Former Wilsons Attorney-at-Law Monika Kajankova has joined Dentons' Prague office as a Partner on May 15, 2022.

Glatzova & Co has advised Germany's Handolfo Invest on its acquisition of Czech food supplements manufacturer Algamo. BNT Attorneys in CEE reportedly advised the seller. 

Clifford Chance has advised a club of lenders including Komercni Banka, Ceska Sporitelna, and Raiffeisenbank on a EUR 137.5 million loan to the Accolade group for the construction of an Amazon automated distribution center. Allen & Overy advised Accolade.

JSK has advised Sudop CIT on its acquisition of Czech information technology company Profiq. The Marek Hoskovec law office reportedly advised the sellers.

Kocian Solc Balastik has advised the VGP Group on leasing a 49,000 square-meter warehousing commercial space in VGP Park Olomouc to Hella Autotechnik Nova. Dentons reportedly advised Hella Autotechnik on the deal.

A good idea is the cornerstone of a successful start-up. In practical terms, however, it is often not enough. Here is an overview of legal mistakes founders of start-ups often make but that can be easily avoided on the way to the next step towards success.

Jan Kubicek has joined British American Tobacco in the Czech Republic as Senior Legal Counsel.

Havel & Partners, working with Cytowski & Partners, has advised Credo Ventures on its investment in the start-up EquiLibre Technologies.

Former Counsel Marek Bomba has become a Partner in the Prague office of Eversheds Sutherland.

Former White & Case Partner David Plch has left the firm's Prague office to establish his own solo practice – The Law Office of David Plch.

With the increasing EU emphasis on regulating digital financial services and a growing market for them in the Czech Republic, CEE Legal Matters spoke to Noerr Attorneys-at-Law Filip Murar and Ludek Chvosta about the local regulatory framework, the pace of its development, and the ways in which the market has responded.

Schoenherr’s busiest practice, according to Partner Vladimir Cizek, has been Corporate/M&A, with a lot of activity involving banking and financial services, technology targets, and healthcare and life sciences in the last 12-plus months. Cizek explains that technological advancement, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the increasing demand for businesses to grow have contributed to increased activities in these sectors.

Former Havel & Partners Partner Ludvik Juricka has rejoined Deloitte Legal as a Partner and leader of the firm's commercial team as well as its offices in Brno and Ostrava.

In August 2021, the Czech Supreme Court issued a ruling in which it found a provider of a file-sharing service liable for infringement of Czech laws against unfair competition. The decision takes a somewhat unorthodox approach to unfair competition, as it recognizes that particular business models benefitting from “free riding” may in themselves constitute an unlawful practice. For a European audience, it may also be interesting to learn how the court disapplied the safe harbor liability exception for hosting services and how the CJEU’s case law influenced the judgment.

Petr Bratsky has joined Kinstellar’s Prague office as Head of the firm’s local TMT sector and service line.

DLA Piper has advised the Karlin Group on a joint residential investment in Prague with PPF Real Estate. Kocian Solc Balastik advised PPF.

Generally, in the Czech Republic investment incentives are provided by the state to support businesses in regions other than Prague. They are approved by the government in cooperation with the respective ministries and processed by the state agency CzechInvest.

Dentons has advised the CPI Property Group on the EUR 1.25 billion bridge loan facility to help finance its takeover offer for all outstanding shares for S IMMO.