LEGATE, s.r.o > Bratislava, Slovakia > Firm Profile

LEGATE, s.r.o
DVORÁKOVO NÁBREŽIE 8A
811 02  BRATISLAVA
Slovakia

Slovakia > Projects and energy Tier 1

LEGATE, s.r.o counts major energy players, both local and pan-European, among its core clients. The team regularly advises clients on both greenfield and brownfield projects. Peter Vrábel is noted for his contentious expertise; Miroslav Dudlák has significant regulatory experience; and Alena Pláňavská is the name to note for contractual issues.

Practice head(s):

Peter Vrábel; Alena Pláňavská; Miroslav Dudlák

Testimonials

‘The Legate team is very proactive and able to promptly identify new challenges and risks deriving from the legal environment. They are focused on various aspects of the energy market, including European Commission policies. Extremely competent and to the point, very experienced and reliable. It is a group of stellar lawyers and very pleasant to work with.’

‘Peter Vrábel is one of the best lawyers I have worked with. A dedicated professional with excellent team and project management skills. He impresses through his breadth and depth of expertise on energy matters and willingness to go the extra mile to ensure delivery and client satisfaction. The level of communication, strategic thinking, confidence, sophistication and responsivenes have been amazing.’

‘The lawyers from LEGATE are very customer oriented and always try to find the best solution for us in any assignment they are given. And in our case they also provide us very good value for money.’

‘Mostly I work with Peter Vrábel – a true professional with a very good overview and legal knowledge, always ready to provide a good analysis of a given issue and possible solutions to the given issue and the recommend one with the pros and cons. Besides being very professional, he is also a person with a very kind and friendly attitude.’

‘The team provided us with creative solutions based not only on national but also EU law.’

‘Peter Vrábel is a highly experienced lawyer.’

Slovakia > Dispute resolution Tier 2

The team at LEGATE, s.r.o regularly acts in arbitral proceedings, and has a strong track record across construction claims, shareholder disputes, tax disputes, and administrative disputes. Managing partner Peter Vrábel heads up the practice. Michal Mistrík regularly handles international disputes, and is also well versed in alternative dispute resolution. Norbert Havrila and Miroslav Dudlák are also notable senior litigators.

Practice head(s):

Peter Vrábel; Miroslav Dudlák; Michal Mistrík

Other key lawyers:

Testimonials

‘LEGATE provides us with a unique combination of in-depth knowledge and fast work pace. They are very flexible, focused on pragmatic solutions and do not devote time to the issues which are not so relevant for the client. This excellent team always delivers to us very practical advice on very efficient terms.’

‘Peter Vrábel significantly benefits from acting as the arbitrator for the most reputable arbitration court in the country and we see how this experience is utilised in our mandates. We were in good hands right from the start and very much appreciated the professional, precise and structured working method.’

‘Peter Vrábel is an exceptional lawyer who has the ability to see the core of the dispute, his arguments are always very well thought through and structured. He is always on time and his advice is always very rational and practical. He knows how to present the case to the tribunal and has great advocacy skills.’

‘Michal Mistrík is a very rational practitioner, strongly defending the client and contributing alternative solutions for matters. He is so much dedicated to the case and very responsible for consistency of evidence presented to the court. The line of argument, when it is put by him in the written form, is really convincing.’

‘Top legal advice and lawyers at LEAGTE; they see the business perspective of the transaction and are able to cover the most complex transactions on very tight schedules.’

‘The practitioners working for LEGATE do act as one team, which always goes the extra mile for the client. This goal-oriented team has impressive strategic skills and brought reliable and quick responses. The team is very engaged and well connected. They used highly advanced technology to do in-depth screening of the case law from several different sources.’

‘Peter Vrábel is an “old fox” litigator and therefore a tough negotiator utilising not just litigation but also international arbitration skills. He is capable of efficiently handling large and complex matters, which allows clients to confidently rely on him in long and complicated disputes. Michal Mistrík is a very pragmatic attorney, results focused and fully committed.

‘Peter Vrábel is an accomplished tactician and strategist with outstanding litigation skills. Prestigious practice and representation in the largest and most complex disputes with success. Unreal knowledge of legislation and regulation in several areas of law.’

Slovakia > Real estate and construction Tier 2

LEGATE, s.r.o is praised for providing ‘supersonic and very detailed advice’ on a variety of matters concerning the real estate market, including investment schemes and M&A transactions. The firm regularly advises international clients on their inbound investments in relation to large non-residential premises. Practice head and managing partner Peter Vrábel is skilled in project development, and is ably supported by Alena Pláňavská and Miroslav Dudlák. In recent team news, Martin Lukáč joined from PwC in January 2023, shortly followed by Matej Mlynka from Hillbridges the following month.

Practice head(s):

Peter Vrábel; Alena Pláňavská; Martin Lukáč

Other key lawyers:

Testimonials

‘Their supersonic and very detailed advice on a real property acquisition saved us a lot of money.’

‘Legate provides us with a unique combination of in-depth knowledge and fast work pace. They are very flexible, focused on pragmatic solutions, and do not devote time to issues which are not so relevant for the client. This excellent team always delivers very practical advice on very efficient terms.’

