The 24th Annual Charity Concert of Good Will took place at the Church of St. Simon and St. Jude in Prague’s Old Town on 18 November. Kocián Šolc Balaštík has supported the Olga Havel Foundation by organizing the charity concerts since 1995.

KŠB was ranked once again in the top spots in prestigious rating agency IFLR1000’s most recent yearbook and is recommended in all categories: banking & finance, capital markets, M&A, restructuring and insolvency, and project development.

KSB advised its long-standing client Karlovarské minerální vody (KMV) on acquiring PepsiCo’s assets and operations on the Czech, Slovak and Hungarian markets

Lidové noviny featured an interview with Professor Jan Dědič, KŠB Partner and one of the leading experts on Czech commercial law.

This year’s Charity Concert of Good Will, which Kocián Šolc Balaštík has organised since 1995 to help support the Goodwill Committee - Olga Havel Foundation, will take place on Sunday, 18 November 2018 at 19:00. Once again, the concert will be held at the Church of St. Simon and St. Jude in Prague’s Old Town.

After successful assistance with transferring the HoppyGo project to ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab, KSB provided and continues to provide comprehensive legal advice on the CareDriver project.

KŠB successfully represented CARTHAMUS a.s. in administrative proceedings in which CARTHAMUS sought to obtain clearance to operate a biomass heating plant in Český Krumlov - Domoradice/Přísečná.

KŠB was recently awarded CEE Legal Matters’ “Deal of the Year”. The deal which KŠB nominated for the award concerned the transfer of 100% of the shares in AGROFERT, a.s. and SynBiol, a.s. to two private trusts. The lawyers responsible for the transaction were KŠB partner Petr Kasík, counsel Vlastimil Pihera and associates Martin Kubík and Jakub Porod.

Partner Václav Rovenský and counsel Tomáš Sequens look at the issue of state aid for Czech green energy sources in CEE Legal Matters magazine.

KŠB was one of the proud sponsors of the “Podnikový právník 2018” (Corporate Lawyer 2018) awards organized by the Union of Corporate Lawyers in cooperation with publisher Economia and monthly magazine “Právní rádce” (Legal Counsel). The ceremony took place in Prague’s Sacred Heart church.

KSB has acted as Czech counsel to ENERGO-PRO a.s. in respect of its issuance of EUR 250,000,000 of 4.50 per cent. Guaranteed Notes due 2024 (the "Notes").

KŠB once again ranked in the top spots in the up-to-date yearbook of the prestigious rating agency Legal 500 and is recommended in eight categories.

Renowned British ratings agency Chambers and Partners recommends KŠB and its lawyers in nine fields in the latest edition of the Chambers Europe 2018 guide.

KŠB tax partner Helena Navrátilová and KŠB counsel Jan Černohouz have written a chapter on corporate tax in the Czech Republic for Chambers Global Practice Guides. The guide provides expert legal commentary on key tax law issues and summarizes the latest developments in each particular jurisdiction.

The European Global Navigation Satellite Systems Agency (GSA) in Prague is an agency founded by the European Union whose mission is to implement the satellite programs GALILEO and EGNOS. GALILEO is a satellite navigation system that will be completed in orbit by 2020, providing improved positioning and timing information with significant positive implications for many European services and users. EGNOS is the Europe's regional satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS) that is used to improve the performance of global navigation satellite systems (GNSSs), such as GPS and Galileo.

KŠB has once again been nominated for a Chambers Europe Award in the category of best law firm in the Czech Republic. This prestigious award is announced annually by the renowned British ratings agency Chambers and Partners.

KSB provided comprehensive legal advice to ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab as part of its HoppyGo project, a car-sharing application developed by CreativeDock that brings car owners together with drivers who want to rent a vehicle.

One of the largest producer of mineral and spring water in Central Europe, Karlovarské minerální vody, is purchasing PepsiCo’s Czech, Slovak and Hungarian operations.

KSB advised Czech game development studio Warhorse on the initial crowdfunding for the project and on the legal aspects of the game’s development, including the licensing arrangements with the software developers.

ELSA, the largest independent association of law students in the world, recently organized the sixth annual Contract Competition in cooperation with KSB. 

As a fan of both music and talent, KŠB is proud to be a sponsor of world-renowned Czech pianist Tomáš Kačo’s concert on 22 February 2018 at one of the most famous concert halls in the world – Carnegie Hall in New York City.

In October 2017, Martin Šolc – KŠB partner and current International Bar Association President – delivered the welcome address during the opening ceremony of the IBA Annual Conference in Sydney.

