In The Corner Office, we ask Managing Partners at law firms across Central and Eastern Europe about their backgrounds, strategies, and responsibilities. This time around, we dug deeper into a discussion point that came up during our last event: During our annual General Counsel Summit held in Prague recently, we’ve learned that even with the inflation in CEE having hovered around 14-20% in recent years, legal fees have remained static or have even decreased in some jurisdictions. Given that, how has your firm managed to consistently deliver high-quality service under these constraints?

As digital solutions become more widespread in business operations, the use of electronic signatures for labor-related documents is increasingly common in Slovakia. However, it is crucial for both employers and employees to understand whether such signatures hold legal validity under Slovak labor law. This article examines the key points surrounding the use of electronic signatures in labor documents.

After the European Commission’s letter in December 2024, which identified the risks of regulatory arbitrage stemming from diverging interpretations, risks that we also encounter in practice, the European Banking Authority (“EBA”), in its outlook, called for no immediate action regarding the PSD2’s applicability to services related to electronic money tokens (“EMTs”). On 10 June 2025, the long-awaited Opinion of the EBA (the “EBA No Action Letter”) on the interplay between Directive 2015/2366 (“PSD2”) and Regulation 2023/1114 (“MiCA”) in relation to crypto-asset service providers (“CASPs”) that transact in EMTs was finally published.  

The so-called “flexinovela” amendment of the Labour Code (CZ) effective from 1 June 2025 brings a number of fundamental changes, especially in terminating employment. For employers intending to issue a notice to an employee for breach of duty or to terminate employment immediately, the statutory time limits for doing so have been extended. This amendment addresses the practical needs of employers who have previously struggled to thoroughly investigate cases within the existing time frames. In this post, we will take a closer look at these revised time limits for issuing notices and immediate terminations. Generally speaking - what kind of time limits do we have and why are they important

The National Labour Inspectorate's report on the status of equality and discrimination in employment relations for the year 2024 shows that discrimination in the workplace is a hot topic.

Allen Overy Shearman Sterling has advised Citigroup Global Markets Europe, Goldman Sachs Bank Europe, and J.P. Morgan as joint bookrunners and joint lead managers, as well as The Law Debenture Trust Corporation as trustee, on the EUR 700 million issuance of 8% senior guaranteed green notes by Energo-Pro. Tsvetkova Bebov & Partners, member of Eversheds Sutherland, advised the issuer. BLC Law Office and White & Case and its Turkish affiliate law firm GKC Partners reportedly advised the issuer and guarantors. Boyanov & Co and, reportedly, BGI Advisory Services advised the joint bookrunners, the joint lead managers, and the trustee as well.

Following the criticism of the current state of regulatory burden in The Future of European Competitiveness report by Mario Draghi (issued in September 2024) and in the Budapest Declaration by the European Council which called upon European Commission to reduce reporting requirements by at least 25 % in the first half of 2025 (issued in November 2024) the European Commission announced a series of so-called “Omnibus” simplification packages.

Cobalt has advised Combiwood Grupp on its acquisition of Toftan from its existing shareholders Mattsbo Sag, Wigert Invest, Lars Lindgren Invest, Marnefeldt Invest, Investyno, Martin Arula, Jaanus Lehes, and Merli Randoja. Eversheds Sutherland and Vinge reportedly advised the sellers.

In The Corner Office, we ask Managing Partners at law firms across Central and Eastern Europe about their backgrounds, strategies, and responsibilities. This time around, we asked: For 2025, what is the one sector or industry in the country that shows the most promise for growth, and why?

Permitting of any projects is a long-standing problem in the Slovak Republic. It seemed that this problem would largely be solved by the new construction legislation that was approved in 2022 and was supposed to enter into force fully on April 1, 2024.

Djingov, Gouginski, Kyutchukov & Velichkov, working with Linklaters, has advised joint lead managers Citigroup, ING Bank, J.P. Morgan, and UniCredit on the dual-tranche EUR 4 billion sovereign bond issuance by the Republic of Bulgaria under its EUR 27 billion global medium-term note program. At the same time, DGKV advised arrangers and dealers BNP Paribas, HSBC, and Societe Generale on the update of the Republic of Bulgaria’s GMTN Program to EUR 27 billion. Tsvetkova Bebov & Partners, member of Eversheds Sutherland, and Clifford Chance advised the Republic of Bulgaria.

BTA Solivan has advised Celtic Park Piaseczno and Celtic Park Lomianki on the financing and refinancing of warehouses and office complexes located near Warsaw by mBank. Eversheds Sutherland reportedly advised mBank.

Pohla & Hallmagi has advised SMH Group on the acquisition of the business of Tallinna Kommunlaateenused. Eversheds Sutherland reportedly advised the sellers.

Eversheds Sutherland has promoted former Counsel Michal Hrabovsky to Partner.

Given the growing emphasis on sustainability and responsible business practices, obligations in the field of ESG are becoming increasingly significant. The banking sector is emerging as one of the key players in this transformation, with evolving regulatory frameworks influencing its operations.

In The Corner Office, we ask Managing Partners at law firms across Central and Eastern Europe about their backgrounds, strategies, and responsibilities. With 2024 behind us, we asked: Looking at transactional volumes for this year, would you say that 2024 was better or worse than what you originally expected it to be, and why?

Eversheds Sutherland Managing Partner Bernhard Hager talks about energy in Slovakia in 2025.

Slovakia is currently still in the process of approving the draft legislation for the implementation of Directive (EU) 2022/2555 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2022 on measures for a high common level of cybersecurity across the Union, amending Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 and Directive (EU) 2018/1972, and repealing Directive (EU) 2016/1148 (NIS2 Directive). However, Slovakia has missed the implementation deadline of October 17, 2024, with the draft pending approval in Parliament, expected by late November 2024.