Lawyer - Zuzana Štefanková

My name is Zuzana Štefanková (née Holasová), I am a lawyer.

What programme/track did you take in our Faculty? Why did you choose this programme/track?

I graduated in LL.M. programme in European (EU) Law in academic year 2007-2008. I chose this area because it interested and still interests me very much. I like its complexity, its specific characteristics, work with the case-law of the Court of Justice of the EU. I knew that I have learned something about this field during my master studies back home but I was eager to learn in more detail especially about the history of EU integration, basic characteristics of the EU Law, about the judicial protection in the EU and about the EU and its internal market. However, this programme turned out to give me, besides all of this, much more.

I also liked the way the subjects were taught and how the exams took place – I knew that it would differ from the system we have in my home country. The subjects and exams taught me how to think critically, how to combine and utilise the knowledge gained, how to make legal analyses and, last but not least, how to write a solid and well analysed legal text.

What have you done next to your programme? Which extracurricular activities did you participate in?

I was a member of the faculty board responsible for the curriculum.

What does your current job entail? Which competences are most important to this job?

My current job – head of legal service sub-department of the legal and legislative department of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic – entails supervision and also execution of the following activities: preparation of contracts, legal analyses and positions; negotiations of contracts; legal representation of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic in court proceedings led by/against the ministry. The sub-department deals predominantly with national –Slovak – law, however knowledge of the EU law has also proven to be crucial.

Most important competences for this job include the ability to think in a constructive way; to be willing and able to find solutions to legal problems what also requires broad legal knowledge.

How did you end up in this job? What is/was your career path?

After graduating at the UG I worked for 2 years at the Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic at the department of European Affairs as a legal expert responsible for transposition of directives, implementation of regulations and decisions, for preparation of opinions within the preliminary reference procedures before the Court of Justice of the EU and for legal analyses regarding the EU Law.

Then, for 4,5 years, I worked as a lecturer at the PanEuropean University in Bratislava, I was responsible for Labour Law and International and European Labour Law.

I also finished my PhD. studies in EU Labour Law in 2013 at this university.

Since 2015 I have been working at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, at first as an “ordinary” employee, then as the head of the legal service sub-department. I was offered a position of an “ordinary employee” by my former boss who I worked for at the Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic and who was at the time of the offer and who currently is the head of the legal and legislative department of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic. After 4,5 months I was promoted to the head of the legal service sub-department.

Do you have any career tips for our students?

To work hard, to try to find the best and comprehensive solutions to legal problems, to think in a flexible way, to continue studying also during having a job and to attend legal courses offered by the employer.