Companies Should Be More Willing to Challenge the Competition Authority, Says New BBH Partner Ivana Halamová Dobíšková

Why did you choose BBH for the next stage of your career?

Change is necessary in life. I spent nearly two decades at A&O Shearman, which is an excellent law firm, but at a certain point I felt there was no longer room within my area of expertise for further career growth. The partnership structure there operates solely as an equity partnership, so although A&O Shearman had—and still has—excellent clients, experts, and mandates, I felt compelled to move forward and in a different direction.

BBH approached me with the idea of deepening and further developing its existing competition law practice. The combination of my expertise, BBH’s client base, and its strong business drive within the legal market seemed very appealing. So I accepted the offer.

What would you like to focus on as a BBH partner? More business development than before?

At A&O Shearman, I led the competition practice, so business development was already a natural part of my role, and that will not change significantly. However, in addition to the domestic market, I will now focus more on international contacts and on building relationships with international law firms that do not have a presence in the Czech Republic. The goal is to expand BBH’s mandates abroad.

In fact, immediately after this interview, I am flying to Vilnius for a meeting of Central and Eastern European law firms specializing in competition law. At the end of May, I attended an international antitrust conference in Prague, and in June I will be heading to Brussels. I expect to be traveling quite a lot.

I will support the existing team, which is excellent and has already built the foundations of BBH’s competition law practice, particularly in merger control and private enforcement of competition law. My expertise will strengthen the antitrust side of the practice—cartel investigations, abuse of dominance cases, and related areas such as state aid.

Competition law continues to expand and increasingly overlaps with other regulatory fields. Clients are burdened not only by competition rules but also by foreign subsidy controls and often unclear regulations governing investments from third countries.

My goal is to build an independent practice on these strong foundations, one that supports BBH’s existing clients while also attracting new ones.

Competition law is a very dynamic field. We see increasing activity from the Competition Authority, and there is ongoing debate about a major legislative amendment. What trends do you see?

It is indeed a very dynamic area. But the fact that competition law constantly evolves and responds to economic realities is precisely what attracts me to it.

We have seen this recently in connection with rising food and fuel prices. The Competition Authority had to respond—investigations were opened, and a legislative amendment is now being discussed that would grant the authority very broad powers.

We should always remember that the ultimate goal is the protection of competition and, ultimately, consumers. Recently, however, competition law has also begun responding to other concerns, such as employment protection and sustainability.

There is growing social demand for these considerations, and they are gradually finding their way into legislation. Take, for example, the European Commission’s recent draft merger guidelines, where one of the assessment criteria is the impact of a merger on competition in labor markets. These are issues generating significant debate.

So competition law and related regulation are likely to become broader rather than narrower in the future?

Exactly. Competition law is also becoming much less predictable.

In the merger control area, for example, this has major implications for both sides of a transaction. Like several other countries, the Czech Republic is considering the introduction of a so-called “call-in” model. Under such a system, transactions that fall below the usual notification thresholds could still be reviewed if the Authority suspects that they might substantially distort competition.

This would create uncertainty, as parties could still face regulatory intervention six months after a transaction has already been completed.

The rules governing foreign investment and foreign subsidy controls are even less predictable. Timing and coordinating transactions has become increasingly complicated as a result.

If the proposed amendment is adopted, the Authority would also be empowered to issue generally binding measures aimed at strengthening competition in specific markets. These measures could regulate certain types of agreements or contractual arrangements across entire industries, prohibit unilateral publication of information, and more.

I understand the objectives behind granting such powers, but I can also imagine how they might be misused.

The tightening of regulation will affect not only businesses but also management. Cartel conduct is not criminalized in the Czech Republic, so the Authority would like to extend administrative sanctions to individuals responsible for cartel behavior. This could also function as a detection mechanism: managers who report cartel activity could receive leniency regarding fines or professional bans.

However, management may have personal interests that differ from those of the company, creating room for internal conflicts that can become legally complex.

Does Czech competition law have any particular features that foreign clients should be aware of?

Not really. Competition rules are largely harmonized across the European Union.

What is beneficial is that the Competition Authority is currently relatively open to dialogue with the professional community.

And all clients—whether domestic or foreign—need excellent legal service. They can find that at BBH.

Competition disputes can be extremely complex and lengthy. How do clients typically react?

We should distinguish between administrative proceedings and private litigation.

When a dispute begins before the Competition Authority, a final result can generally be achieved within a reasonable timeframe, including judicial review before the administrative courts.

The first step is to evaluate the likelihood of success. If a realistic chance exists, there is no reason not to defend the case vigorously after a careful legal assessment.

However, some rules are structured in a way that discourages companies from fighting. Particularly in cartel and significant market power cases, settlements are very common.

Many clients prefer to admit liability and negotiate a reduced fine, bringing the matter to an end.

Often, however, this is unnecessary. Clients could successfully defend themselves—it simply takes more time.

From a broader perspective, this is problematic. It creates the appearance of established case law and administrative practice that may not be legally sound.

I would therefore encourage clients to become more willing to challenge decisions. Greater willingness to litigate would help improve and refine the legal environment in these areas.

And what about private enforcement of competition law?

There are still relatively few such cases in the Czech Republic, which is unfortunate.

BBH is in a strong position because it is involved in two major cases, and I have personally been actively engaged in private enforcement matters as well.

The pace of Czech court proceedings in these cases is extraordinarily slow. After five years, procedural issues are still being addressed, and there has been very little substantive progress.

It is true that these cases are highly complex. They often involve numerous foreign entities, which can create service-of-process challenges.

We also lack a sufficient number of experts capable of quantifying damages suffered by claimants as a result of anti-competitive conduct.

As a result, clients need considerable determination to pursue such claims.

I hope this will change over time. It would also help to establish a dedicated expert category for competition economists. I know many highly qualified professionals with international experience, but they lack access to official certification.

You must personally have a strong interest in economics and the business aspects of law. Do you enjoy them? And how do you view the current condition of the Czech economy?

Absolutely. Anyone who wants to practice competition law should begin with microeconomics.

At the same time, I am still a lawyer, so it is not really my place to evaluate the state of the economy.

As a citizen, however, it seems healthy to me.

When you look at people like Mr. Strnad, who is one of BBH’s clients, it becomes clear that it is possible to build remarkable businesses from the Czech Republic. There are many talented people here and plenty of opportunities.

The article was published in Czech on June 4, 2026, on the website www.legalweb.cz.