The Legal 500

In a coup which gives them a major long-term head-start against other firms practising in Serbia, CMS Reich-Rohrwig Hasche Sigle have been mandated by the EBRD and Serbian ministry of economy with the drafting of the revised companies law for Serbia. Highly respected by clients for his legal skills and dedication to ‘quality service’, managing partner Radivoje Petrikic will take on this challenge, ably assisted by fellow partner and former executive director of the Serbian Privatisation Agency, Caslav Petrovic. The firm’s strength in privatisation and M&A work was complemented by the arrival of Aleksandra Jovic, former head of Raiffeisen Bank’s corporate legal department, to head up the firm’s banking group. CMS Reich-Rohrwig Hasche Sigle acted for the banks on two of the largest project financings in Serbia, the €140m financing of Delta’s purchase of the Intercontinental Hotel in Belgrade and the € 124m MPC shopping mall financing. The team was also active in a range of corporate matters for clients such as Michelin, German broadcasting giant RPL, BP, IBM, DuPont and Henkel.

Gide Loyrette Nouel continued to win instructions in the dwindling privatisation sector, advising on proposed privatisations in the retail, public transport and certifications sectors. Equally strong in M&A, Francois D’Ornano’s dedicated team handled issues arising in cross-border acquisitions in the media, energy and insurances businesses. Well-placed to offer expert advice on EU and competition matters due to Gide Loyrette Nouel’s experience in Brussels, the expanded Belgrade team is poised to take up the increase in competition law instructions which has been evident recently, advising major European corporates on merger clearance and Serbian regional competition procedure. Its client list includes Lafarge, Credit Agricole Assurances and Statkraft.

Another firm garnering its share of privatisation work is Harrisons Solicitors, where privatisation guru and firm director, Goran Martinovic, has a long track record, principally as lead advisor to regional governments but also to blue-chip purchasers such as US Steel and BAT. Martinovic has been engaged by the government of Serbia on the tender for the sale of the Serbian copper industry. The firm’s involvement in headline deals includes advising Fiat Group Automobiles and Iveco on proposed joint ventures with Zastava, the state-owned car manufacturer. Head of banking and capital markets Alexander Preradovic is active on behalf of EBRD and German development bank DEG. ‘Approachable’ managing partner Mark Harrison, a ‘business man’s lawyer’, is a qualified English solicitor who is responsible for the firm’s offices in Belgrade, London and Montenegro.

Jankovic, Popovic & Mitic o.d. in cooperation with CHSH Cerha Hempel Spiegelfeld Hlawati is the third largest corporate law firm in Serbia and has acted on significant sales and acquisitions in the banking, insurance and foods sectors. Jankovic, Popovic & Mitic o.d. in cooperation with CHSH Cerha Hempel Spiegelfeld Hlawati has a reputation for ‘thorough work’,evident in the firm’s advice to the Serbian government on the high profile joint venture with Fiat Automobiles and the implementation of the government’s capital project relating to the oil and gas arrangement, including the proposed sale of the Serbian state-owned oil company, between Serbia and the Russian Federation. Its international client base is confident in the advice received on acquisitions, mergers, and privatisations, and has recently included DaimlerChrysler, Delta Group Belgrade, and Veolia Transport. A growth area for partners Nikola Jankovic and Julijana Jevtic is PPP/PFI, complementing the firm’s strong M&A and privatisation capacity. The team advised Alpine Mayreder Bau and FCC Construction Spain in connection with their bid for the design, construction, financing and maintenance of the Horgos-Pozega Highway, and IASON Group on a PPP hospital project.

With the arrival of English and US qualified partner Alex Petrovic, Joksovic, Stojanovic & Partners has added the capacity to provide expert advice in IT law to its recognised abilities in M&A and privatisations, where it has been active on behalf of local consortiums and international companies such as the Russian Copper Company in ongoing tenders for the remaining privatisations in the motor, retail and copper mining industries. A strong full-service firm, it has expanded to 13 lawyers in the last year and continues to impress clients with its ‘high standards of expertise’. Partners Milan Joksovic and Petar Stojanovic ‘know their stuff’ and clients ‘have confidence in their team’.

