Babic & Partners Law Firm regularly handles advisory, litigation and merger control work for its well-established roster of foreign and domestic corporate clients. Boris Babic is a thought leader and as well as involvement in shaping domestic legislation in the space, also regularly provides important articles/client alerts on hot-button issues. Iva Basaric ‘is very dedicated and focused on problem solving’ and as well as regularly providing risk management expertise from a compliance perspective, also regularly handles litigation, including cartel and abuse of dominance investigations.

Bradvica Marić Wahl Cesarec provides ‘high-end legal support on various competition law issues’, running the gamut from dawn raid preparedeness advice, cartel and abuse of dominant position matters and merger control mandates. Providing advice that is ‘not only legally grounded but also tailor-made and business-oriented’, team head Mislav Bradvica is a popular choice for clients across a range of contentious and non-contentious mandates and has particular insight into how the “other side thinks” by virtue of his previous tenure at the Competition Agency. Associate Kristina Rudec is also recommended and ‘provides great support and co-operation‘ to Bradvica across many of the matters he handles.

Divjak Topic Bahtijarevic & Krka has a core focus on EU and competition law matters and is therefore well-positioned to advise its impressive roster of domestic and international corporates on day-to-day compliance issues, litigation before the Agency, as well as on the concomitant competition law issues pursuant to transactions handled by the firm. Team head Mario Krka is at the forefront of the highest-stakes mandates handled by the practice, including in the context of big-ticket merger notification matters. Associate Dominik Glavina has particular expertise advising on the competition law issues associated with vertical agreements.

At Bardek, Lisac, Mušec, Skoko in association with CMS Reich-Rohrwig Hainz Rechtsanwälte GmbH (Austria), the three-strong team has ‘a very hands-on approach and provides fresh ideas’ to IT, tech and automotive clients on the competition law matters associated with their commercial contracts (including distribution agreements and supply chains), as well as in the context of transactions. Under the guidance of Marija Zrno Prošić, the team continues to be particularly active advising on the merger control issues associated with international corporates on the competition law ramifications of investments in Croatian start-ups. In addition, Prošić is also appreciated for the ‘very innovative ideas‘ she imparts to clients on training courses which incorporate ‘technology-based solutions’ to ensure that they are compliant and well set up from a risk management perspective to deal with any potential competition law issues, including in the context of dawn raids.

KOVACEVIC PRPIC SIMEUNOVIC LLC provides ‘workable and practical solutions’ to its impressive roster of corporate clients across the spectrum of non-contentious and contentious matters, including merger control, cartel-related work and compliance. Team head Martina Prpić  has ‘very sharp knowledge on EU state aid and competition law and is very client-oriented in her work’. 

Led by Natalija Perić and Luka Rimac, Mamic Peric Reberski Rimac Law Firm LLC handles a range of contentious and non-contentious competition/EU law matters, including advice to private sector clients on issues related to the abuse of a dominant market position and representing public utilities on state aid matters. The team is also well-versed at advising on any competition law issues associated with securities matters handled by the firm’s market-leading capital markets team.

As well as its strength in advising on merger control matters (including on multi-jurisdictional CEE transactions), Wolf Theiss – Zagreb branch is also adept at advising on compliance/risk management procedures, including the provision of dawn raid training. The team has also developed a particular niche advising food sector clients on the ramifications associated with new legislation prohibiting unfair trading practices in the food supply chain. Luka Čolić heads the team and recently provided the underlying competition law advice to DDM Group and B2 Holding in one of the rare cases of a merger filing being triggered in the context of NPL acquisitions.

Leveraging its market-leading M&A practice, Šavorić & Partners‘ competition team is perhaps best-known for its merger clearance capabilities. Nevertheless, under the guidance of Boris Šavorić and Mia Lazić, the scope of work handled by the team is by no means limited to transactional matters and also includes compliance work and advising clients in cartel investigations before the Croatian Competition Agency.

Co-headed by the ‘experienced and client-oriented‘ Edin Karakaš and the ‘very responsive‘ Daniela Mayer, Žuric i Partneri has a strong reputation across a range of contentious and non-contentious competition/EU law matters, including the merger control issues associated with domestic and cross-border M&A transactions handled by the firm. The team is also appreciated for its ‘entrepreneurial approach’ and ability to provide ‘tailored and client-focused legal advice’, enabling it to provide very effective compliance advice to the firm’s wide-ranging client base.

Benefiting from ‘in-depth knowledge of the competition principles and case law’ and also able to effectively leverage its CEE/SEE resources, Schoenherr in cooperation with Croatian lawyers is well-placed to advise on purely domestic and multi-jurisdictional matters. ‘Creative and solutions-oriented’  team head Ana Mihaljević (Marjančić) regularly advises on compliance issues, as well as merger control matters.