František Čech

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Leaders in Law endorses František Čech as our exclusively recommended Insurance & Reinsurance Law expert in the Czech Republic. If you wish to get in touch with František please use the contact information provided above.

I am an attorney at law, providing legal services in the field of commercial and civil law to businesses and private clientele in Czech and English. I established my practice in 2015 having spent more than five years with a renowned Prague law firm. My commitment to provide highly professional services is appreciated by local as well as international clients in their business activities and transactions in the Czech Republic.

I have been providing long-term legal services to a wide-variety of Czech and international businesses, for example to a Czech developer, an international M&A advisory firm, an English insurer providing cross-border services in the Czech Republic, a private health clinic, a leading garden and landscape architecture studio as well as to a number of industrial concerns.

Before establishing my own practice, I worked at a renowned Prague-based law firm, and I gained additional experience on a secondment to an international law firm in London. I am an alumnus of the Faculty of Law of Charles University in Prague where I earned my Master’s degree (Mgr.). During my studies, I deepened my knowledge of law by completing a two-year distance course in English and EU law of Cambridge University’s Institute of Continuing Education, and was conferred a Diploma in English and European Union Law. In addition I spent one semester at Griffith University in Gold Coast, Australia, where my studies included finance law and corporate finance.

I am an attorney at law registered with the Czech Bar Association under evidence number 15266.

Practice Areas

  • Litigation

Representation in civil and commercial disputes, in arbitrations and insolvency proceedings

  • Real Estate Law

Advisory in real estate acquisition and due diligence, negotiation of lease agreements and contracts for work, construction law

  • Commercial Law

Incorporation of companies, M&A, shareholders’ agreements, contracts with board members, negotiations of business agreements, legal audits (due diligence), legal opinions, unfair competition

  • Civil Law

Property law of spouses, succession law, litigation for damages and unjust enrichment, contractual law

  • Labour law
Employment agreements and their termination, disputes, collective bargaining
  • Insurance Law

Insurance regulation and litigation of claims under insurance policies, legal opinions

  • Data Protection Law

Application of the general data protection regulation (GDPR)

  • Administrative Law

Representation in proceedings before administrative bodies, construction law, proceedings before the Czech National Bank especially in relation to insurance law or capital markets supervision

  • Intellectual Property

Legal services in relation to copyright law, negotiation of licensing agreements, representation in infringement disputes

 

Pirkka-Marja Põldvere

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Pirkka-Marja Põldvere is a graduate of the University of Tartu, Faculty of Law, and holds a degree of Master of Laws in International Commercial Arbitration Law (LL.M) from Stockholm University (2004). Before joining Aivar Pilv Law Office she worked for 6 years for Law Office Raidla Leijins Norcous (RoschierRaidla). Since 2006, Pirkka-Marja has given lectures on arbitration and international civil procedure at the University of Tartu. She is also a co-author of the 3rd edition of the book Rahvusvaheline eraõigus (Private International Law), 2008 (Juura, Tallinn), contributing to the chapter on arbitration. Pirkka-Marja has been a member of the Estonian Bar Association since 2003.

“Best Lawyers” has recognised Pirkka-Marja Põldvere as one of the best professionals in Estonia in the areas of corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, dispute resolution and arbitration.

Litigation, Arbitration and ADR Practice:

  • Drafting claim letters and conducting pre-trial negotiations
  • Civil court proceedings (action proceedings and proceedings on petition in all stages of court, securing an action)
  • Administrative court proceedings (contestation of the legal acts and operations of state and local authorities, applying for provisional legal protection)
  • Arbitration
  • Conciliation proceedings and other alternative dispute resolution methods
  • Insolvency proceedings (institution and participation, execution of the right of claim)
  • Enforcement proceedings (relations with bailiffs, supervision of the activities of bailiffs, contestation of their activities etc.)
  • Misdemeanour and criminal proceedings

Aivar Pilv Law Office:

Aivar Pilv Law Office was founded in Tallinn at the beginning of the year 1993 – in the time when the principal changes in the Estonian economic and legal system caused a need for legal assistance on a new quality level. Since its foundation until today the law office has expanded and developed remarkably. We have a professional team, which allows us to render to our clients many sided and high-quality legal assistance. This has enabled the law office to compete successfully also with law offices that are bigger than us.

Aivar Pilv Law Office is represented in two Estonian towns – Tallinn and Tartu. Since December 2002 we belong to the international law offices’ alliance TAGLaw which guarantees the availability of legal assistance to our clients through reliable partners in different parts of the world. In October 2012 Aivar Pilv Law Office with other reputable law offices from Baltic States established new co-operation network by signing a co-operation agreement with Law Firm Balčiūnas & Grajauskas from Lithuania and Law Firm Fogels Vitols & Paipa from Latvia. In addition, we have trustworthy cooperation partners in the neighbouring countries of Estonia, both in Scandinavia and the Baltic States.

