The Legal 500

Clients are ‘highly satisfied’ with the service on offer at Allen & Overy Bratislava, s.r.o.’s office, where the corporate practice is run by Hugh Owen and Martin Magál. Magál is praised for his ‘flexibility, ability to find solutions and commercial thinking’, and the team was kept busy in 2009 with corporate and construction projects despite the dearth of mergers and acquisitions work. Also expanding is the firm’s regulatory and competition practice, led by senior associate Zuzana Šimeková. Highlights in 2009 included work for York Capital Management on its investment in SkyEurope leading up to the restructuring of Slovak subsidiary SkyEurope Airlines.

Cechová & Partners has a ‘high-quality, very knowledgeable’ corporate team led by managing partner Katarina Cechová and also including Tomáš Rybár, who is praised by clients for his ‘strength and thorough knowledge of Slovak and international law’. In 2009, Katarina Cechová led a team advising an international food producer on its acquisition of a Slovak producer, and worked for a leading Slovak IT services company on its acquisition by an Austrian private equity fund.

Cernejová & Hrbek is another leading local firm in Bratislava, led by Alena Cernejová and comprising a further five partners. The team works for both local and international clients on a wide range of corporate transactions, and is praised by rivals for its ‘efficient’ service delivery and market knowledge.

KINSTELLAR in Slovakia has a 23-lawyer office led by Patrik Bolf as managing partner. The firm was busy in 2009 despite the shortage of mergers and acquisitions, acting for corporate clients like Hyundai Motor Company, VSE, AMEC, Slovalco, Enex, Arcapita Bank, Sanofi-Aventis, ProLogis, Slovak Telecom and Slovenské elektrárne. A key deal was advising Hyundai on its acquisition of a network of authorised dealers in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, whilst the team also worked for electricity distributor VSE on a number of corporate, regulatory and energy law mandates.

Squire Sanders S.R.O. is one of the oldest international law firms to operate in Slovakia, and has an office comprising four partners and a total of 13 lawyers, many of them Western-trained or with international experience. The key contacts in the corporate practice in Slovakia are Julian Juhasz, Peter Suba and Roman Prekop, and they act for clients including Yukos International, Edison, Contour Global and Tesco. Clients say the team’s ‘industry and market knowledge is well-known, as is their understanding of the business and the subject matter’, while the lawyers are ‘rational and logical’. A key matter in 2009 was the firm’s work for SkyToll in a public tender for the delivery and operation of a comprehensive electronic tolling system in the Slovak Republic as part of the country’s PPP project for highways and expressways.

Weinhold Legal, V.O.S. remains one of the leading firms operating in Slovakia thanks to its seven-lawyer office and the regular involvement of four out of its five Prague partners. The full-time head of the Slovak operation is senior lawyer Rastislav Kuklis, and he is supported by Daniel Weinhold and Pav Younis who both divide their time between Prague and Bratislava. Key clients of the practice include Chevron Texaco, Enel, Daimler Mercedes Benz, Helia Group, ProLogis, Realkapital and Slovak Telekom, and the firm was busy in 2009 working for Enel on the construction of Blocks 3 and 4 of the nuclear power plant Mochovce.

At White & Case, the Slovak practice is popular with clients and is led on the corporate side by Ivo Bárta and the ‘very good’ Marek Staron. There are eight associates in the practice, and they work for clients including the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic, Citibank, Telefonica O2, Visteon, Akzo Nobel and Enterprise Investors. A major deal in 2009 for the firm was its work for a consortium comprising Bouygues, Colas, Doprastav, Váhostav, Intertoll and Mota-Engil in one of the most significant PPP projects yet in the country, concerning the construction and operation of the 75-kilometre D1 Highway. The value of the investment is €3.3bn, and the deal was led by Bárta.

ARS IURIS Slovakia, spol. s.r.o. is a local law firm that was launched in 2005 by two former employees of the Bratislava office of Linklaters LLP, partners Katarina Miháliková and Pavol Blanár. Now comprising 15 lawyers, the firm acts for a raft of national and international clients, including Dalkia, Deloitte, Embraco, Genworth, AIG, Gaz de France, LandAmerica and Microsoft.

B&S Legal s.r.o. is a two-partner Slovak firm led by founding partner Peter Bartošík and Boris Šváby, who set up their own firm in 2005 after careers with other major Slovak firms. The firm has eight lawyers and handles a wide array of work including greenfield projects, state aid, competition, labour law and bankruptcy matters for its clients.

Brzobohatý Broz & Honsa is a leading Czech firm that opened an office in Bratislava in 2007, where it has two partners and a total of nine lawyers resident. Led by partners Peter Bak and Olga Belánová, the practice puts an emphasis on corporate and banking work, and particularly handling a large amount of work for inbound investors.

DLA Piper Weiss-Tessbach has a corporate practice in Bratislava led by of counsel Michaela Stessl, a lawyer who is described by clients as ‘very pleasant to deal with, very responsive and with a good knowledge of the Slovakian legal market’. She leads a team of 13 lawyers having joined the firm in 2009 from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, which closed its Bratislava office. A key client of the practice is Prva Stavebna sporitelna, a specialist bank supporting construction and housing development in the Slovak market.

