Polenak Law Firm > Skopje, North Macedonia > Firm Profile

Polenak Law Firm
ORCE NIKOLOV 98
1000 SKOPJE
North Macedonia

North Macedonia > Leading firms Tier 1

Kristijan Polenak, Tatjana Shishkovska, Metodija Velkov, Tanja Polenak and Aleksandar Dimic utilise their extensive expertise and experience to spearhead Polenak Law Firm‘s ‘highly skilled’ practice, which is routinely involved in significant mandates ranging from M&A and finance to telecoms and IP. Managing partner Polenak is notably well-versed in transactions that include financing structures, while Shishkovska principally focuses on M&A, cross-border secured transactions and a variety of financial arrangements. Dimic bolsters the practice with his knowledge of the real estate field, with Velkov’s competition, regulatory and compliance work being especially noted by clients.

Practice head(s):

Kristijan Polenak; Tatjana Shishkovska; Metodija Velkov; Tanja Polenak; Aleksandar Dimic

Testimonials

‘It stands out for its professionalism, efficiency and the quality and rapidity of their advice. The team is highly skilled, experienced and always available to the client.’

‘Kristijan Polenak is very experienced, knowledgeable and fast-thinking. He stands out especially due to his out-of-the-box way of thinking.

‘Metodija Velkov is reliable, responsive and always available to resolve any issues that may arise. His suggestions are accurate and well-thought out.’

‘All around service was 1st class. Excellent advice and prompt execution. Very commercial in approach.’

‘All the team were excellent, very responsive and proactive in making solutions. They went above and beyond what was expected and added real value.’

‘Great knowledge of local legal framework as well as vast experience from practice.’

‘Kristijan Polenak is the go-to person for complex structures and new products.’

‘Tatjana Siskovska is an excellent lawyer.’

Key clients

Adient

Aptiv

Cevahir

Inditex

Johnson Matthey

Joyson Safety Systems

Global Special Opportunities Fund

Philip Morris

Deutsche Telekom Group

Cevahir Holding

MAGNA Automotive Europe GmbH

LC Waikiki

Leopold Kostal GmbH

LIMAK

Hellenic Petroleum

TITAN Cement

Diaverum AB

NLB Banka

NLB Lease

Gerresheimer Skopje

A1 Makedonija Telekom

Majorel

Public Power Corporation (Greece)

TAV Airports

Work highlights

  • Advised consortium of banks consisted of Halk Bank AD Skopje, Demir Halk Bank and Yapi Kredi Bank in a EUR 60m project finance transaction related to construction and operation of wind farm in North Macedonia.
  • Advised NLB Lease&Go, leasing, d.o.o., Ljubljana and NLB Bank AD Skopje, both subsidiaries of NLB d.d. Ljubljana, in establishment of their joint venture in the leasing sector in North Macedonia.
  • Advised TAV Macedonia, a wholly owned subsidiary of TAV Holding, with concession over both public airports in North Macedonia (in Skopje and Ohrid), in a EUR 70m refinancing transaction.

The firm: Polenak Law Firm continues the tradition of providing top quality legal services since 1946.

The firm developed from an individual practice working in criminal and civil litigation to a partnership in the 1970s and adding commercial and corporate matters, growing its partnership and areas of work in the 1990s and rising to a structured full-service law firm in 2007.

Throughout its history the firm and its brand was considered one of the market leaders. Today, this leadership is recognized and praised by clients and relevant legal directories.

The dedication of  the firm’s lawyers enable it to offer the assistance needed to address all clients’ needs for a prompt and well-reasoned legal advice.

The number of transactions handled make it the most experienced law firm in the market for banking, project finance, M&A, privatization processes, competition and antitrust matters, aviation, energy, telecommunications and PPP. The innovative approach and newly introduced legal structures give the firm a competitive advantage.

The knowledge and practice of  the firm’s litigation lawyers in criminal, civil and commercial cases is remarkable, construing one of its prominent benchmarks.

The affiliation with leading law firms from each jurisdiction in the region, joined together in the South East Europe Legal Group (www.seelegal.org), enables it to offer its clients coverage and superior legal services in the region.

Main areas of practice: The main focus of services is directed to multinational corporations, banks and international financial institutions, providing experienced legal advice in many practice areas and offering wide range of legal services.