The main aim of our activity is to render high-quality legal assistance on an internationally recognized level, which can be characterized by flexible and client-oriented service. Effective protection of the client’s interests and timely solving of problems – these are values that are important to us. Our high-level professionals are the bearers of these values.

The main bases of the success of Aivar Pilv Law Office include high quality legal assistance, discreteness, long-term client relationship and teamwork based on pleasant working environment. The diverse and long-term litigation practice of the law office allows us to rely on a rich and valuable experience while rendering legal services.

Salman Talibuddin

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Salman has acted in wide range of commercial and corporate matters both contentious and non-contentious, including appearances in court and before arbitrators in civil litigation and international arbitration matters; acted as sole arbitrator appointed by consent of the parties in a number of disputes and advising in a wide range of commercial transactions including project finance, banking, construction and engineering contracts, debt and equity financing, and mergers and acquisitions.

Kabraji & Talibuddin:

was formed in Karachi in 1997 by the two name partners. Between them they have over sixty years of legal experience in Pakistan and elsewhere. As of 1 July 2012, Danish MH Shah was admitted to the partnership. The firm undertakes all forms of corporate and commercial work and specialises in Project Financing and Projects, especially private power. From a strength of two partners and eight associates in 1997, the firm has grown to a strength of three partners and 14 associates/trainees. The firm moved to new premises in November 2012.

Kairas Kabraji is recognised as one of the country’s leading corporate and commercial lawyers and inter alia specialises in company matters, projects and project finance and banking and finance. Salman Talibuddin is a leading member of the Karachi Bar and has also acted in major international commercial arbitrations. He also frequently acts as an arbitrator. Danish MH Shah has led or been part of the firm’s project finance team in several project finance deals, including Pakistan’s first wind power project.

Mohamed Y. Alem

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Mohamed Alem is the founder and managing partner of Alem & Associates and focuses his practice on alternative dispute resolution, energy, and complex commercial cross-border transactions.

Mohamed advises public and private clients on concession in energy projects, roads and public lighting, PPP projects, energy generation and distribution, and maintenance works of industrial and petrochemical facilities.

With more than 20 years of experience in international and domestic arbitration, as well as commercial transactions with special emphasis on real estate, telecommunication, foreign direct investment, financial structuring and aviation. Mohamed Alem has built a regional reputation as one of the leading Arab lawyers operating in the Middle East region.

Mohamed Alem is often requested to advise Governments and State owned enterprises on legislative reforms and regulatory developments as benchmarked to international best practices. He is a regular keynote speaker at international conferences on a multitude of currently legal subjects.

Mohamed is also considered one of the upcoming Arab leaders through his contribution to domestic and regional efforts in promoting core values of modern societies such as freedom, democracy, human rights and transparency.

He is currently co-chairing the Beirut Committee of Human Rights Watch (HRW), acting as Secretary General for the Lebanese Transparency Association (LTA) and the Lebanese Centre for Policy Studies (LCPS). He is also chairing the Lebanese Branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb).

Arbitration and ADR Practice Practice:

Our Arbitration and ADR Practice Group has the skills and extensive expertise to handle the most complex cases. We have experience in resolving disputes in accordance with the rules of major international arbitral institutions including the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), and the American Arbitration Association (AAA). We also counsel on arbitration cases conducted according to the rules of the Beirut Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI).

Our team of lawyers shares experiences as arbitrators, counsels, members of Dispute Adjucation Boards, and mediators, bringing a multi-leveled approach to Arbitration and ADR. The impressive team is able to interfere at any stage, from the preliminary work to the choice of arbitrators, and the enforcement of arbitration awards.

Additionally, we provide mediation as a tool to resolve complex business cases. We strongly believe that mediation is an effective mechanism to resolve conflict from the root level and that with an applied and active mediator, parties are able to resolve their business disputes through structured recognition and control over final outcome. We have mediated a wide range of matters including investment, banking, commercial and labor related disputes.

Alem & Associates:

Alem & Associates is a regional boutique legal power house designed to provide state-of-the-art legal services blended with knowledge of the local heritage. By embracing change and understanding the business of our clients, we are able to provide a high-end approach integrated with transparency and a vibrant mindset. We find the right legal solutions by looking beyond the paperwork, taking into consideration our client’s business and the environment in which they operate.

