LAWYER PROFILE
Josef Donát

Josef Donát

Europe 2026

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Ranked in 1 practice area

About

Provided by Rowan Legal

Practice Areas

Josef Donát, holder of the prestigious ICT Lawyer of the Year award, is the head of the ICT Law specialization at ROWAN LEGAL, an arbitrator and a registered mediator.

Career

Josef Donát, holder of the prestigious ICT Lawyer of the Year award, is the head of the ICT Law specialization at ROWAN LEGAL, an arbitrator and a registered mediator.

In his practice, he has long been involved in large-scale projects in the field of the legal aspects of digitalization, electronic identification, cloud computing, cybersecurity and delivery of information systems. The team under his leadership is responsible for the creation of the BankID project, which is the most important electronic identification system in the Czech Republic. His other major projects include the preparation of the implementation of the so-called gigafactory for Škoda Auto or the transformation of the state enterprise Česká Pošta.

Josef Donát represents major multinational ICT companies, especially in relations with programmers in software development, he also collaborates on drafting license terms for computer programs and provides support to clients in negotiating contracts worth hundreds of millions of crowns. He provides expert advice to private and public sector clients in tenders and procurement procedures for supplies and services in the field of ICT and is also significantly involved in legal support for dynamic technology start-ups, where modern technology and innovation place significant demands on the right legal qualifications. Recently, he has been working on projects in the field of artificial intelligence, both by consulting for clients and by internal deployment for other innovative services offered by the law firm.

Josef has co-authored several commentaries on data protection laws, eGovernment and cybersecurity and regularly lectures at universities and international conferences.

Professional Memberships

Czech Bar Association (CBA), lawyer

Slovak Bar Association (SBA), lawyer

Member of the Legislative Council of the Government - Commission for Administrative Law No. 2 (from 1/2017 to present)

Registered mediator within the meaning of the Mediation Act No. 202/2012 Coll. (08/2015-present)

Publications

• Radim Polčák, Jakub Harašta, Pavel Koukal, Tereza Kyselovská, Pavel Loutocký & Matěj Myška, Michal Petr, Tomáš Gřivna, Josef Donát, Tomáš Ščerba, Miroslav Uřičař. Privacy and Technology Law Czech Republic, edited by Jos Dumortier, Michele Colucci, Roger Blanpain, Frank Hendrickx. NL: Kluwer Law International, 2023

• The Digital Service Rights Act (C.H. Beck, 2021)

• Cyber Law in the Czech Republic, third edition (Wolters Kluwer, 2020)

• Radim Polčák & Michal Petr, Jiří Čermák, Josef Donát, Zbyněk Loebl, Tomáš Gřivna, Ján Matejka. 'Czech Republic'. In International

Encyclopaedia of Laws: Cyber Law, edited by Jos Dumortier, Michele Colucci, Roger Blanpain, Frank Hendrickx. Alphen aan den Rijn,

NL: Kluwer Law International, 2020

• Practical Commentary: Personal Data Processing Act (Wolters Kluwer, 2019)

• Commentary on eIDAS (C. H. Beck, 2017)

• Law on the Net (C. H. Beck, 2016)

• Fundamentals of Information Technology Law (Wolters Kluwer, 2013)

Chambers Review

Provided by Chambers

Chambers European Guide

TMT - Czech Republic

Band 1
Band 1

Individual Editorial

Josef Donát stands out for his ability to assist clients with digitalisation processes and the launch of new technological services. He also has notable experience in cybersecurity mandates, and his broad practice additionally encompasses media sector tenders.

Strengths

Provided by Chambers

  • Josef Donát is extremely experienced, knowledgeable and efficient. You can always rely on his leadership. He possesses a deep and unrivalled knowledge of IT and digital laws and is an efficient negotiator.

    TMTChambers European Guide
  • Josef Donát deserves high recognition for his ability to view complex situations with extraordinary insight. His willingness to help gives clients confidence and peace of mind in every legal step.

    TMTChambers European Guide

Ranked Individuals at Rowan Legal (12)

Czech Republic

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