‘Peter Vrábel is an exceptional lawyer who has an ability to see the core of the dispute, his arguments are always very well thought through and structured. He is always on time and his advice is always very rational and practical.’

‘Legate has set up a sound and exceptional real estate team. They are genuinely prepared for the negotiation. They have unique expertise and knowledge of detailed procedures. We feel in excellent hands.’

‘Peter Vrábel was always available and highly motivated to bring the project to a successful conclusion. As a result, complex legal issues and necessary documents were made available in the shortest possible time with high quality.’

‘Legate’s real estate team is highly experienced, driven, to the point, and deal oriented. Great team players. I praise their friendly and open-minded attitude.’

‘Peter Vrábel and Martin Lukáč are not only professional lawyers, but also very polite and cooperative lawyers. They bring clarity even to complex matters. Quick response time and a creative way of finding solutions for various issues are features I may praise.’

‘The cooperation is excellent, they always try to advise us and help us with the problems we are solving, they are active and propose effective solutions.’

Slovakia > Commercial, corporate and M&A Tier 3

LEGATE, s.r.o advises on both the sell-side and buy-side of major deals, as well as handling complex contractual issues for clients within the energy and natural resources, real estate and IT sectors. Peter Vrábel heads up the team alongside Miroslav Dudlák. Norbert Havrila is noted for his work on complex M&A transactions.

Practice head(s):

Peter Vrábel; Miroslav Dudlák

Other key lawyers:

Testimonials

‘Legate provides us with a unique combination of in-depth knowledge and fast work pace. They are very flexible, focused on pragmatic solutions and do not devote time to the issues which are not so relevant for the client. This excellent team always delivers to us very practical advice on very efficient terms.’

‘With Peter Vrábel, we were in good hands right from the start and very much appreciated the professional, precise and structured working method. He is an exceptional lawyer who has an ability to see the core of the dispute, his arguments are always very well thought through and structured. He is always on time and his advice is always very rational and practical.’

‘Great lawyers, it is always a pleasure to work with them. They understand the needs and deliver perfect service. Also their pricing policy is competitive.’

‘Peter Vrábel is very experienced lawyer with passion to help. Always happy to assist. He has an excellent understanding of business.’

‘The fantastic team spirit brings us very structured views on the most complicated matters.’

‘They are very flexible, open minded with excellent strategies to follow. They understand very well the final aim of the client and they not only design the best ways to proceed, but are like clocks in terms of delivery and implementation.’

‘The team acted as one body and we felt a very strong drive and desire to achieve a successful result for us as the client.’

‘The practitioners carefully and thoroughly provide us with holistic advice. They react in the very short periods and speak very clear language to be understood by non-lawyers.’

Photo Name Position Profile
Silvia Beňová, PhD. photo JUDr Silvia Beňová, PhD. Senior Associate: Silvia joined LEGATE in 2021 from top international law firm…
Viktória Draškaba, MEconSC photo JUDr Viktória Draškaba, MEconSC Senior Associate: Viktoria joined the LEGATE team in 2008 and specializes for…
Miroslav Dudlák, MBA photo Mgr Miroslav Dudlák, MBA Of counsel: Miroslav became part of the LEGATE team in October 2019…
Soňa Fusková photo Mgr Soňa Fusková Junior Associate: Soňa has joined LEGATE team in 2021 after graduating the…
Norbert Havrila photo JUDr Norbert Havrila Senior Associate: Norbert has joined LEGATE team in August 2017, while previously…
Michal Mistrík photo JUDr Michal Mistrík Senior Associate: Michal joined the team in 2006 and is mainly responsible…
Matej Mlynka photo Mgr Matej Mlynka Senior Associate: MAtej has joined LEGATE team in March 2023 and since…
Matej Mlynka photo Mgr Matej Mlynka Senior Associate: MAtej has joined LEGATE team in March 2023 and since…
Adam Nahálka photo Mgr Adam Nahálka Junior Associate: Adam has joined LEGATE team in 2022 after graduating the…
Alena Pláňavská photo JUDr Alena Pláňavská Senior Partner: Since joining the team in 2001 Alena secured a long…
Ivana Šaková photo Judr Ing Ivana Šaková Senior Associate: Since joining the LEGATE team, Ivana mainly focuses on corporate…
Ivana Šaková photo Judr Ing Ivana Šaková Senior Associate: Since joining the LEGATE team, Ivana mainly focuses on corporate…
Peter Vrábel photo JUDr Peter Vrábel Managing Partner: Practice head and firm managing partner Peter Vrábel is a…

LEGATE is fully aware of its social responsibility, necessity to involve in community activities and being instrumental in positive social contribution.

Therefore, we actively support educational activities and programmes within multiple schools via the 2% annual income tax contribution.

Moreover, we pursue distinctive programme covering and resolving the private legal matters of our clients and private legal matters of their family members. The track record of LEGATE also involves the cooperation with NGO supporting the high standards of ethics and social equality in Slovak Republic.

