Michal Matejka, Musat & Asociatii Partner Stefan Diaconescu, Gugushev & Partners Partner and Head of Data Protection Yoanna Ivanova, and DLA Piper Hungary Partner and Head of Intellectual Property and Technology Zoltan Kozma discuss the growing trend.
A breach of labor obligations by an employee has been discovered in your company, the investigation and assessment have taken several weeks, and since immediate dismissal is risky, you have decided to proceed with dismissal for a serious breach of labor obligations. If this decision is made at the beginning of the month and no one is ready to agree on mutual termination, you won’t get rid of the employee any sooner than a timeframe of almost three months. Furthermore, if there are delays in the delivery of mail by the post office or the employee falls ill, it will take even longer.
Schoenherr and Gessel have advised BHM Group on the sale of its portfolio of ten A-Centrum retail parks in Poland to the Reticulum Group. Kinstellar reportedly advised Reticulum Group.
Baker McKenzie has promoted Malgorzata Bakula and Slavomir Slavik to Partner as part of its latest promotion round that saw a total of 59 lawyers join the firm's partnership ranks.
The Czech Office for the Protection of Competition fined the Association of Disinfection, Disinsection and Pest Control Workers of the Czech Republic for publishing, since 2016, so-called median prices for the provision of disinfection, disinsection and pest control services on its website.
May 1, 2025, brought significant changes to design protection in the EU. Here are three key updates no designer should overlook:
Kocian Solc Balastik has advised the Arete group on the sale of Arete Park Rokycany II logistics complex to the Reico Long Lease Fund managed by Reico Erste Asset Management. Wilsons reportedly advised the buyers.
BPV Braun Partners, working with Kellerhals Carrard, has advised Maestrani Schweizer Schokoladen on its acquisition of Belgian praline producer Delafaille, including its Czech subsidiary Ostrapack. Krutak & Partners reportedly advised the sellers. Van Bael & Bellis reportedly advised Maestrani Schweizer Schokoladen as well.
Wolf Theiss has advised Sekyra Group on the sale of the Opatov II residential project in Prague to Dostupne Bydleni Ceske Sporitelny and Kooperativa Pojistovna. Wilsons reportedly advised the buyers.
On 1 May 2025, it was four years since the Czech Act on the Screening of Foreign Investments came into force.
Kocian Solc Balastik has advised Ivan Mikes on the sale of mcePharma to the Brenntag Group. Pierstone reportedly advised Brenntag.
PRK Partners has advised Estonian company Piletilevi on its acquisition of Ticketportal from media group Mafra. Tenacta advised Mafra.
The so-called “flexinovela” amendment of the Labour Code (CZ) effective from 1 June 2025 brings a number of fundamental changes, especially in terminating employment. For employers intending to issue a notice to an employee for breach of duty or to terminate employment immediately, the statutory time limits for doing so have been extended. This amendment addresses the practical needs of employers who have previously struggled to thoroughly investigate cases within the existing time frames. In this post, we will take a closer look at these revised time limits for issuing notices and immediate terminations. Generally speaking - what kind of time limits do we have and why are they important
White & Case has advised CEZ Group on the issuance of EUR 750 million in 4.125% sustainability-linked notes due in 2033, under the company’s updated EUR 8 billion EMTN program with CaixaBank, Citigroup Global Markets Europe, Intesa Sanpaolo, Raiffeisen Bank International, SMBC Bank EU, Societe Generale, and UniCredit Bank as the joint lead managers and PKO Bank Polski as co-manager. Dentons advised the banks.
Kocian, Solc, Balastik has advised J&T on the launch of a bond issuance program for the EMMA Capital investment group. White & Case reportedly advised EMMA Capital.
Kinstellar has appointed Karla Rundtova as the Co-Head of the firm-wide Automotive & Industrials Sector.
PRK Partners, one of the leading Central European law firms, has been helping clients achieve their business objectives almost 30 years. Our team of lawyers, based in our Prague, Ostrava, and Bratislava offices, has a unique knowledge of Czech and Slovak law and of the business environment. Our lawyers studied at top law schools in the United States, United Kingdom, Switzerland and elsewhere. They also have experience working for leading international and domestic law firms in a number of jurisdictions. We speak your language, too. Our legal team is fluent in more than 15 languages, including all the key languages of the region.
PRK Partners has one of the most experienced legal teams on the market. We are consistently rated as one of the leading law firms in the region. We have received many significant honours and awards for our work. We represent the interests of international clients operating in the Czech Republic in an efficient way, combining local knowledge with an understanding of their global requirements in a business-friendly approach. We are one of the largest law firms in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Our specialised teams of lawyers and tax advisors advise major global corporations as well as local companies. We provide comprehensive legal advice drawing on our profound knowledge of local law and markets.
Our legal advice delivers tangible results – as proven by our strong track record. We are the only Czech member firm of Lex Mundi, the world's leading network of independent law firms. As one of the leading law firms in the region, we have received many national and international awards, in some cases several years in a row. Honours include the Chambers Europe Award for Excellence, The Lawyer and Czech and Slovak Law Firm of the Year. Thanks to our close cooperation with leading international law firms and strong local players, we can serve clients in multiple jurisdictions around the globe. Our strong network means that we can meet your needs, wherever you do business.
PRK Partners has been repeatedly voted among the most socially responsible firms in the category of small and mid-sized firms and was awarded the bronze certificate at the annual TOP Responsible Firm of the Year Awards.
Our work is not only “business”: we have participated on a longstanding basis in a wide variety of pro bono projects and supported our partners from the non-profit sector (Kaplicky Centre Endowment Fund, Tereza Maxová Foundation, Czech Donors Forum, etc.).
Firm's website: www.prkpartners.com