Alem & Associates provides a personal touch, tailor-made approach to the needs of its clients and those of their business, with a style that integrates expertise with experience to maximize the available opportunities. We focus on adding value and providing good advice about the right legal solution.

With our unflinching commitment to excellence, we are never satisfied with the status quo, consistently looking to stay ahead. We are able to do so because we truly believe in taking our job seriously, while remembering to never take ourselves too seriously.

Founded in 1959 by Youssef Alem, one of the most known and prominent lawyers in Lebanon, the firm was reshaped to its current standing by Mohamed Alem. Indeed, Mohamed undertook to build on the reputation and tradition of the past, a young law firm for modernity.

Strong with this spirit, Alem & Associates was able to bring together a team of lawyers and legal counsels that grew into a dynamic, young, resourceful and continuously evolving group.

Alem & Associates regularly advises clients throughout the world, with a focus on the Middle East, on issues including corporate, regulatory, mergers & acquisitions, real estate, capital markets, banking & finance, energy & environment, aviation, franchising, agency and distribution and construction. The firm has also owned an excellent reputation for its litigation and arbitration work.

Constantin Klein

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Leaders in Law endorses Constantin Klein as our exclusively recommended ADR expert in the United Kingdom. If you wish to get in touch with Constantin, please use the contact information provided above.

Constantin Klein is an associate in the firm’s International Dispute Resolution Group, based in the London office. His practice focuses on international arbitration, multi-jurisdictional litigation and white collar investigations.

Mr. Klein joined Debevoise in 2013 as a trainee solicitor and completed his training in the London office, which included a six-month secondment to the Hong Kong office. Mr. Klein received his LL.B. (upper second class) from Kings College, London in 2010. In his final year Mr. Klein was the recipient of the Kings College Law School Prize in Jurisprudence. Mr. Klein holds an LL.M. in Comparative and International Dispute Resolution (distinction) from Queen Mary University, London, and completed his L.P.C. (distinction) at BPP Law School, London. Mr. Klein is fluent in English, German and is conversational in Spanish.

From 2010 to 2011, Mr. Klein spent six months representing a pacific island state as a delegate at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, while also working with an NGO seeking to address global climate change issues. He competed in the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot, receiving an honourable mention for his advocacy in 2012. Mr. Klein was enrolled in the Young International Council for Commercial Arbitration’s (YICCA) Mentoring Programme from 2013 to 2014 as a mentee of the Honourable Marc Lalonde PC OC QC.

Mr. Klein’s recent publications include “Singapore Court of Appeal Clarifies Right to Challenge Tribunal’s Decision on Jurisdiction at the Enforcement Stage,” Arbitration Quarterly, Issue No.4 (December, 2013).

Mr. Klein was admitted as a solicitor of the Senior Courts of England & Wales in 2015.

Firm Overview:

Since opening in 1989, the London office – the firm’s second-largest – has developed remarkable talent and experience in Debevoise’s core practice areas, including private equity, insurance, international disputes and investigations, financial institutions, M&A, finance, capital markets and tax. Market wise and expert in English and European law, the London office is an integral part of a closely coordinated global practice that includes colleagues in Europe, the U.S. and Asia.

In the corporate and transactional arena, where English and New York law have come to occupy leading positions in much of the world, the London office boasts deep experience in both. Some 30% of Debevoise’s London lawyers hold U.S. qualifications, and more than 75% are English law-qualified. Further, 10% of the firm’s London lawyers are dual-qualified in both England and the U.S.

The office’s leading Disputes Resolution practice similarly spans legal regimes, as well as international borders, languages, industries and court systems. Led by a team of seven partners, the practice’s advocacy-led approach makes it distinct in the market, with capabilities ranging from international commercial arbitration, domestic and international commercial litigation and public international law, to white collar crime and investigations. Debevoise’s London talent and resources in these areas are described by Chambers UK as “stellar” and “distinguished.” The practice is chaired by former UK Attorney General Lord Goldsmith QC, who has been described by the major legal directories as “one of the great doyens of the English bar.”

Debevoise’s London transactional group has advised on some of the largest public listings, globally significant M&A transactions, and innovative acquisition financings and strategies for corporate clients, and has a market-leading fund formation practice supporting its expanding fund sponsor client base. According to Legal 500 UK, “the transactional team at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP are ‘responsive, thorough and precise.’”

In close collaboration with the firm’s other offices, London office lawyers build and coordinate specialized teams to advise on local and international matters in the UK and throughout Europe, as well as across emerging market territories, including India, the Middle East, Africa, Russia/CIS and Latin America.

