Less than 30 years after the wholescale introduction of computers into the legal profession, we find ourselves on the brink of a 4th industrial revolution. Today, we have cars that can drive on their own, we can print almost anything (including entire buildings and human body parts) on a 3D printer, and the Internet of Things is becoming a natural part of our everyday lives. All these tools are making our lives easier and more comfortable. And as the business world adapts to this new era, the legal profession obviously cannot stay behind.

Wilsons has advised European warehouse developer P3 on its sale of Green Tower, an office building located in Prague, to a private Czech investor. PRK Partners advised the buyer on the deal, which was completed in December 2018. The price was not disclosed.

PRK Partners has assisted Moneta Money Bank, a.s., the fourth-largest banking institution in the Czech Republic, with respect to the relocation of its headquarters to new premises, covering 21,500 square meters in BB Centrum’s Building A in Prague.

PRK Partners has assisted Publicis Groupe with its acquisition of Kindred Group, the largest independent digital communications group in the Czech Republic from CEO and founder Michal Nydrle and other investors. Havel & Partners advised the sellers on the deal, which closed on September 27, 2018.

PRK Partners has advised EuroManganese Inc. in connection with the initial public offering and listing of its shares in Canada and Australia.

PRK Partners has advised the Czech Republic's UDI CEE a.s. in the process of listing of its shares on the non-regulated Start market organized by the Prague Stock Exchange.

On Thursday, November 30th, leading legal practitioners from across Central and Eastern Europe gathered in Prague to help CEE Legal Matters celebrate its fourth successful year as the leading chronicle of the legal industry in the region, participating in an expert Round Table conversation about the year just concluded and enjoying an evening of dinner, drinks, and bonhomie. 

Kinstellar and White & Case have advised BMO Real Estate Partners on the acquisition of the high end department store in Prague occupied by Van Graaf on behalf of investors in its pan-European retail property investment fund. BMO Real Estate Partners acquired the building from Vienna-based MTK Developments. PRK Partners reportedly advised the sellers on the deal.

This year’s General Counsel Summit – the annual gathering of leading in-house counsel from across Central and Eastern Europe – convened in Warsaw, on June 1-2. 

In the Czech Republic, the most important buzzword in the field of legal services and IT deliveries is “GDPR-Compliance” and it has serious ramifications for organizations, businesses, and public corporations.

Czech lawyers, not known for ebullience, are nonetheless finding it hard to keep the smiles off their faces. After a decade of disappointment and struggle, if the Managing Partners at Czech firms are to be believed, the last remnants of the global financial crisis have dissipated and business is booming. As spring rolls through Central Europe, the sunshine is both meteorological and metaphoric. Prague is basking in the warmth.

The 2017 CEE Legal Matters General Summit took place at the Intercontinental Hotel in Warsaw on June 1-2, 2017, once again bringing together well over a hundred General Counsel and Heads of Legal from across Central and Eastern Europe for two full days (and one entertaining evening) of seminars, panel discussions, best practices review, and networking. This year’s event — the third annual, following the 2015 GC Summit in Budapest and the 2016 GC Summit in Istanbul — was the biggest and most successful yet.

PRK Partners has announced that it advised SABMiller group on Czech and Slovak issues related to its sale of its CEE businesses — including Czech brewery Plzensky Prazdroj and Slovak brewery Pivovary Topvar — to the Japanese Asahi Group.

PRK Partners has advised the Czech town of Kromeriz on the preparation and conclusion of a shareholders agreement between it, nearby town Morkovice-Slizany, and the Czech municipalities of Drinov and Zborovice — which combined hold a majority shareholding in VAK Kromeriz (a water utility company providing services to more than 100,000 persons and companies) — securing their majority position and control over the utility for the next 30 years. The project value is CZK 1.2 billion.

PRK Partners has advised Veolia Energie CR (formerly Dalkia Ceska Republika, part of the Veolia Environment group) on its acquisition of Prazska Teplarenska LPZ a.s., a Prazska Teplarenska subsidiary operating, in particular, local heat supply networks on the left bank of the Vltava River in Prague. The sale price was reported to be EUR 71.3 million.

Women’s Day is behind us, but the subjects of gender equality and equal opportunity are of year-round concern. This, the first part of a special two-part CEE Legal Matters article on women in private practice in CEE, provides the numbers and percentages from leading law firms across CEE, as well as a more thorough snapshot of one representative market. Part II of the report, in the June issue, will pull back the curtain even more, providing feedback and perspectives from lawyers across the region.

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PRK Partners has advised Best Hotel Properties, a large publicly-traded hotel property owner, in its purchase of the InterContinental Hotel in Prague and related companies.

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PRK Partners has represented Holcim before Czech antitrust authorities regarding Holcim's divestment of its Czech operations to the Mexican Cemex corporation.