our team

JUDr. Patrik Koželuha, Ph.D.

Email: patrik.kozeluha@brizatrubac.cz
Tel.:      +420 773 529 312

Specializations

 Education

• Faculty of Law of Charles University (Masters  2009 - 2014, doctoral studies 2015 – 2023)

Other study visits

• University of Liège, Belgium (May 2017)

• Court of Justice of the European Union – traineeship (May 2013)

Main fields of expertise

Corporate Law, Law of Obligations, Procedural Tax Law, Criminal Tax Law, IP/IT Law, Labour Law, Foreign Law, Protection of Personal Data.

Language of provided services

• Czech
• English
• French

Vocational exams

• Bar Exam (excellent result)

Membership in professional and advisory institutions and boards

• Attorney at law (Czech Bar Association)
• Member of the Supervisory Board (Czech Bar Association)

Past working experience

Patrik is a partner at Bříza & Trubač, where he has been working since 2018 (first as an attorney and then as a partner from 2022). Before that, he worked for Schaffer & Partner Legal s.r.o., a law firm, for almost 7 years. He also completed an internship at the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic, where he participated in the preparation of documents for negotiations within the EU institutions and bodies within the Conceptual and Institutional Department.

References

His legal practice focuses on corporate law, transactional and contractual matters, tax law (including the specialised area of criminal tax law) and labour law. Patrik also deals with some more narrowly focused areas typical of today's globalised and digital world, namely foreign law, IP/IT law and data protection.

In the area of corporate law, Patrik has extensive experience not only in day-to-day corporate matters, but also in complex corporate restructurings and business transformations. Among other things, he participated in the restructuring and transformation of an energy company supplying thermal energy in one of the Czech cities. He has also dealt with transformations of companies operating in the hotel industry or in the sale of luxury fashion.

In the area of transactional and contractual agenda, Patrik deals with the preparation of both ordinary ("operating") contracts and complex transaction documentation (in particular, documentation related to the acquisition of shares and stocks, relations between partners and shareholders, loan and leasing documentation, documentation related to development projects, etc.). For example, Patrik provides legal services to a leading Czech leasing and credit company in the case of documentation related to credit and leasing products worth several hundred million crowns. Patrik also represents commercial companies in negotiating loan agreements with banks (including syndicated loans exceeding CZK 1 billion). He also regularly manages teams involved in acquisition transactions. In this way, Patrik has been involved in the sale of one of the top 10 fastest growing technology companies in Central Europe in the IT/data processing sector (with a transaction value of up to CZK 500 million), a company owning apartment buildings or a major regional energy company.

Patrik also represents clients before the tax authorities (procedural tax law) and handles criminal defence in tax offences. Patrik is also active as a lecturer in the field of tax law and criminal tax law. 

Patrik is also involved in providing labour law advice, both in terms of preparing employment law documentation for clients and in litigation.

Publications

• WINTR, Jan, KOŽELUHA, Patrik. Teleological Interpretation in Czech case law. The Lawyer Quarterly, No. 2/2015.
• KOŽELUHA, Patrik. Legislative intent in the interpretation of law, All-Herd Magazine, available online.
• KOŽELUHA, Patrik. Contract on conclusion of a future contract - comparison of civil and commercial law regulations, 23 August 2011, Epravo.cz, available online.
• KOŽELUHA, Patrik. Amendment to the Public Procurement Act: a step backwards or removal of impractical measures? Epravo.cz, 17 January 2014, available online.
• KOŽELUHA, Patrik. New law on registration of beneficial owners, 14 April 2021, epravo.cz, available online.
• KOŽELUHA, Patrik, KLIMEŠOVÁ, Barbora. Prepare for the introduction of the work-life balance directive. Statutory Representative magazine, February 2022.
• TRUBAČ, Ondřej, KOŽELUHA, Patrik, LÉKO, Kristián. Subjective aspect in tax crimes. Bulletin of the Chamber of Tax Advisors of the Czech Republic, 1/2021.
• "Scammers and bond trading. Check the creditworthiness of the issuer before buying them", available online.
• KLIMEŠOVÁ, Barbora, KOŽELUHA, Patrik. How to have flexible working hours on public holidays, 18 March 2020, Epravo.cz, available online.

Lecture activity

• Employment of foreigners (lecture for the C. H. Beck Academy).
• VAT fraud - defence in tax proceedings and prevention (lecture for the C.H. Beck Academy).
• Visits of foreign researchers (lecture for the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and universities).
• Liability of the statutory body (lecture organised in cooperation with AUDITA education).
• Liability of the statutory body in the field of taxation (lecture organised in cooperation with AUDITA education).
• Tax fraud (lecture organised in cooperation with AUDITA education)
• Relative national rights (lecture for trainee lawyers for the Czech Bar Association).
• Conflicts of rules of evidence in tax and criminal proceedings (lecture within the conference Criminal Tax Law organized by epravo.cz)
• Receivables from an accounting and legal perspective (lecture for W Studio).
• Not to be caught by criminal tax law (lecture at the Law and Practice conference organized by epravo.cz).
• Typical situations when entrepreneurs are "hit" by criminal tax law and how to face them (lecture at the Tax Compliance conference organized by epravo.cz).
• Typical mistakes of entrepreneurs in the tax area: what are the penalties and how to prevent them (lecture at the Tax Compliance conference organized by epravo.cz).

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