Raffaele Cavani

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Raffaele Cavani is a founding partner of the firm.

Qualified to plead before the Supreme Court, his practice includes both litigation and non-contentious work.

Adjunct professor of European Commercial Law at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia.

He deals mainly with corporate and commercial law matters, mergers, acquisitions and private equity, international contract issues, anti-trust and competition law.

Education:

University of Modena J.D, graduated cum laude (1988)
University of Chicago Law School, LL.M. (1993)
University of Sassari, Ph. D. Law and Economics (1994)

Languages:

Italian, English, French, Spanish

Selected publications:

“Dispute Resolution 2013” (Italian Chapter) and “Dispute Resolution 2014” (Italian Chapter), published by Law Business Research Ltd. (co-author with Alessandra Fossati and Paolo Preda)

“L’agente e la rappresentanza”, in Contratti di impresa e restrizioni verticali. Agenzia Franchising, Commissione, Mediazione, Spedizione, Milano, 2004

“CRS e tutela dei dati nel codice di condotta: una nuova ricetta in cucina?”, ne Il nuovo diritto aeronautico, Milano, 2002, 767.

“Aiuti per ristrutturazioni nel settore aeronautico: sulla procedura per il controllo comunitario e la prassi della Commissione delle Comunità Europee”, in Studi in Onore di Gustavo Romanelli, Milano, 1997, 224.

“The New Italian International Private Law”, European Business Review, 1996, 124.

“Computerized Reservation Systems for Air Transport: Remarks on the European Community Legislation”, Fordham International Law Journal, 1994, 441.

“Linee e sviluppi della disciplina comunitaria sui sistemi telematici di prenotazione per il trasporto aereo”, Il diritto dell’informazione e dell’informatica, 1992, 613.

MUNARI CAVANI STUDIO LEGALE:

We chose a path of independence and professional attention to the quality of work, in a structure that represents us as individuals and in which those who believe in the values of research, culture and versatility, could identify themselves.

The synthesis resulted in an agile, dynamic, creative, working style with select and never oversized teams, in an environment founded on commitment to critical spirit and mutual cooperation among professionals.

 

Charles Waweru Gatonye

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Leaders in Law endorses Charles Waweru Gatonye as our exclusively recommended ADR Law and Dispute Resolution Law expert in Kenya. If you wish to get in touch with Charles, please use the contact information provided above.

With over 30 years of experience, founder of the firm & Senior Partner Mr. Charles Waweru Gatonye is widely regarded as a “high-class and outstanding lawyer” in his field of commercial litigation. He graduated from the University of Nairobi in 1974 with L.L. B (Honours). He is also an advocate having worked in the office of the Attorney General and rose to become a deputy to the then Director of Public Prosecutions.

He is a member of the Law Society of Kenya, the National Advocates’ Disciplinary Committee, East Africa Law Society, international Commission of Jurists as well as the International Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. He is also a Certified Public Secretary. He has had the singular honour to be appointed by His Excellency the President of Kenya as an Assisting Counsel to the just concluded Goldenberg Inquiry investigating the loss of billions of shillings of public funds.

Mr. Gatonye was also appointed by the Central Bank of Kenya as lead counsel to the Commission of Inquiry into the sale and transfer of the Grand Regency, (the Kimunya Commission).

He has a lot of experience in court work and has litigated at the highest levels in our country. Some of the big litigations Mr. Gatonye has handled in the past include Central Bank of Kenya Versus Uhuru Highway Development Authority worth KShs 13.5 billion and Block Hotels Holdings Versus Kamlesh Pattni, again worth billions of shillings. He is currently involved in a number of litigious briefs for the Kenya Revenue Authority relating to unpaid taxes for sums of more than USD 45 million.

Waweru Gatonye & Company Advocates

Established in May, 1985, Waweru Gatonye & Company Advocates has built a name for itself as one of Kenya’s finest commercial practice firms.

The firm maintains a very good team of litigators and has made an impression in several important fields, including corporate/commercial litigation, conveyance & property matters and arbitration. Specializing in commercial litigation as well as conveyance & property matters, the firm provides pragmatic, solution driven services that add value to our clients’ businesses.

The Firm has grown rapidly in recent years, and embraces an internal culture of motivation, commitment, enthusiasm, and reward. For our clients, their interests are paramount and with that in mind, we offer sound commercial legal services, delivered with total professional commitment. For our employees, we have created an environment of energy, expertise, reward and enthusiasm.

Our objective is to provide professional and excellent legal services and advice while remaining sensitive to the clients’ needs and professional ethics. We aim at being efficient, remaining faithful to the law while sustaining professional relationships with our clients.