Dedák & Partners offers its corporate clients a ‘very good’ service and ‘good response times’, clients say, with a team of corporate lawyers led by Pavol Blahušiak and Boris Brhlovic and including seven others. Clients of the group include tyre producer Matador, which the firm advised on the sale of shares to Continental, and Dexia Kommunalkredit Bank.

Law Firm Detvai Ludik Maly Udvaros is home to four partners, including Štefan Detvai, Zoltán Ludik and Jozef Malý, all of whom are recommended by sources in the Bratislava legal market for their ability to advise on local corporate and commercial law issues for both Slovak and international clients. Detvai is a native Slovak speaker but also speaks German, Hungarian and Russian.

Hillbridges launched in 2009 with a team of lawyers that was previously employed at Linklaters LLP, and is focused on energy, real estate, private equity and project finance work. Key clients include Transpetrol, Zentiva, KPMG, NAFTA and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, and the practice is led by Zuzana Bartosovicova, Zora Mistrikova and Miroslav Trencan. Clients say the service is ‘of high quality’ and the partners offer ‘good attention to detail, quick response times and commercial sense’.

Noerr s.r.o. is praised by clients for its ‘good response times, availability and service’, and has a corporate team in Bratislava that is led by senior associates Pavol Rak and Timotej Braxator. Clients of the practice include Q-Free and Saint Gobain Construction Products, and the team advised a major German car producer on a number of commercial issues related to its Slovak subsidiary in 2009.

PRK Partners s.r.o. is a Czech firm with a corporate team in Bratislava that is made up of 12 fee-earners and led by Peter Oravec. Clients of the practice include Marks & Spencer, Johnson & Johnson, Lego, JVC, Orange Slovensko and Bentex.

Peterka & Partners remains the leading firm in the Slovak market for French-speaking clients, though its practice has diversified considerably under the leadership of Premysl Marek. Clients say ‘the overall level of service is good’, and 2009 highlights included the firm’s work for Senoble on various commercial and corporate issues relating to its activities in Slovakia, and for Swiss Re setting up and operating a subsidiary in Bratislava.

Ruzicka Csekes s.r.o. was formed in 2009 through the merger of local firms Csekes, Világi, Drgonec & Partners and Advokátska kancelária JUDr. Jaroslav Ružícka and has maintained its relationship with the pan-European legal network CMS. The managing partners are Jaroslav Ružícka and Erika Csekes, and the firm provides a wide range of corporate and commercial services to local, regional and international clients.

Salans is an international law firm with three partners based in Bratislava, the head of the office being Ladislav Å torek. There are a total of ten lawyers in the office, and in 2009 they advised Safety-Kleen on its business activities in Slovakia, and worked for ON Semiconductor Slovakia in connection with the increase of registered capital of the client by subscription of new shares by its sole shareholder.

Schönherr boosted its Slovakian team in 2009 with the hire of Stanislav Kovár from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, and now has three partners and a total of four lawyers in Bratislava. Corporate clients include Siemens, which the firm advised on a planned corporate restructuring in Slovakia in 2009.

ULC Carnogurský s.r.o is a local Slovak 
firm praised for its work on corporate and commercial matters for both local and international clients. Ján Carnogurský leads the practice and is particularly well-known for his work on privatisations, M&A and investment projects, advising energy companies, banks, insurance companies and pharmaceuticals businesses.

Wolf Theiss has two partners in its Slovak operation, and the head of the corporate and M&A practice is Dieter Spranz. Clients of the group include Osram, which the firm advised on the purchase of Vitri’s factory in 2009, Erste Bank and Wind Point Partners.

BNT – Sovova Chudácková & Partner, 
S.R.O. is a three-partner Slovak operation that is part of a Central and Eastern European network of ten offices. Handling all types of corporate work for clients including Rajo, Osram Slovakia and Kromberg & Schubert, the key contact for corporate and M&A is Margareta Sovova.

Balcar Polanský Eversheds s.r.o. lawyers ‘deliver advice on time and to a high quality’, with a small team of six lawyers in Bratislava led by Jaroslav Polanský, who also spends some of his time in Prague.

CHSH Siska & Partners S. R. O. Cerha Hempel Spiegelfeld Hlawati is ‘top quality’ and offers ‘good value for money’ to clients in Slovakia, where the firm has a 12-lawyer corporate practice led by Karol Šiška and Ladislav Poloma. Clients include IAC Group, Procter & Gamble and Gebrüder Weiss.

Clients find e|n|w|c Natlacen Walderdorff Cancola Attorneys at Law ‘very satisfying’ and say the ‘reaction times, depth of advice and approach of lawyers are very good’. Corporate partners Radovan Pala and Andrej Leontiev act for clients including the retailer Mango Slovensko.

Konecná & Safár is a Czech firm with 
ten lawyers in Slovakia in addition to offices 
in Prague and Bucharest. With a corporate practice led by Dagmar Yoder, the firm is 
active for both national and international clients on Slovak corporate and commercial law matters.

ROWAN LEGAL Law Firm has 22 lawyers based in Slovakia and a total of five offices across the region, in Prague, Brno, Ostrava in the 
Czech Republic, and in Riga in Latvia. The 
key corporate partner in the office is Barbara Meinl.

Valko & Partners has two offices in 
Slovakia, in Bratislava and Piešt’any, with a 
total of 20 lawyers including one based 
in Prague. Ernest Valko and Andrew Tomlainová lead the practice, working for large 
Slovak companies, developers and inbound investors.