Competition

Robert Neruda

In my third year at law faculty, I went to Professor Bejček's lecture on competition law and ... I was lost. I was dealing with antitrust law as a student, as a trainee at the Office for the Protection of Competition, as an author of several books, as a lecturer, as a deputy chairman of the Office for the Protection of Competition, I worked at the court, until life took me to the legal profession. I like to learn how markets work, it fascinates me to be around great things. Competition law is the most, it sucks you in, but there is a risk it will drive you crazy. That's why I compensate: I run furiously and cheer a little less furiously at hockey games.

Petra Joanna Pipková

I actually hated the study of law, or law as such. Until one day my father told me, try one more year in Germany and, if you don't enjoy it even then, you can go and study something else. In Germany, I got on a course in competition law by mistake and completely fell for it. Although it is actually a question to what extent competition law is still about law and to what extent it is actually about economics, behavioural economics, sociology, psychology, etc. In any case, it is fascinating. Then, during a visit to a research library, my second passion caught my eye, and that is contract law. Thanks to the increasing number of damages claims for breach of competition law, I can finally link these two passions.

Ivo Šimeček

When I was deciding on law school, I had a feeling I was going to miss something. I also enjoyed science and mathematics, and at grammar school I studied in a class focused on programming. So I added a degree in economics to my law degree. Subjects that repelled others, such as statistics and economic and mathematical methods, I really enjoyed. After school, competition law was a logical choice for me, but during my short stint at the Office for the Protection of Competition, I also “sniffed” at public procurement. Today, with hindsight, I feel that it all came together quite nicely. Competition law itself is halfway between law and economics. My knowledge of public procurement gives me a good understanding of bid-rigging agreements. Well, and programming? That's there too, only instead of using “if then else”, you use the terms hypothesis, disposal, sanction.

Vladislav Bernard

While studying at law school, I gravitated, perhaps out of laziness at the time, toward public law. I believed that within its framework all the rules would be clearly described in the laws. Then I got to competition law. I found out how naive I was. There is not much to describe in two paragraphs. Perhaps that is why competition law in all its complexity "caught my eye". Over time, I have become slightly concerned about how little fundamental rights and freedoms are protected in its enforcement. So I started studying constitutional law so that I could contribute to improving the situation. I would like to enrich the competition law section of the blog with insights from it.

Jakub Kocmánek

My journey through competition law began sometime at the beginning of my student internship when I was asked to define the relevant market of the anthracite coal. When they explained to me what a relevant market is (I knew coal from my granny’s cellar), I found that competition is a good fit for me. When not attempting to understand law, I’m a keen photographer and music listener (tending towards classical). As for my team affiliation, I am a Czech Philharmonic fan, supporting them both on their home turf in Rudolfinum and at away matches.

Karolína Steinerová

I should probably write that I’ve wanted to be Perry Mason in skirts and fight for the rights of the weak in courtrooms since I was a kid. But it wasn’t like that – I wanted to be a professional gymnast. I’m glad my dream didn’t come true and life led me to the law. Instead of the gym, I’m now competing in front of a judge, and the counterparty’s counsel is my opponent. I enjoy my work in IP litigation (i.e. litigation with an IP and unfair competition element) immensely because of its diversity and indeed because of the competition aspect. If I had become a professional gymnast, I would be long past my zenith – but I can still compete in the courtroom for a few more decades. And I’m grateful for that.