Koubíková Legal works primarily for foreigners in the Czech Republic and for Czechs abroad. Have I captured your basic captured your basic characteristic correctly?
Partly. Our typical client can also be a Czech here in the Czech Republic or a foreigner abroad. In essence, it can be anyone dealing with a cross-border case that involves a foreign element. Imagine, for example, a French person living in France who holds a share in a Czech company and is dealing with its operations together with Czech partners. Or a Czech living in the Czech Republic who has a dispute with a foreigner living abroad. Does it commonly happen that Czechs, for example, inherit something abroad and have no idea what to do with it, or does that only happen in movies? It happens very often. We also work for foreigners whose relatives, for example, emigrated to the Czech Republic in the past and died here, and these surviving relatives then need us to help them find their bearings in the Czech environment and, in fact, to support them overall. To lighten it a little: when we were working through examples at university in private international law along the lines of “a Frenchman living in the USA marries a Hungarian woman living in Japan, they relocate together to South Africa and then want to get divorced,” we all laughed that it was a really overcomplicated assignment. But practice has taught me that exactly these kinds of things really do happen, and that is precisely what we specialize in.
I assume, however, that your clients are not only natural persons, but also commercial companies and other legal entities. Is that correct?
Yes, we work for natural persons in resolving both their private and business matters, and equally for commercial companies. That includes Czech companies participating in international transactions as well as foreign companies dealing with matters in the Czech Republic. We can work for anyone handling cross-border cases, regardless of their size. Other law firms also turn to us when they need our particular specialization for their clients.
What led you to open a firm with precisely this kind of specialization?
I considered studying languages because I have always been fascinated by foreign cultures, but I gave priority to law. I told myself that I could still pursue languages even if I did not study them formally, but I could not do the same with law. Already during my studies and then after graduating I worked at a firm focused only on Czech law, but I wanted to deal with international cases. Gradually I found such clients, especially from Francophone regions. And I really enjoyed it; I achieved what I had wanted: I combined foreign languages with law. I came into contact with people from all over the world and with courts from foreign countries; it was enriching and it fascinated me. What confirmed my decision to focus exclusively on cross-border cases was a two-month internship in Paris, which the Czech Bar Association sent me on as a practising lawyer. It was also reinforced by meeting foreigners who complained bitterly about our legal system, while my experience abroad had shown me—and continues to show me—that it works well. For example, Czech courts are not slow compared with those in other countries, and our data boxes are by no means commonplace around the world. I therefore also thought that I would like to offer foreigners a service that explains the Czech legal system to them within their own cultural context. I decided to devote myself to it fully, on my own terms, and build a team with the same focus as mine. A team that would share the same passion for foreign law, languages, and cross-border cases.
Your team is divided into different language areas. Which countries do you focus on most?
English is the foundation, but a lot of people work in English. From a market perspective, French and Spanish are particularly important to us, and I deliberately focused on French- and Spanish-speaking clients. I also did not want to offer services in languages that I do not speak myself, because ultimately, I remain responsible for the work. That is why, for example, we do not have a German section, as I do not speak German myself. Our market is now the whole world, although our main jurisdictions are France, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Spain. However, our clients also come from countries such as Brazil, Japan, Canada… and I could go on.
In business it is often not just about the law, but also about understanding related—in this case local—specifics. You have already hinted at this: is knowledge of the environment part of your services?
Exactly. For example, we explain to clients from Japan that they do not need to fly to the Czech Republic for a court hearing, but can attend remotely, or we explain how interpreters will be arranged. When you work with foreigners, you have an overview of the range of things they can make good use of within the Czech legal environment.
By the way, do you work with local law firms abroad, or do you more often handle matters independently?
We provide in-house services under Czech, European and international law. We also cover French and US law thanks to our American colleague Eric Witt, who works at the firm as of counsel and is admitted to the Massachusetts and Paris bars. In every European country we have a partner firm through the Cyrus Ross association, an association of law firms of which we are members. We also have partner firms in some countries outside Europe, and in others we find them on an ad hoc basis when needed. Our partners then handle local law for our clients, while we remain their point of contact and intermediaries who explain all the relevant context and guide them through the matter.
Would you say how the Czech business world differs from the foreign ones you most often operate in?
In international business, similar customs already apply everywhere. But if I take France, for example, they are enthusiastic about our electronic data boxes (because in France people still commonly send faxes or write letters — some sources say that around 46 percent of French companies still use fax) or about the fact that we have clear, predictable rules on the reimbursement of legal costs (unlike Article 700 of the French Code of Civil Procedure). In France, judges decide on costs a bit according to the “abracadabra” principle, i.e. at their own discretion, which is not very predictable. In Spain, on the other hand, colleagues commonly use the informal “tú” even if they have never met before. Lawyers there even routinely hug and kiss each other in greeting; it is good to expect that and be prepared for it. Because whether you know these local nuances can determine the success of your business. You only make a first impression once.
I assume it isn’t easy to find such specialized lawyers as you need. Are you currently fully staffed?
We are actually never fully staffed. We therefore also meet suitable candidates who contact us themselves at times when we do not fully need them capacity-wise. Because people with the required competencies cannot be found in a week. What matters most to us, however, is having colleagues who want to focus specifically on cross-border cases and, besides English, use an excellent command of French or Spanish at C1 level. Our firm is ideal for polyglots. During the day you switch between several languages and work in an international environment even though you sit under Petřín Hill. This is nicely illustrated by our colleague who just returned to our firm in August from the EU institutions.
What are your next plans with Koubíková Legal?
We plan to continue establishing ourselves as a firm specialized in cases with multiple international elements and to expand our team. We want to work even more on corporate matters, both for companies and for self-employed individuals. We also intend to focus even more on the Latin American market, which is huge and has enormous potential. We see demand for our specific services, so we definitely want to keep growing.
The law firm KOUBÍKOVÁ LEGAL is a partner of legalweb, and this text was published as part of this collaboration.
You can visit the KOUBÍKOVÁ LEGAL website at: https://www.koubikovalegal.eu/en