KŠB advised its longstanding client ENERGO-PRO on a bond issue of EUR 370 million worth of Eurobonds which were accepted for trading on the GEM regulated market on the Irish Stock Exchange. The Eurobonds will fall due on 7 December 2022 and have a fixed coupon of 4,000% p.a. The issue priced was 100%. 

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all of our clients, business partners and friends who attended and supported the 23rd Annual Charity Concert of Goodwill held by our law firm on Sunday 26 November in the Church of St. Juda in Prague 1 to raise money for the Goodwill Committee – Olga Havel Foundation. Proceeds from the concert will be used to support the Foundation’s selected projects, such as the “Senior” project, which assists organizations catering to our fellow senior citizens, as well as projects to help children with cerebral palsy and to provide scholarships to help socially disadvantaged children study.

At the beginning of November, Hospodářské noviny published Jaroslav Kramer’s interview with KŠB Managing Partner Dagmar Dubecká.

On Tuesday 31 October, DEZA, a.s., a member of the Agrofert Group, acquired Polish chemical company Petrochemia - Blachownia S. A. after two years of negotiations with the former owner BorsodChem Zrt.

KŠB Partner Prof. Jan Dědič was a guest speaker at this year’s Karlovarské právnické dny Conference. Prof. Dědič spoke on the topic of directors representing legal entities with a particular focus on violation of the four-eyes principle.

KŠB once again supported the annual Fintech (r)evoluce conference held by Economia. The conference was held in the Czech National Bank’s Conference Centre on 25 October 2017 for the fourth time.

In its October edition, monthly legal magazine Právní rádce published its third annual overview of significant women in Czech law and named KŠB Partners Dagmar Dubecká and Sylvie Sobolová among the other 127 distinguished female attorneys, notaries, judges, prosecutors and in-house lawyers. 

The KSB M&A team, in cooperation with Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek, advised its client, DPE Deutsche Private Equity GmbH, in connection with the acquisition of Fischer Surface Technologies.

KŠB recently won a promotion dispute over garlic drops for manufacturer Allivictus.

The Center for International Legal Studies has published an overview of public contract/procurement legislation in several tens of jurisdictions.

KŠB advised Energo-Pro Group on the purchase of 100% of the shares in Turkish Murat Nehri, which owned Alpaslan 2, an unfinished dam and hydropower plant in south-east Turkey.

United Bakeries Group, which sells bakery products under the “Delta” and “Odkolek” brands, lost final decision in dispute with KŠB client Agrofert.

The Center for International Legal Studies has published an overview of public contract/procurement legislation in several tens of jurisdictions.

Martina Parusová-Zímová is the co-author of the 2nd Edition of the International Franchise Handbook, published by DWF Germany Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH, in which she wrote a section on Czech franchising legislation and regulation.

This topic is discussed in an article written by KŠB counsel Drahomír Tomašuk and KŠB associate Jaroslav Zahradníček’s in CEE Legal Matters. 

Martin Šolc was the winner of the Market Maker award for the Czech Republic at the 2017 General Counsel Summit in Warsaw for his significant contribution to the Czech legal market. In addition to receiving this first-ever award from CEE Legal Matters, Martin - a founding partner of Kocián Šolc Balaštík (KŠB) - is also the first representative from Central and Eastern Europe to lead the International Bar Association (IBA), the largest worldwide organization of lawyers.

KŠB represented the contractor of a North Bohemian powerplant in a dispute with the customer over payment of the contractor’s fee. The dispute also involved the customer’s claim for a contractual fine and fee under an alleged contract for work and executive personnel. KŠB won the dispute and defended the client against the other party’s claims both before the first instance regional court and the high appellate court. 

Kocián Šolc Balaštík (KŠB) was named Law Firm of the Year in the Czech Republic for a fourth time by renowned British legal rating agency Chambers & Partners in London last Friday. 

Two attorneys and one junior lawyer join the ranks at Kocián Šolc Balaštík (KŠB) today: German lawyer Rainer Frank as a counsel, Pavla Veselková as an associate, and Petra Dosoudilová as a junior lawyer. 

KŠB has been once again nominated for a Chambers Europe Award in the category of best law firm in the Czech Republic. This prestigious award is announced annually by the renowned British ratings agency Chambers and Partners.

KSB has achieved a significant success in the management of non-pecuniary damages for the excessive length of proceedings on granting a license to do business in waste management, which was respectively decided by the Ministry and Environment Minister, administrative courts and (repeatedly) administrative bodies.

Law firm KSB providing assistance to the real estate development company Moravian construction - INVEST in a recent issue of discounted bonds.

KSB has provided legal services to the CERCL Green group in connection with the sale of Green Gas International, a major European operator of clean energy projects that focuses on converting harmful methane emissions produced during the extraction of mining and landfill gas to energy benefit. 

