Business-minded legal support
We advise and represent you in legal matters related to your business and help you navigate the Slovak legal environment. Our advice is business-minded, solution-oriented, and pragmatic.
We are a Slovak business law firm with international expertise
We are a Slovak law firm (registered in the Slovak Bar Association) advising and representing corporate clients and entrepreneurs in legal matters related to their business.
We have extensive experience in
- supporting international companies and law firms in projects and proceedings governed by Slovak law
- advising clients on corporate and commercial legal matters, on employment law, as well as on drafting and negotiating contracts
- representing clients in litigation and arbitration.
As a team of former in-house counsel of an international corporation, our expertise includes cross-border matters and M&A transactions, corporate governance, intellectual property, executive remuneration and collective bargaining, as well as contractual and regulatory matters related to transport and logistics.
We fully understand that our clients want concise, commercial, pragmatic, and solution-orientated legal advice, tailored to the specific requirements of the matter at hand.
Availability, responsiveness, quality, flexibility, and excellence in client service are a matter of course for us.
Foreign language skills
Our language skills involve communication and review of legal documents in English, German and Russian as well as legal document drafting in English and German.
Modern technology
Use of modern technologies such as electronic signature, document automation, document and task management tools save our time and minimize costs of the client.
Experience in international business
Rich experience in international business as well as established cooperation with partner lawyers abroad enables us to handle cross-border cases effectively.
Our clients are such companies as
Pro bono
Latest insights
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Contestability of legal acts in German insolvency proceedings (Insolvenzanfechtung)
Many companies (including Slovak ones) operating on the German market have experienced a shock in recent years when they received a letter from a German insolvency administrator calling on them to return monetary benefits paid to them for the supply of goods or services by their German contractual partner, on whose assets insolvency proceedings were later opened.
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COVID-19 - Legal aspects of impacts on supplier-customer relations I.
Part I - Non-fulfilment of contractual obligations in relation to COVID-19 in general
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Liability for loss of consignment in "phantom carriage" (case study)
Defense against filed damage claim resulting from loss of consignment | Collection of claims of the carrier / forwarder from arranged transportations
What others say
Ing. Michal Ľach, predseda predstavenstva FINCHEM, a.s. / predseda dozornej rady CHEMOSVIT, a.s.
Viac ako 50 rokov sa pohybujem v obchodnej praxi, prišiel som do styku s obchodnými partnermi doma i v zahraničí. Na základe týchto skúseností viem, že vysoká úroveň právnych vzťahov je v podnikaní kľúčová. Skupina FINCHEM a CHEMOSVIT spolupracuje s AK Berník & Partners vyše 15 rokov. Vyriešili nám množstvo právnych záležitostí najrôznejšieho druhu vrátane súdnych sporov, korporátnych, obchodných a realitných transakcií, veľmi často cezhraničného charakteru, kde podporovali naše dcérske spoločnosti a obchodné aktivity v zahraničí. Služby Berník & Partners sú dobre organizované, biznisovo orientované a zamerané na klienta. V roku 2024 spoľahlivo zastrešili aj najvýznamnejšiu transakciu uplynulého desaťročia v našej skupine, kde asistovali pri predaji podielu v našej dcérskej spoločnosti podnikajúcej v energetike, v hodnote vyše 8 mil. EUR. V tomto náročnom prípade preukázali svoju konkurencieschopnosť v konfrontácii s prestížnou kanceláriou, ktorá zastupovala protistranu.
Leonardo Maghetti, Sole Director, S.I.F.RA. EST SPA, Italy
My company had to recover unpaid invoices from a Slovak customer and Berník & Partners, s.r.o. in a very quick and professional manner achieved the goal. Highly recommended.
Thijs Hebben, Advocaat, Belgium
Dear colleague, thank you for the efficient collaboration in which I especially appreciated the timely and motivated correspondence relating to the case.
Dr. iur. Raffael Büchi, Founder and Owner of Owlegal, Switzerland
Bernik & Partners is a small but powerful Slovak law firm. Driven by its ambitious founder and owner Peter Bernik, the firm delivers quality and high service levels. What impresses me most is the firm’s international outlook, its pursuit of continuous improvement, and its ability to listen to feedback and advice.
Ing. Ján Dobák, DOBRÝ ANJEL, n.o.
Radi sme s vami spolupracovali, všetko prebehlo rýchlo, hladko a profesionálne. Odporúčam vaše služby. Ďakujeme.
Chris Clementi, CEO, Associated Energy Group, LLC, Miami (FL), USA
We needed to register our company in the Slovak UBO register within a very tight deadline, and although the job required a fair amount of legal work, especially reviewing a large volume of corporate documents as well as cooperation with a US lawyer, Bernik & Partners were able to make it professionally and on time! Thank you for your good work!
