Jozef Hudák: providing solutions as well as answers

You’ve been at Poláček & Partners from the very beginning. Did you think it was risky to go to a new and unknown law firm right after graduating from law school?

It was a risk, but a calculated one. From the beginning, Pavol pointed out the risk. But he also said that it could be a unique opportunity to see and experience the birth of a new law firm. He was right. I have experienced the growth of the firm from the purchase of the first stapler and the signing of the contract with the first clients.

Did you purchase the stapler?

Yes, but I had an even more important task. When I joined a  firm I was the only employee and someone had to hang the name of the firm on the door. You might think it was  easy. But, at that time we didn’t even have a hammer. I had to be inventive and I used an air freshener instead. And by the way, it still worked afterwards. When the furniture was delivered, we assembled it ourselves.

Times have changed, right?

Now, when a new member joins the team, they work in a modern office with a highly secured laptop and business phone, a well stocked library, a kitchen with an excellent coffee and skilled assistants who make their job easier. These are the obvious changes. However, many more less obvious things happened which represented a test by fire. I have experienced a million situations that constituted a challenge not only of my knowledge, but also of my will, interpersonal relationships, and values. Thanks to that, I’ve gained a certain perspective, which is an important added value in the legal profession. I would like to pass on this experience to our new colleagues.

What was your biggest case, where you learned the most?

The most publicized case was certainly the Babiš case, in which the current Czech Prime Minister challenged the legitimacy of his registration as an agent of ŠtB (former State secret police force). We represented the Nation's Memory Institute from the first district court proceedings to the groundbreaking decision of the Constitutional Court. Mr. Babiš's NMI case was the most covered in the media, but we represented the Institute in a number of other disputes. I’ve always been interested in history and it was rewarding for me to be a part of history in various lawsuits. Better to say, to be a part of the fight to ensure that the extremely valuable documents which demonstrate how people used to live here did not to become a tear-off calendar . Many former ŠtB collaborators who systematically destroyed the lives of honest people for their own benefit have pretended after the Velvet Revolution  that it was nothing. However, it was not my job to judge these people, but to prevent them from distorting the truth in their favor.

So, which case taught you the most?

In the field of energy, it was the G-component case involving a controversial payment which the electricity producers had been forced to make for years. We’ve been on this case from the very beginning, starting with the first complaints of the electricity producers in 2014, through the representation of members of the National Council at the Constitutional Court, which annulled the unconstitutional parts of the Notice of the Regulatory Office for Network Industries, to the current stage in which tens of our clients are expecting further developments in the dispute, which was again submitted to the Constitutional Court. It is one large odyssey of payments which we think should never have happened.

As a partner what will you bring to the firm’s clients?

In the first place, I will be co-responsible for the management and development of the firm which has  grown in scale and content. As a partner, I will be entrusted with several tasks related to the oversight of specific cases. However, their solution always takes place in cooperation with my colleagues as well as our clients. On both of these levels, the fact that I know our firm well will help me. My goal is to ensure that my colleagues have excellent conditions to do their best work. This is not possible without a good law firm culture and values. It is the only way we will continue to be able to provide our clients with top legal services with a human approach. Because of that humanity, I took a risk at the beginning of my career; this humanity is our DNA, which I will protect.

Few people know this about you, but in addition to pursuing law you are devoted to music and Slovak folklore, and sometimes the sound of a violin can be heard from your office. This is what Sherlock Holmes did, at least this is how Arthur Conan Doyle described him while solving difficult cases. Were you inspired by this?

Slovak folklore is my passion. Thanks to it, I have met many great people and experienced things that only someone involved in the field can understand, so I won’t even attempt to describe them (laughs). I admit that I don’t know how the violin helped Mr. Holmes in his work, but when I look back, I think it has had a significant impact on my life. We had regular rehearsals and performances with the folklore ensemble, and often the only time to rehearse was late at night in my office. Folklore and law are two worlds I have always tried to keep separate.

But they have intersected, right?

Once, I was planning to participate in a festival after a hearing. I knew that I would have to rush so I took the violin to the courtroom. I don’t know what the judge must have thought when she saw me walk in with a case that usually holds a violin, but according to some films might also hide a machine gun. Another time, after a hearing at the Constitutional Court, a cameraman from Slovak Television came up to me and said that he knew me from somewhere. After a minute or two, he realized that he had filmed me at the Východná Folklore Festival the year before.

Is it true that lawyers must have an answer to everything?

I stick to the following motto: a lawyer who has an answer to everything probably didn’t understand the question (laughs). I like to approach this profession with humility. I’m more interested in solutions than answers.