Final Word from Wednesday, August 22, 2018
Deník Referendum stated as a matter of fact in July 2016 that Pokorný Wagner law firm worked for both the finance ministry, run by Bohuslav Sobotka, and the buyer of OKD, Zdeněk Bakala, in dealings with the EU Commission. This is not an unusual practice, Referendum said with considerable understatement. In fact, if it were true, it would be the ultimate sin of a lawyer and could lead to disbarment of those involved. MFD made the same claim last week, adding the detail that the lawyer advising both sides at the same time was Radek Pokorný. Yet Pokorný has never stated publicly that he was suing Deník Referendum or MFD for libel. He is, however, suing us (a second time), and the first hearing will be held tomorrow at 10am in Prague 7 District Court. The public is welcome to come see how far a politically connected lawyer is prepared to go to defend his good name when, unlike in the OKD double-dipping case, the statute of limitations has not yet expired. [ Czech Republic European Union Brussels conflict of interest ]
Glossary of difficult words
Correction: We have corrected the sentence, "This is not the usual practice, Referendum said with considerable understatement," to say, "This is not an unusual practice, Referendum said with considerable understatement."
disbarment - expulsion of an attorney from the Bar, so that he or she no longer has the right to practice law;
double-dipping - obtaining an income from two different sources, typically in an illicit way;
statute of limitations - a law assigning a certain time after which rights cannot be enforced by legal action or offenses cannot be punished.