A.P. Buzamet, Senior Lawyer, Bierens Incasso Advocaten
The office of Berník & Partners has proven to be a very reliable partner of Bierens. They have proven their efficiency and decisiveness in our debt collection cases and beyond. Always glad to assist and willing to go the extra mile.
Ing. Igor Hus, riaditeľ, Technické služby mesta Svit
Technické služby Mesta Svit na základe pozitívnych ohlasov iných firiem spolupracujú s advokátskou kanceláriou Berník & Partners pri riešení obchodných sporov. Oceňujeme predovšetkým rýchlu reakciu, flexibilný, korektný prístup a hľadanie riešení v prospech klienta.
Ing. Michal Dida, konateľ, Peter Juhás – AUTODOPRAVA, s.r.o.
S advokátskou kanceláriou Berník & Partners, s.r.o. som začal pracovať od jej vzniku a musím povedať, že pracujú profesionálne, odborne a rýchlo. Pomohli mi pri riešení obchodných problémov, vymáhaní pohľadávok hlavne v zahraničí v oblasti medzinárodnej cestnej nákladnej dopravy a pri riešení zložitých sporov zo zodpovednosti dopravcu v medzinárodnej cestnej doprave. Odporúčam všetkým dopravcom keď hľadajú dobrého právnika. Ďakujem ešte raz za pomoc a profesionálny prístup. Prajem veľa úspechov!
Ján Zastko, konateľ, Evžen Company s.r.o.
S advokátskou kanceláriou Berník & Partners spolupracujeme od roku 2018. od prvého stretnutia sme z nich cítili bohaté skúsenosti v oblasti obchodného práva čo nás motivovalo k nadviazaniu spolupráce. Od tej doby s nimi spolupracujeme už niekoľko rokov a môžeme potvrdiť ich kvality, férovosť voči klientovi, priateľský prístup a reálny pohľad na vec. Pri našich obchodných aktivitách v zahraničí, najmä v Nemecku sa často stretávame s neuhradenými faktúrami a vďaka spolupráci s nimi sa nám už podarilo vymôcť desiatky tisíc eur a nazbierať mnoho skúseností, vďaka ktorým sa počet nevyplatených faktúr každoročne zmenšuje.
Marian Slivos, CEO, CHEMOSVIT CHEDOS, s.r.o.
Berník & Partners has been our choice for many years. We appreciate most their experience in the specific area of international road transport and forwarding. We entrusted to them legal collection of our receivables from international transport within Europe, where we record high success rate and dynamics of the process. Besides that, they have successfully represented us in several complicated legal disputes triggered by damage events in transport of goods, which posed a risk of great losses to our company.
Jaroslav Mervart, CEO, CHEMOSVIT, a.s.
In the course of many years, we got used to high level of legal support provided by Berník & Partners, especially in the area of commercial and labour law. As CHEMOSVIT Group exports more than 80 % of its products abroad, the ability of the law firm to analyse and review contracts in English, German and Russian as well as to actively communicate in these languages is particularly important for us. We use their advice in other specific areas such as corporate governance or issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic. We highly appreciate almost incredible flexibility of service, resulting in instant reactions to our often-unplanned requests. All of the above, together with transparent reporting, completes the image of a modern law firm you can rely on!
Ján Drobný, president, BK ISKRA SVIT
Our basketball club has been cooperating with Berník & Partners for some years. The cooperation works on high level, the law firm has a very professional attitude and approaches our problems promptly and actively. "Guys" like sport, they do the job free of charge! We highly appreciate that this law firm has been our partner on such basis.
Ing. Ján Drobný, prezident BK ISKRA Svit
Náš basketbalový klub spolupracuje s AK Berník & Partners už niekoľko rokov. Spolupráca funguje na vysokej úrovni, advokátska kancelária má profesionálny prístup a rieši naše problémy promptne a aktívne. "Chlapci" majú radi šport, prácu pre kluby robia bezodplatne! Veľmi si vážime, že advokátska kancelária je takýmto spôsobom našim partnerom.
Ing. Marián Slivoš, riaditeľ CHEMOSVIT CHEDOS, s.r.o.
AK Berník & Partners je našou voľbou už dlhé roky. Oceňujeme najmä ich dlhoročné skúsenosti v špecifickej oblasti medzinárodnej cestnej prepravy a zasielateľstva. Zverili sme im súdne vymáhanie našich pohľadávok z prepravy v rámci celej Európy, kde evidujeme vysokú mieru inkasa a dynamiku procesu. Okrem toho nás úspešne zastupovali vo viacerých komplikovaných súdnych sporoch vyvolaných škodovými udalosťami pri preprave tovaru, kde našej spoločnosti hrozili vysoké straty.