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What we say about the firm's legal practice in Bosnia-Herzegovina
Corporate and M&A
Within Corporate and M&A, Attorney at Law Office Ruzica Topic is a second tier firm,
At Attorney at Law Office Ruzica Topic, partner Ruzica Topic heads a team of seven fee earners and is one of the longest-established practitioners in the RS market. Ms Topic has particular experience in banking and finance work, having advised the IFC on various issues in the Serbian entity, including bankruptcy proceedings for domestic companies. In 2008, the firm acted for Italian investor Franzoni Filati Esine on the purchase of a local company. The team has expertise advising foreign companies on winning government contracts and concessions and, during 2008, advised Aricam 2001 on a concession for the exploitation of limestone and stone resources, acted for Statkraft on a contract for building hydro-electrical power plants and advised Strabag on a major BOT highway development for the RS Government.
Legal market
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.
What we say worldwide
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Bosnia-Herzegovina
Offices in Banja Luka