Nevertheless, LEGATE supports gender diversity within the structures more than half of our legal team is comprising of women.


As a medium-sized law firm in Bratislava, Slovakia, LEGATE has a great amount of flexibility at its disposal.  

The local presence of this law firm in Slovakia guarantees swiftness of decision-making, which can hardly be matched by large international law firms.  

The high degree of flexibility is also confirmed by the very open approach to any price model cooperation. 

LEGATE professionally renders the legal services for four companies rated among the top 20 non-financial enterprises in the Slovak Republic with strong international expertise.  

The clientele of LEGATE ranges from subsidiaries of strong energy market players through to transnational industrial players and also includes the public sector. 

The cross-border matters are in particular ensured via LEGATE’s steady position within Globalaw network having more than 89 independent partner law firms at its disposal located in 76 jurisdictions around the world in three Globalaw regions which cover the globe (America (including Canada. USA, Central America and South America); Asia, Pacific and Oceania and EMEA (Europe, Africa and Middle East). 

All LEGATE legal counsels speak fluent English. Other lingual abilities of counsels are comprised of the German, Russian and French languages. 

Peter Vrábel, Manging Partner, LEGATE, attorneys at law

The saturated Slovak legal market for legal services faces to trends of specialization of the firms for the selected practice areas and implementation of the sophisticated technologies resulting in the documents automation.

What do you see as the main points that differentiate LEGATE from your competitors?

Legate acts as solution provider for its clients and not just legal operator. We offer tailor made solutions for the areas we are specialized for and serve as one-stop shop for the areas we co-operate with other law firms, tax, and accounting firms. Focusing on selected areas allow us to have a deep understanding of modus operandi for our clients and consider business insight when providing legal advice. The pragmatism, outcome-driven approach and real help to the client form our corner values.

Which practices do you see growing in the next 12 months? What are the drivers behind that?

Cyber-security law, software law and all-in services should not be overlooked. Development of blockchain technologies and payment service providers require compliance services and in-depth knowledge of the financial law. We see still the large room for legal designing to set up, introduce and fine tune the combined tax and legal solution which our clients appreciate as we may offer clear responsibility for the package solution.

What’s the main change you’ve made in the firm that will benefit clients?

We have not only implemented automation of documents in our IT systems; however, we have even offered and introduced these AI products to our clients. The clients appraised the files sharing service, which provides mirroring litigation files for the clients with those as recorded with the court.

Is technology changing the way you interact with your clients, and the services you can provide them?

The shared files offer high comfort with respect to upload of the documents by the client and download of certain deeds if updated by us as representative at the court case. Moreover, we were registered for several international

platforms in Italy, USA which operate as law firms panel for specific practice areas for registered clients. We have implemented the automatic notification systems for reminding us and clients of coming deadlines for the litigation matters.

Can you give us a practical example of how you have helped a client to add value to their business?

We co-operate with the banks and are registered for their business platforms where we can offer to our clients the investments targets generated by the banks. We also offer the mezzanine loan opportunities to our clients providing these facilities to those clients who need short-term financing; thus we helped many clients to receive the bridge loans. The AI products and contract automation systems have been introduced by us to our clients to get the time saving for in-house counsels of the client and make their work more efficient.

Are clients looking for stability and strategic direction from their law firms – where do you see the firm in three years’ time?

We are involved in strategic decision-making when the clients face to big issues as they accept our role of problem solver. We have been engaged by the gas and oil clients to analyse the roadmap with respect to permitting for the conversion from the traditional business into green deal industry. We plan to be high-end provider of legal services for energy, disputes, real estates, and M&A and one-stop shop operator for all-in advisory services within three years´ time. We will focus on development of unique value proposals in niche segments for our clients.

SLOVAKIA

LEGATE provides its clients with a wide scope of legal support depending on specified requirements and demands of its clients. The legal practice areas of LEGATE comprise corporate, mergers and acquisitions, litigation, arbitration and dispute resolution, industry and energy, antitrust and competition, banking and finance, construction, employment, public procurement, real estate, restructuring and insolvency, taxes and transport regulation, data protection and intellectual property law.

LEGATE’s presence in the Slovak Republic guarantees swiftness of decision-making on local level, which can hardly be matched by large international law firms. Therefore the firm has a great amount of flexibility at its disposal.

Since its formation, LEGATE has extended into a wide team of lawyers with complex and detailed knowledge of local distinctions applicable to the Slovak market. At the present time, LEGATE comprises ten attorney lawyers, two junior lawyers, one paralegal and two assistants which ranks LEGATE as a medium-sized law firm within Slovak market.

The firm aims to keep clients satisfied and focuses on cost-effective services and tailor-made solutions with a flexible approach. The firm considers the client’s requirements and projects on an individual basis, first to understand the client’s model of operation (modus operandi) and afterwards to prepare alternative solutions in close co-operation with the client’s representatives.

No single project is the same; the draft solutions are supervised by the managing partner or created in brainstorming meetings within the team of dedicated lawyers. This individual attitude attracts clients to form long-term professional relationships.