Karanovic & Nikolic continues to go from strength to strength, recognised by clients as being ‘amongst the top three firms in Serbia who can go the whole way for international clients on privatisations’. As the largest commercial law firm in Serbia, at 65 lawyers, it focuses on M&A, privatisations, banking and project finance, real estate and construction matters. Dragan Karanovic is ‘a very good corporate and M&A lawyer’, who is regularly referred work by major international law firms. Fellow founding partner Dejan Nikolic has an ‘enviable reputation’ gained on energy infrastructure transactions. An area of expansion has been in competition law, where the firm’s clients, which include Philip Morris International, Merrill Lynch and Holcim, who also regularly instruct the firm on corporate matters, were advised on various aspects of competition law.

Testament to the confidence international clients have in ‘consistent’ and ‘precise’ Prica & Partners, the likes of IKEA and the IFC consistently return to the firm for advice on local acquisitions and loans to Serbian banks and entities. Recent highlights were acting as counsel to Carlsberg in a potential acquisition of the largest Serbian beverage and bottling company, and to Gazprom Neft in their planned acquisition of a majority stake in the Serbian oil industry, the largest transaction in Serbia for the last two years. Privatisation expertise on the buyer side is recognised in ongoing advice to EDS of Russia in a proposed privatisation of a hydraulic and pneumatic-industry conglomerate. Managing partner Mihajlo Prica is known as an ‘extremely competent lawyer’.

Spasic & Partners is regarded as ‘a quality firm with a strong focus on obtaining the best for its clients’. Its prominence in the field of privatisation is attributed by many to the skills of ‘excellent academic lawyer’ Darko Spasic, whose 27 years of professional experience were relied upon most recently by the privatisation agency of Serbia in the sale of the largest complex of office buildings in Belgrade, including the Hotel Continental. Using these talents on the buyer’s side, the firm acted on the purchase of IHP, the largest fertilizer producer in the region, and of PROGARD, the largest security company in Serbia.

Clients appreciate the ‘ease of communication’ and ‘fast delivery of analysis’ available at Wolf Theiss Vienna in co-operation with Serbian lawyers. The firm acts for a raft of international clients - counting Aeroflot and Kraft Foods International amongst its clients, assisting them across a wide range of commercial practice areas. On the banking and project finance side, the team advised Deutsche Bank as lead arranger on the €2m financing of the high-profile Horgos-Pozega highway in 2008. Bojana Bregovic’s star continues to rise as she impresses banking and corporate clients with her ‘brilliance’, and Miroslav Stojanovic also receives accolades for his handling of corporate matters such as the proposed €300m acquisition by Jelmoli Holding of the bankrupt Robne Kuce department store chain. Another notable highlight was the firm’s retainer by Aeroflot as a potential bidder for JAT Airways.

A ‘responsive’ team of five lawyers at ILS d.o.o. in Association with Clyde & Co assist international insurers and financial services groups with investing and operating in the Serbian market. Djordje Igric and Boris Baklaja are experienced in privatisation, with advice to the Serbian privatisation agency and the EBRD on restructuring and insolvency procedures. ‘Efficient’ and ‘coherent’ sum up impressions of the team here.

The ‘friendly approach’ of Law Office Kosic has attracted local and Italian clients from the automobile, IT, chemical, food, textile and mining sectors for advice on privatisations and assistance in their ongoing corporate affairs in Serbia. The firm has advised on the high-profile proposed privatisation of Serbian car and truck manufacturer Zastava.

The reputation of Mikijelj Jankovic & Bogdanovic as a leading IP advisor is confirmed by satisfied clients, who continue to provide excellent feedback on the quality of the lawyers and turn-around times at this ‘practical’ and ‘proactive’ firm. Clients such as Nestlé, Coca-Cola, Burberry and Ford entrust their IP matters to the team. On the transactions side, highlights include the €30m sale to Michelin of the assets of Serbian tyre company TIGAR.

Highly regarded for its international arbitration and domestic dispute resolution capabilities, in which leading arbitration partner Radomir Milosevic plays a key part, Law Office Milosevic can also lay claim to a long-standing general corporate practice which has advised clients in the textile, IT, brewing and banking sector on acquisitions and share sales; and the Serbian government on the privatisation of the tobacco industry. ‘Very capable lawyer’ Radomir Milosevic is described as ‘a safe pair of hands’.

