Bratislava—Despite the many challenges in 2020, Dentons continued to support clients in many of Slovakia’s landmark financing, real estate and corporate transactions, as well as high-profile commercial, criminal and constitutional litigation cases.

Dentons received numerous awards and recommendations, both domestic and foreign. The team in Bratislava was recommended in six areas of law and 10 lawyers received together more than 30 individual rankings in international directories. The Slovak Spectator ranked Dentons’ Bratislava office as the third largest international law firm and the sixth largest law firm in the Slovak market. Partner Juraj Gyárfáš was the only lawyer in Slovakia awarded the Europe Rising Stars Award.

Dentons relocated to a new office in the new business heart of the capital in February 2021.

Landmark client matters

In 2020, lawyers from the Bratislava office worked over 28,000 hours of billable work, supporting more than 290 clients on more than 440 matters. The most interesting cases included:

Successfully representing the largest private TV company in Slovakia in criminal proceedings concerning the forgery of promissory notes and obstruction of justice in a €68 million fraud case.

Advising on one of the largest-ever residential financings in Slovakia for the development of residential buildings within the biggest real estate project in Bratislava, Project Eurovea 2. The development included Slovakia’s first skyscraper, the Eurovea Tower, and the waterfront building Eurovea Riverside, and the refinancing totalled €105 million.

Assisting petitioners in obtaining three important favorable rulings before the Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic.

Advising a Slovakia-based technology company that provides a best-in-class audience interaction platform on its sale to Silicon Valley tech giant Cisco Systems. 

Pro bono

As part of Dentons’ commitment to making a meaningful contribution to the community, in 2020 our lawyers in Slovakia more than doubled the amount of pro bono hours in comparison to the previous year. The standout pro bono case was representing the parents of the murdered investigative journalist Ján Kuciak during the criminal proceedings against the alleged murderers of their son. Dentons also represented a juvenile defendant charged with murder, to whom the Slovak president later granted a pardon. In an important human rights case, the team provided litigation support to a same-sex couple. We also advised non-profit organization Spoločnosť Jaromíra Krejcara on saving and restoring the former Machnáč spa house in Trenčianske Teplice, a decaying functionalist building.

About Dentons

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