The International Bar Association (IBA) has issued a press release regarding the presidency of Martin Šolc. The press release is available here: IBA press release

Sylvie Sobolová and Christian Blatchford were newly appointed partners at Kocián Šolc Balaštík (KŠB) effective 1 January 2017. Sylvie and Christian have been with KŠB many years and their appointment expresses KŠB’s appreciation of the many contributions they have made to the firm. In addition, associates Jan Lasák, Vlastimil Pihera and Tomáš Sequens were appointed counsels.

For the fifth year in a row, the Contract Competition, an annual contest for law students, organized by the law firm KSB has taken place. The competition again attracted talented students, who for a brief interval were transported from lecture halls to a hypothetical business environment, in order to have a chance to demonstrate their knowledge in practical situations. The best were competing head to head in the final round, which was held in early December at the Faculty of Law of Charles University.

KSB assisted during the emission of discounted certificates in the value of approximately CZK 1.4 billion. The issuer of the certificates is a Cypriot company GRAMEXO PLC., which is the 100% owner of the company Rustonka Development s.r.o. Rustonka is a company established for the construction of a complex of several office buildings with a total area of approximately 37,000 square meters on land formerly occupied by the Rustonka factory in Prague-Karlin.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all of our clients, business partners and friends who attended and supported the 22nd Annual Charity Concert of Goodwill on Sunday, 4 December 2016 at Bethlehem Chapel in Prague to raise money for the Olga Havel Foundation. The contributions raised this year will be used for individual projects chosen by the donors themselves. 

In his column in Lidové noviny, KŠB Partner Martin Šolc ponders why some voices interpreting the new private law continue to emphasize that some things are just not possible.

KSB has participated as a conference partner in two major autumn conferences.

KŠB advised Emerging Europe Properties Fund on the share-sale of WOTEG GWG-Group, owner of the Centro-Ostrava shopping park located approximately 6 from the capital of the Moravia-Silesia Region.

KŠB would like to cordially invite you to this year’s Concert of Good Will to support one of the most respected foundations in the Czech Republic. The concert promises an outstanding musical experience even on the sad 20th anniversary of founder and former First Lady Olga Havlová’s passing.

KŠB Partner Pavel Dejl and his colleagues won an invalid immediate employment termination case for a major agricultural client before the Czech Supreme Court. 

Martin Šolc, the founding partner of leading Czech law firm Kocián Šolc Balaštík (KSB), has achieved unprecedented success in the field of global advocacy. In Washington, he has been elected President of the International Bar Association (IBA), and with effect from 1 January 2017 will be the first ever representative of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, to stand at the forefront of the world's largest organization of lawyers.

Law firm KSB successfully represented the company  Carthamus, its long term client, an operator of energy sources working on the basis of biofuel burning, in administrative proceedings initiated by the State Energy Inspectorate  (SEI) concerning an alleged breach of the act on supported energy sources, which was alleged to comprise incorrect declarations of the origin and type of burnt biomass fuel.

KŠB provided its client, the major energy company ENERGO-PRO, with comprehensive legal advice concerning the financing of the construction of a hydro power plant in Karakurt, Turkey.

KSB has provided legal advice to airlines Air Canada and China Eastern Airlines in connection with their entry into the Czech aviation market.

KŠB advised Lumitrix, a video mapping software and hardware start-up developer and producer, on a joint-venture with Y Soft Ventures. 

L2bAviation is an international network of lawyers spread over all continents who advise on aviation law. Chambers Global rate the network as the best in aviation law.

KSB has been representing Czech Radio in a long running dispute of many years with the Board of the Financial Directorate on the issue of the right to deduct VAT. An important point of contention was whether license fees are in fact a payment for public service broadcasting. Now KSB has achieved another success in the case. The European Court of Justice (ECJ), on the initiative of the Supreme Administrative Court, expressed the view in its decision that license fees are not deemed to be consideration paid for public broadcasting, and therefore fall outside the scope of the directive on VAT.

In recent days, Fundlift, the first domestic platform focused on equity crowdfunding has launched its operations. It is a joint venture of the financial group Roklen and the investment group Rockaway.

KSB has been representing Agrofert since 2011 in an ongoing dispute against a Luxembourg company European United Bakeries (EUB).  The Municipal Court in Prague has now delivered a first instance decision in favour of Agrofert.

The NYSBA event will take place on 7 – 9 April 2016 and focus on international arbitration/litigation, cross-border contracts, cross-border personal data transfers in the light of the Schrems case, FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act), and legal issues surrounding the restitution of property to the victims of communism.