Paul Q

Managing Partner: Pavol Blahusiak
Number of partners worldwide: 5
Number of other lawyers worldwide: 20
Languages: English, German, Slovak

Firm Overview:
Paul Q is known as a client-oriented practice with a long-standing commitment to quality, personal approach and innovative solutions. Legal professionals at Paul Q possess excellent local knowledge, strong international experience and advise clients in almost all business-related legal practice areas. The firm regularly receives awards for its work both on a domestic and international level. Each year, Paul Q is strongly recommended by the most prestigious national ranking of law firms in Slovakia - “Law Firm of the Year” and consistently recognised as the market leader by the most prestigious independent international ratings, such as Chambers and Partners, Legal 500 and IFLR 1000.

Main Areas of Practice:

Corporate & M&A:
■ Company formation, including licensing, tax, employment and property leasing matters
■ Domestic and cross border M&A transactions, including target due diligence, structuring, negotiation, closing and post-closing assistance
■ Mergers, squeeze-outs, spin-offs and other intra-group reorganisations
■ Day-to-day corporate matters
■ Company secretarial and registered office service

Real Estate & Construction:
■ Title due diligence, acquisitions, sales, financing and development of residential, commercial and industrial property
■ Construction and infrastructure projects (including PPP) in particular in the transport, health care and energy sectors
■ Residential and commercial lease transactions
■ Taking and enforcing security over real estate
■ Real estate and construction-related disputes

Labour Law:
■ Day-to-day human resources and labour relations matters, including drafting of employment contracts and other employment-related documents
■ Employee performance and disciplinary issues
■ Employee transfers, mass redundancy and severance payments schemes
■ Trade union related matters
■ Employment-related disputes
■ Work and residence permits

Competition:
■ Clearances of mergers and joint ventures
■ Review of business practices from the competition law point of view
■ Antitrust investigations relating to abuse of dominance, cartels, competition-restricting agreements and other reviewable matters
■ Representing various clients, both employers and employees, in litigation involving employment termination

Bankruptcy & Restructuring:
■ All debt collection activities
■ Representation of creditors within bankruptcy and restructuring procedures
■ Restructuring of financially troubled companies

Dispute Resolution:
■ Pre-litigation/arbitration strategies
■ Settlement through negotiations or mediation
■ Civil and commercial litigation in all forums and across various industries, in particular
■ Representation in international courts in cases of violations of fundamental rights or in connection with the application and interpretation of EU law

Banking & Finance:
■ Acquisitions, real estate and projects financing, including syndicated lending and security transactions
■ Debt restructuring and refinancing
■ Banking and financial industry related regulatory matters
■ Registration and licensing of various financial market participants and their products, assistance in the relationship with the competent local authorities

Media & Entertainment:
■ Rights agreements — authors, screenwriters, actors, musicians, film production
■ Pre-publication/broadcast review
■ Gaming related matters
■ Regulatory issues

Intellectual Property:
■ Registration of trademarks, patents, designs and inventions, licensing
■ Protection of trade names and copyrights
■ Unfair competition and misleading advertising
■ Litigation involving infringement of IP rights

Public Procurement:
■ Structuring of the public procurement process
■ Review and preparation of tender documentation, including bids
■ Support in contractual negotiations
■ Public procurement review and remedies

Projects, Energy & Infrastructure:
■ Development and financing of projects
■ PPP projects
■ Acquisition or disposal of infrastructure or energy assets
■ Regulatory issues
■ Renewables

Commercial & Contracts:
■ Support to day to day and strategic business activities
■ Advice on all forms of commercial contracts, due diligence, drafting, negotiation and closing assistance
■ Government contracts
■ Critical contracts across all sectors

Clients:
Arcelor Mittal Construction Slovakia
Beiersdorf
Benčík Culinary Group
BILLA
D.Expres (Radio Expres)
Dan-Slovakia Agrar
Deloitte group Slovakia
Edenred Slovakia/Ticket Service
FCA Slovakia
Eni Austria
HERBERIA
Hörnlein
IT Association of Slovakia
Markíza – Slovakia
MERCK
Metsa Tissue Slovakia
Micronix
News and Media Holding
Omega Pharma
Petit Press
Podtatranská vodárenská spoločnosť
RIMO (Rieker Group)
SAFRAN Slovakia
SEWA
Slovak Radio Association
Slovenské elektrárne
SKANSKA SK
Television Broadcasters Association
Universal Music Slovakia

PRACTICE AREAS
Banking & Finance
Intellectual Property
Projects, Energy & Infrastructure
Competition
Bankruptcy & Restructuring
Media & Entertainment
Corporate & M&A
Labour Law
Dispute Resolution
Public Procurement
Real Estate & Construction
Commercial & Contracts
Personal Data Protection