Priding itself on providing ‘high quality legal services’, four partner outfit Ninkovic Law Office regularly receives referrals from international law firms for assistance with the full range of Serbian corporate law matters. The firm’s recognised expertise in Serbian competition law has proved valuable to clients Early Learning Centre, Dealex (the Serbian distributor of Disney products) and Isuzu Motors Limited obtaining individual exemptions for agreements under Serbian competition regulations. DuPont were also advised on data protection issues in the occupational health field. Clients praise the ‘quality and content’ of the firm’s output.

Schönherr is notable for its ability to provide advice at a high level on all the legal issues arising in the course of major corporate transactions, as opposed to being instructed on specific aspects. Mandates were received from German media groups West-deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung and ProSiebenSat.1; and by leading security services company Securitas on potential acquisitions in Serbia. Other industry groups advised on Serbian acquisitions include banking, pharmaceuticals and construction, where the foreign investor is the client. Versatility is shown by the team’s retention by the government of Montenegro on the energy privatisation and the power utility of the republic of Srpska in a joint venture in the power-generation sector. Clients praise the ‘high level expertise’ of the firm.

Full-service firm Trifunovic & Cvetkovic provides tax, IP and corporate advice to a range of clients with a strong international bias. The team recently acted on behalf of Serbian telecoms clients during the creation of a parallel network, and Greek Alpha Bank on a number of high value transactions.

Five ‘reliable’ partners and 20 lawyers at Zivkovic & Samardzic Law Office provide a comprehensive range of legal services to international clients ranging from the BBC World Service Trust to AXA Insurance Group. Notable highlights for the ‘prompt’ and ‘effective’ team have included advising Aldi on the establishment of its Serbian presence and counselling a significant Austrian media group its acquisition of an interest in a major Serbian newspaper, highlighting the firm’s longstanding strength in the media, IP and corporate/commercial fields. The firm recently added Pernod Ricard to its rosta of food and beverage clients, which includes Nestlé.

Marija Bojovic and Vladimir Dasic have departed from the PwC alliance firm which carried their names and joined the highly respected Tijana Kojovic to form Bojovic, Dasic , Kojovic Attorneys at Law. The merger maximises the synergies between the banking experience of Bojovic and Dasic, and the energy, telecoms and dispute resolution credentials of Kojovic. Already acting for the government of Serbia on the new model for privatisation, the high profile joint venture with Fiat and Iveco, and the government of Montenegro’s privatisation of the Igalo health institute and hotel, the firm is now equally well-qualified to advise the buyer in corporate transactions, such as French dairy products giant Bongrain in its acquisition of Serbian dairy Mlekoproduct. The partners retain excellent contacts with local corporate finance and investment houses such as UniCredit and KBC Securities Corporate Finance, whom they assisted on the financing aspects of the privatisation of the largest Serbian bridge construction company, Mostogradnja AD.

Receiving plaudits for its experience and expertise in the practice of IP, Law Office of Djordje Djurisic maintains an outstanding client list, with the likes of Proctor & Gamble Cellulose Company, KLM and Philips consulting the ‘highly ethical and loyal’ name partner for his wealth of knowledge on dispute resolution as well as IP.

As the Belgrade branch of Greek firm IKRP Rokas & Partners, the bulk of the clients instructing IKRP Rokas & Partneri d.o.o. are Greek, or other foreign investors looking for advice on business law in the Balkan region. This has included Canadian wireless company Research in Motion and a number of Greek financial institutions.

Following the departure of Marija Bojovic and Vladimir Dasic, the team of eight lawyers now forming PwC’s associated office in Belgrade is known as Milovanovic & Associates Attorneys at Law. Sonja Lucic and Predrag Milovanovic continue to offer general corporate and transactional advice to the likes of GlaxoSmithKline and Castrol Belgrade, and are described as ‘professional, very helpful, thorough and knowledgeable’ by satisfied clients. Acquisitions of land and businesses in the region for international clients also featured strongly for the practice.

A ‘premium level of service’ for clients seeking specialised IP advice is available at boutique firm Cabinet Pavlovic, where name partner Gordana Pavlovic heads up a team characterised as ‘organised’ and ‘precise’. Pavlovic is credited with work at the highest levels for clients such as L’Oreal and Hugo Boss, and receives referrals from numerous international lawyers.

A list of prominent German clients including Mercedes-Benz, Daimler Chrysler and Schmitz Cargobull consult two partner firm Tomic Stevic Dulic on general corporate matters, project finance and IP law in Serbia. The team wins plaudits for its ‘outstanding service’,and has advised on major acquisitions and privatisations in the region.