What do you see as the main points that differentiate Deloitte svetovanje d.o.o. from your competitors?

In my opinion, one of the main differentiators compared to the competitors is that we offer a “one stop shop” for all the professional service needs of our clients – not solely legal. Our lawyers work as part of multi-disciplinary teams together with tax, consulting, risk, and financial advisory colleagues, and sector specialists and can therefore provide integrated advisory services in all areas previously mentioned. Moreover, as part of global group we collaborate with colleagues in an array of globally integrated services to deliver multinational legal solutions. With other words one relationship provides endless connections. This helps to bring a business perspective and ensure all relevant angles are covered. In addition to providing advisory on the so-called traditional areas of law (i.e., corporate, employment law, banking, and finance), we are constantly trying to keep up with trends and improve our services accordingly, thus ensuring the efficiency and recognizability of our office. We have been present in the Slovenian market since 1993 and have since been involved in many successful business stories and are striving to do so also in the future.

Which practices do you see growing in the next 12 months? What are the drivers behind that?

In the next 12 months we are planning on growing especially in the fields of ESG, AI and Digital Law as these areas are increasingly becoming more and more important and interesting for (potential) clients, given the rapid development of technology and science. In my opinion the development of the said areas of law is of greatest importance given the fact that the law is in general struggling to keep up with such rapid development of technology and science. Deloitte already has market-leading experience in providing Digital Law, and sustainability-related, advisory, and our first-mover advantage in these spheres is an edge that we expect to retain and further develop.

What's the main change you've made in the firm that will benefit clients?

We have employed additional highly skilled and talented lawyers to meet a wider range of client needs. In fact, our headcount has more than tripled in recent years, positioning us as a notable medium-sized practice on the market. Our expanded team collaborates closely with the Deloitte professionals across the globe, thus bringing new perspectives to our clients in Slovenia.

Is technology changing the way you interact with your clients, and the services you can provide them?

Without doubt, the answer to this question is a resounding yes. We have several platforms and technological tools to help us communicate and collaborate with our clients as well as internally. That is of significant relevance especially because many of our clients and other member firms are located all around the world. In practice we use tools to help us with communication with clients, contract lifecycle management offering, incorporating both contract automation and the overall process management, complex translations, tracking our performance, etc.

Can you give us a practical example of how you have helped a client to add value to their business?

Recently, we have been mandated for the global restructuring of a client engaged in life sciences. We are adding value to the client in helping them find the optimal global structure for their business, not only from a legal perspective, but also incorporating tax, financial and operational aspects, too. This includes the relocation of their headquarters, as well as the acquisition of a new production plant. By offering such multi-faceted advisory, we add value to the client by taking over the project management requirements between the various teams, and further save them time and money by doing this all under one roof.

Are clients looking for stability and strategic direction from their law firms - where do you see the firm in three years’ time?

Practically speaking, we go beyond offering pure legal advice, we work closely with colleagues from Tax and Financial Advisory, for instance, to review it from various perspectives. Thus, we can offer strategic direction and recommend the best steps to be taken in reaching the business objectives - not only responding to legal questions asked of us.

Lastly, my goal remains to same, to serve our clients with dignity, devotion, passion, integrity, and to the highest level of ethical standards. Through doing this, in three years’ time, I’m expecting that Deloitte Legal will become the first choice on the market for AI, Digital Law, Legal Technology, and M&A.