Why have I been practicing corporate law for fifteen years? The question should rather be "why on earth not?" Corporate law contains everything a lawyer can wish for. From the contractual agenda in the form of drafting shareholder agreements to the contentious agenda in litigating shareholder disputes in court or hostile shareholder meetings. From the clear-cut rules of mergers, demergers or changes of legal form (yes, I like rules) to the routine (and sometimes reassuring) small-corporate officialdom of changes of directors, headquarters or trading companies. If you add to this the largest and most importantly the best (!) corporate law team in Central Europe, you will understand why I have been with HAVEL & PARNERS since college. Oh, and I also play tennis, hockey, run, cycle and spend most of my time on the golf course looking for golf balls.
ondrej.florian@havelpartners.czArticles by the author
H&P corporate case-law judgment: Representation of the managing director at the general meeting (March 2024)
For March, we have selected as TOP corporate case-law judgment (case no. 27 Cdo 1766/2023) a ruling concerning the delegation of the authority of managing directors to convene and organise general meetings.
ESOP myths | Myth #1: ESOP is too complex
ESOPs are often fraught with various myths and ensuing concerns, which we have decided to debunk. In the first part of a new series from the world of employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) with the subtitle “myths”, we will take a look at one of the most common ones. That myth involves the concern o
Collections of corporate laws judgments of the month 2020–2023
Each month since May 2020 on LinkedIn, we have introduced you to a judicial decision in corporate law, carefully selected from the Supreme Court’s extensive decision-making practice. We always summarise for you those Supreme Court decisions that have a significant impact on the business life of corp
H&P corporate case law: Obligation to distribute profits in a limited liability company (January 2024)
We begin 2024 with a heavyweight corporate judgment – we have picked a ruling which addresses profit distribution in limited liability companies.
Lex ESOP #6 | Tax Consequences of An Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)
In the very end of our Lex ESOP series, we will leave the “territorial waters” of corporate law and focus this time on ESOPs through the lens of tax law. In this post, we will introduce ESOPs through the lens of tax consequences and together we will look at the issue of commencement and termination
ESOP’s leadership #6 | Make sure your ESOP remains an ESOP | Ubiquitous compromise
Compromise and an ESOP? Does that even make sense? Of course, it does. What sort of compromise? At the initial meeting with my clients/founders, I advise them that in their particular situation, they always need to compromise between two aspects to find the right employee stock ownership plan (ESOP)
ESOP's fables #6 - ESOP in a major investment group
Today I would like to share with you a very interesting story in our ESOP's Fables series. This time it is the story of a client with equity interests in a large number of companies in different countries around the world. The client came to us with clear requirements for an ESOP for a key manager,
Lex ESOP #05 | Joining and leaving an ESOP
In the previous posts, we introduced the basics of the main options of employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), namely the option without an equity interest, the option with an equity interest (and its sub-options), and the issue of different types of shares and their creation. It is now time to intr
ESOP's leadership #5 | Never underestimate motivation #4 | How to motivate managers to want to participate in ESOPs?
Do you think there's been enough motivation? No way! Employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) comprise 90% of the motivation and the rest is the appropriate legal and tax structuring.
ESOP's fables #5 – ESOP for a client’s department managers
Another ESOP fable is the story of a very interesting and inspiring client who, together with his wife and best friend, founded a successful real estate business. As I have mentioned several times, every story is unique and therefore requires a unique solution.
Lex ESOP #04 | ESOP with an equity interest
Having read the previous articles on the basic types of ESOPs, you are already familiar with ESOPs without an equity interest established through a contract on the performance of office, as well as with the possibility of implementing an ESOP by issuing innominate securities, including their compari
ESOP’s leadership #4 | Never underestimate motivation #3 | How employee motivation is passed on across the company
In the previous episodes of ESOP’s leadership, we focused on the motivation of managers from various perspectives of the stakeholders involved – we described what should motivate the founder to implement the ESOP, and also how the ESOP can motivate the individual managers involved in it. We are goin
Lex ESOP #03 | Securities vs. shareholding
In the third issue of Lex ESOP, we are abandoning the contractual establishment of an employee stock ownership plan, moving on to generally more sophisticated and robust solutions. These are ESOPs based on (debt) securities and shareholding. What should be considered in relation to these options? Wh
ESOP’s leadership #3 | Never underestimate motivation #2 | How an ESOP motivates managers individually
In the last episode, we had a chance to peek into our manager motivation at our firm, and together with Jaroslav Havel we summarised the basic theses and principles of what we think about the employee stock ownership plan right here at HAVEL & PARTNERS. Today, I would like to show you an ESOP from t
ESOP's fables #3 – ESOP implemented in a regional business leader
I was very much looking forward to this “ESOP’s fable”. I am lucky that most of my clients are great and inspiring. However this client is one of the most popular. And you will soon find out why.
Lex ESOP #2 | How to set up an ESOP without an equity interest?
In the previous article in the Lex ESOP series, we briefly introduced individual types of employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs). In this part, we will present one of them, namely an ESOP without a managers’ equity interest. This type of an ESOP can be established relatively easily in its basic set-
ESOP’s fables #2 – An ESOP implemented in a family business with a unique and long-standing story
Another issue of our “ESOP’s fables” takes us to a family-owned business where a manager acquired shares and became part of it.
Lex ESOP #01 | Introduction & basic options of employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs)
Employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) are increasingly being talked about in the domestic context. However, the concept imported mainly from the other side of the Atlantic logically carries with it certain specifics that cannot be easily transposed to the Czech context. The following parts of the "
ESOP’s leadership | Never underestimate motivation #1 | Founder's motivation – why want an ESOP?
Employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) enjoy considerable popularity on both sides of the Atlantic. They give employees the opportunity to acquire a participating interest in the company in which they work under various conditions. In this way, they will receive shares in the company and related ben
ESOP's fables #1 – An employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) in a tech company with global ambitions
We start “ESOP's” fables with a really interesting and important client, a large tech company with global ambitions, and a real challenge to find the right type of an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) with regard to the specifics, requirements, and ambitions of the client.
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ESOP’s leadership | JUDr. Jaroslav Havel | Personal experience with 22 years of HAVEL & PARTNERS’ employee stock ownership plan
Our corporate team led by our equity partner Ondřej Florián has written a series of interesting articles employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs). Now let me share with you our hands-on experience in this area, having built the team of Central Europe’s largest law firm.