“After several years, we were able to build trust with the largest law firms, which are open to provide us data about their operation in Slovakia,” said Ján Pallo, publisher of The Slovak Spectator.
“When compiling the ranking, we used three criteria which are used the most abroad and speak objectively about the size of law firms: number of people with a law degree working for the firm, sales revenues, and net profit per partner, while complete financial data is provided by the company FinStat.”
The law firm SOUKENÍK – ŠTRPKA placed first in the general ranking with the highest number of lawyers working for the company. The most important deals with which this law firm dealt with in 2017/2018 include:
Deal1: Legal advice for Národná dialničná spoločnosť, a.s. (Ministry of Transport and Regional Development) in relation to D4/R7 Project (€1.7 bn).
Deal2: Legal advice on notice of concentration (€360 mil.).
Deal3: Legal representation of Health Care Surveillance Authority seeking damages (€280 mil.)
Deal4: Legal advice in proceedings of European comission in matter of offering unlawful state assistance (€166 mil.).
Deal5: Legal advice in agreement of postponement of recovery of claims (€385 mil.) with English law element.
LARGEST LAW FIRMS IN SLOVAKIA 2018
1. SOUKENÍK – ŠTRPKA
2. Advokátska kancelária RELEVANS
3. RUŽIČKA AND PARTNERS
4. Allen & Overy Bratislava
5. Dentons Europe CS LLP
6. Škubla & Partneri
7. PETERKA & PARTNERS
8. Barger Prekop
9. TaylorWessing e/n/w/c advokáti
10. PRK Partners
Law firm Advokátska kancelária RELEVANS had the highest growth in sales and profit. In 2017, the 10 largest law firms saw a 9-percent increase year-on-year in revenues. The aggregate net profit of the first 10 law firms rose 4 percent compared to profits in 2016.
(source: Investment Advisory Guide)
The annual Investment Advisory Guide 2018/19 published by the English language newspaper The Slovak Spectator provides more detailed data with published results of the analysis as well as complex ratings.
When looking at partial criteria used for setting up the general ranking, Advokátska kancelária JUDr. Radomír Bžán and ADVOKÁTSKA KANCELÁRIA DVORECKÝ & PARTNERI have several top positions. However, they have not been considered for the purposes of the ranking. This is due to their controversial dealings with the state, specifically the inappropriately high rewards they were paid in 2017. Both firms also have low numbers of law graduates working for them. For these reasons, they are not relevant for the ranking. From other companies, Allen & Overy Bratislava once again achieved the highest sales revenues in 2017 out of all assessed law offices, while SOUKENÍK – ŠTRPKA dominated in the number of law graduates (53). Advokátska kancelária RELEVANS achieved the highest profit per partner.
The position of law firms in the ranking of local and international attorneys is interesting when considering whether they have offices mostly in the Czech and Slovak republics or not.
LARGEST LOCAL LAW FIRMS 2018
1. SOUKENÍK – ŠTRPKA
2. Advokátska kancelária RELEVANS
3. RUŽIČKA AND PARTNERS
4. Škubla & Partneri
5. Barger Prekop
6. IKRÉNYI & REHÁK
7. PRK Partners
8. Hamala Kluch Víglaský
9. ČECHOVÁ & PARTNERS
10. HMG LEGAL
(source: Investment Advisory Guide)
Allen & Overy Bratislava placed first among international law firms operating in Slovakia. The most significant cases in which the law firm provided legal services in 2017-2018 were:
Deal1: Advising SZRB Asset Management/Slovak Investment Holding on the first venture capital investment in company GA Drilling a.s.
Deal2: Advising Západoslovenská energetika on the acquisition of the largest combined heat and power plant in Slovakia from E.ON.
Deal3: Advising a financial institution on the possible acquisition of Fincentrum.
Deal4: Advising Citigroup and other top managers on €315 mil. eurobond issuance of Západoslovenská energetika.
Deal5: Advising Slovenská sporiteľňa as the issuer and dealer on establishment of its €5 bn debt securities issuance programme.
LARGEST INTERNATIONAL LAW FIRMS IN SLOVAKIA 2018
1. Allen & Overy Bratislava
2. Dentons Europe CS LLP
3. PETERKA & PARTNERS
4. TaylorWessing e/n/w/c advokáti
5. Kinstellar
6. White & Case
7. bnt attorneys-at-law
8. Ernst & Young Law
9. Deloitte Legal
10. Noerr
(source: Investment Advisory Guide)
More complex information was published in the yearbook about the investment environment Investment Advisory Guide 2018/19.
This ranking of the 10 largest law firms in Slovakia was created based on five factors related to the year 2017, to which we gave different weights:
- number of attorneys (36% weight);
- number of law graduates besides attorneys with more than 3 years practice (18% weight);
- number of law graduates besides attorneys with less than 3 years practice (6% weight);
- sales revenue (25% weight);
- net profit per partner (15% weight).
Financial data on profits and revenue has been provided by the company FinStat.sk, which is published along with other details concerning Slovak companies. This data helps companies analyse business partners, competitors, and the whole general market. It also leads to potential new deals and the development of new business.
A few law firms decided not to provide information and were not analysed in this ranking. Based on the calculations of The Slovak Spectator, their potential involvement this year would have had a minimum impact on the ranking of the top positions.
Investment Advisory Guide
The yearbook on the business environment, published yearly since 2000 by The Slovak Spectator, gives an overview of investors either from Slovakia or abroad. This year’s edition was published thanks to the cooperation of the Investment Support Association (ISA). The general partner of the guide is the law firm SOUKENÍK – ŠTRPKA. The content provides well-arranged information on the economy, labour market, investor support, legislation, and real estate, as well as investment opportunities in Slovakia. This guide also contains a large analysis of the law firm market, providing more detailed information on the most important ones. Within this section, rankings of the largest law firms in Slovakia are also published. The yearbook traditionally contains a wealth of statistics, including the regional comparison of wages, unemployment rates, industrial structure and an overview of the largest companies in individual regions.
