KSB News  

Martin Šolc, a founding partner at Kocián Šolc Balaštík, was recently named the 2011 Lawyer of the Year in the Czech Republic in the category of Commercial Law. Martin has thus become a two-time winner of the award, having been previously honoured in 2007, the third year of the competition.

Representing RWE Transgas in proceedings at the Regional Court in Brno, KSB was recently successful in getting a CZK 240 million fine nullified for a third time. The fine was originally imposed by the Competition Authority in 2006 for RWE Transgas’s alleged violation of competition on the wholesale gas market.

Kocián Šolc Balaštík kicked off the new year by helping complete a significant transaction: the sale of UG Air, an operator of duty free and fashion shops at the international airport in Prague, to Aelia Czech Republic s.r.o.

Kocián Šolc Balaštík was recently honoured once again as one of the best law firms in the Czech Republic and, for a remarkable fourth year in a row, it won the distinguished Law Firm of the Year 2011 award in the category of Company and Competition Law.

On Sunday 13 November 2011 the seventeenth charity concert of the Olga Havel Foundation’s Good Will Committee was organized by Kocián Šolc Balaštík in the Church of St. Simon and St. Jude in Prague. The funds from the concert, which were raised thanks to significant contributions from KSB’s clients, friends, business partners and colleagues, will be used to support the Good Will Committee’s Senior project.

In connection with the recodification of the civil and commercial law, significant changes are expected concerning the formation of commercial companies or cooperatives and the process of making changes in the Commercial Register. Notaries would newly be allowed to make entries into the Commercial Register (after preparing a public deed), and it would no longer be necessary to file applications for entries into the Commercial Register at a court, which could save entrepreneurs both time and money.

Law firm Kocián Šolc Balaštík represented Menghem Equity Limited on the sale of 100% of the shares in TRADE and TECHNOLOGY a.s., which indirectly operates Skylink, the biggest DTH (Direct to Home – Satellite TV) operator in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

In a joint project with Patria Finance, Kocián Šolc Balaštík has launched a legal site on Patria.cz, where it will supply legal information for the Czech Republic’s leading investment portal. The legal site endeavours to cover news on legislative procedures as well as problems and issues resulting from actual legal practice. Contributors to the site include associates and partners throughout KSB’s entire firm.

Kocián Šolc Balaštík provided legal consulting to the Austrian Bank Gutmann Aktiengesellschaft regarding the establishment of the bank’s Prague branch office.

Kocián Šolc Balaštík provided legal advice in connection with the Equa Internet Bank project.

Kocián Šolc Balaštík provided Advanced World Transport a.s. with legal advice on intra-group restructuring.

Kocián Šolc Balaštík acted for DAF Trucks N.V. in creating a new business partnership with TATRA, a.s. DAF will supply engines and cabins to TATRA for a new model of TATRA trucks and will take a shareholding in the company. KSB has provided legal and tax advice to DAF over a period of several years.

Kocián Šolc Balaštík provided SLOT Group with full-service legal and tax consulting on the Group’s internal restructuring.

Czech newspaper Hospodářské noviny featured an interview with Jiří Horník, KSB’s aviation law expert, focused on air passenger rights.

Kocián Šolc Balaštík has prevailed in administrative proceedings before the Antimonopoly Office (the “Office”) concerning a public tender announced by the City of Havířov, as the contracting authority, for the provision of legal and economic advisory services relating to a planned concession for the construction and operation of a PPP car park in Havířov.

Kocián Šolc Balaštík advised Japan-based Keihin Corporation on the Czech aspects of Keihin’s take-over of Japan-based Showa Denko’s heat exchanger for automotive A/C manufacture operations, including Showa Denko’s subsidiaries in the USA, China, Thailand and the Czech Republic.

Kocián Šolc Balaštík partners Jan Dědič and Dagmar Dubecká acquainted listeners of Český rozhlas (Czech Broadcasting) with changes that are to be implemented through the new Corporation Act. The new Corporation Act passed through the first reading in the Lower House on June 8 2011 as part of the amendment to the Civil Code.

Tax advisor and head of KSB’s tax department Helena Navrátilová appeared as a guest on Czech television ČT24’s program Studio ČT24. The topic was the press conference by the Ministry of Finance focused on tax evasions and other measures presented by Minister M. Kalousek and CEO J. Knížek.

Law firm Kocián Šolc Balaštík provided legal counseling to the American-British company Interval International Limited, a pioneer in exchange services of vacation ownerships with a network of approximately 2,600 resorts in over 75 countries, relating to a consumer contract. The contract sets forth the terms of participation in the exchange membership program for owners of vacation interests at accommodation that allow consumers to exchange their occupancy right or other services connected with timeshare.

Dagmar Dubecká, a KSB partner, and Sasha Štěpánová, a KSB attorney, commented on current affairs and trends on the Czech legal services market for Top Legal International.