What do you see as the main points that differentiate Legal Partners from your competitors?

Legal Partners is a full-scope law firm, which provides the complete range of legal services that corporate clients need to successfully operate their business in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

What differentiates Legal Partners is its multi-disciplinary approach and the ability to be a one-stop-shop for clients’ wider business support requirements.

Being a member of the Deloitte Legal Network, Legal Partners has exceptional experience in tax law, and has access to Deloitte’s experience and services in all fields of professional services, such as financial advisory, business consulting, bookkeeping, risk advisory, etc.

Legal Partners has the capabilities to support clients in their day-to-day business operations, but also to provide advice from the first step of a project until its implementation.

This means that,together with the wider Deloitte network, we are well-positioned , , to provide more than pure legal services to clients and be a trusted business advisor and partner.

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

One of the main areas where we see future growth is in the energy practice. Bosnia and Herzegovina is an electricity net-exporter and has been experiencing significant investments in renewable energy, especially in solar and wind power. The recent energy crisis has only amplified the need for energy stability and accelerated plans for new investments into renewable energy, which this is expected to continue at least in the near and mid-term.

In addition, the supply-chain problems in recent years and the return of nearshoring make Bosnia and Herzegovina a very attractive place to invest for European manufacturing companies, especially SMEs, either through acquisitions (M&A deals) or greenfield investments in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which could lead growth in our M&A and corporate practices.

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

In recent years we have really worked on strengthening the cooperation and integration with other offices of the Deloitte Legal Network and other professionals at Deloitte, to be able to truly provide a one-stop-shop service to clients. While we are always looking for a way to improve, we believe that Legal Partners and Deloitte Legal are able to provide the most comprehensive range of services to clients, all in one place.

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

There have been great innovations in legal technology in recent years, and we are always looking for ways in which we can use technology to make our work more efficient and to better help our clients. Deloitte Legal is one of the leaders in legal technology and we are fully using the resources that are available to us, especially with regards to legal documents management, document exchange, remote work, etc.

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

One great example is a client who we have supported since the incorporation of their company, assisting them in purchasing a nearly defunct mine in Bosnia and Herzegovina, restoring production and making new investments into mining which are expected to become operational in the next years, employ persons from the local community and be powered by renewable energy sources. For this client we provided the full package of services – incorporation of company, M&A advising in purchasing the mine and other assets, as well as day-to-day legal support such as regulatory law, employment law, commercial law, tax advising (VAT and direct taxes), while our colleagues at Deloitte also provide bookkeeping services.

Another example is a client which was subject to an inspection by the tax authorities, and was ordered to pay an additional tax obligation. Legal Partners drafted the appeal for the client against the decision of the tax authority, which was successful, saving the client around EUR 1 million in additional tax payments.

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

We believe that clients are looking for stability and prefer to establish a long-term trusted relationship with their legal advisor. Clients are also looking for a legal advisor that not only knows and presents the law to the client, but who understands the client’s business and actually advises the client on what course of action would be best.

Legal Partners has positioned itself to be just that – a trusted partner to our clients and somebody that can make the running of their business in Bosnia and Herzegovina as easy as possible.

Due to our approach we are experiencing significant growth, having tripled the number of attorneys-at-law in the firm in the last 12 months, and we are looking to further build our capacities to be able to service our clients even better.