The Legal 500

Within Corporate and M&A, Advokatska Firma Sajic o.d. is a second tier firm,

At the helm of Advokatska Firma Sajic o.d. is the mother-and-son pairing of partners Stojanka and Aleksandar Sajic. With 16 fee-earners in total, this firm is the largest in the RS and is praised by clients for its ‘good knowledge of the RS legal context’. The firm has particular industry expertise in the telecommunications sector, advising Nokia Siemens Networks and Siemens on all types of corporate and day-to-day legal issues in the RS. In recent years, the firm has been advising Bosnian company JP Hrvatske Telekomunikacije in relation to their ongoing programme of building telecommunications stations across the RS.

Within Legal market,

Both the Federation and RS have separate laws, courts and bar associations, mirroring political fractures. The Federation accounts for the bulk of the economy and consequently Sarajevo houses the major law firms. Domestically, Maric Law Office continues to dominate, with a reputation amongst foreign clients as the most professional and reliable of the home-grown outfits. Three-partner Lawyers Office Bojana Tkalcic-Dulic, Olodar Prebanic & Adela Draganovic is not far behind and recommended sole practitioner Advokat Karabdic Kerim goes from strength to strength. The only international firms present in the market are regional players Law Office Femil Curt and Wolf Theiss, for whom their Bosnian offices represent the realisation of a general policy of ubiquity across Central and Eastern Europe. Whilst the latter firm continues to lead operations from Vienna, the former changed strategy in 2008 and concentrated on creating a more self-sufficient local practice. Both remain the first port of call for foreign investors and the influence of their respective networks guarantees a level of quality that the domestic market struggles to produce. Both are fending off hostility from Bosnian firms and the two bar associations. BiH’s profoundly illiberal legal market continues to discourage the presence of foreign firms. The RS has only a handful of firms, all operating out of its unofficial capital Banja Luka. Attorney at Law Office Ruzica Topic, Advokatska Firma Sajic o.d. and Stevan Dimitrijevic Law Office in cooperation with Karanovic & Nikolic – the one-partner outpost of Serbian operation Karanovic & Nikolic – are the leading players. Observers agree greater liberalisation is needed if the market is to grow and standards are to rise. Despite the modest demand, there remains a shortfall of highly qualified, multilingual lawyers capable of dealing with international clients.

Within Real estate and construction, Advokatska Firma Sajic o.d. is a second tier firm,

In 2008, Advokatska Firma Sajic o.d. advised Slovenian company Mercator Ljubljana on the sale of the Mercator Market Centre in Banja Luka. The firm also continued to advise domestic telecoms company JP Hrvatske Telekomunikacije on the building contracts and other issues relating to its construction programme of mobile phone stations and masts.