The firm’s notable M&A experience is built in decades of practice by advising in most of the largest M&A transactions and in numerous share transfers in SMEs.

One of the firm’s flagships is its banking and finance practice. Over the last 20 years, the firm advised joint managers on several issuances of sovereign bonds, provided regulatory advises and opinions to international banks and IFI’s, including advice on loan structuring, drafting agreements, FX matters, enforceability of ISDA and GMRA contracts in North Macedonia, secured loan structures, syndicated lending, etc. The firm assisted corporate issuers in public and private share offerings.

The firm’s competition practice, as market leader in this field, deals with merger notifications, proceedings at the Commission for Protection of Competition (prohibited agreements, introduction of behavioral or structural remedies, abuse of dominant position), internal competition compliance checks.

The firm provides full legal support to its corporate clients. Our services enable our clients to achieve local legal compliance on data protection, consumer protection, competition and anti-trust, labour law requirements, reporting requirements, etc. The firm prepares drafts and reviews contracts with suppliers and/or buyers and provides legal assistance at the courts and governmental agencies in North Macedonia.

The firm provides a variety of legal services related to real estate. The experience record includes title examinations and transfers, leases, lease-backs, drafting complex asset deal documentation, entry into public registers, creation and perfection of security over immovable asset, investing immovable asset into a corporate entity, as well as asset due diligence. The firm also assists with estimation of taxes and communal duties. In greenfield investments, the firm assists its clients to assess timing and construction permit procedures.

Energy and mining have proven to be a potential for investments and development. North Macedonia is rich with water, sun and minerals, providing natural resources for power generation and mining. Polenak Law Firm advises clients in renewable energy generation and energy distribution, as well as companies in the mining industry.

The firm’s IP practice is also notable, providing client support in registration of trademarks and patents.

International work: Over 80% of the firm’s clients are multinational corporations and international financial institutions. Most of the firm’s experience is practically achieved and applied in supporting international clients.

Clients: The client list of Polenak Law Firm comprises of international finance institutions, banks, insurance companies, tobacco business, energy, telecommunications, metals industry, construction companies, transportation companies. Key clients include: Adient, Cevahir Holding, Deutsche Telekom Group, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, LC Waikiki, Limak, International Finance Corporation, Inditex, Johnson Matthey, Joyson Safety Systems, Philip Morris, Sanrio, Siemens, TAV Airports, Telekom Austria, Titan Cement, WizzAir.

Department Name Email Telephone
Corporate and M&A, Banking and Finance Kristijan Polenak kristijan@polenak.com +389 2 3114737
Corporate and M&A, Banking and Finance Tatjana Shishkovska tsiskovska@polenak.com +389 2 3114737
Litigation, Real estate Aleksandar Dimic adimic@polenak.com +389 2 3114737
Competition, Regulatory and Compliance Metodija Velkov mvelkov@polenak.com +389 2 3114737
Photo Name Position Profile
Zoran Andonovski photo Mr Zoran Andonovski Attorney at Law, Senior Associate
Simona Angelovska photo Ms Simona Angelovska Attorney at Law, Junior Associate
Mirjana Bijeljanin photo Ms Mirjana Bijeljanin Junior Associate
Vanja Curlinova Kostovska photo Ms Vanja Curlinova Kostovska Attorney at Law, Associate
Aleksandar Dimic photo Mr Aleksandar Dimic Attorney at Law, Partner
Bojan Jonovski photo Mr Bojan Jonovski Attorney at Law, Junior Associate
Ivica Maksimoski photo Mr Ivica Maksimoski Attorney at Law, Associate
Biljana Ninik photo Ms Biljana Ninik Junior Associate
Tanja Polenak photo Ms Tanja Polenak Attorney at Law, Partner
Kristijan Polenak photo Mr Kristijan Polenak Attorney at Law, Managing Partner, Polenak Law Firm
Natasha Popova-Alebic photo Ms Natasha Popova-Alebic Attorney at Law, Senior Associate
Anastazija Sazdovska photo Ms Anastazija Sazdovska Attorney at Law, Senior Associate
Tatjana Shishkovska photo Ms Tatjana Shishkovska Attorney at Law, Partner
Filip Simjanovski photo Mr Filip Simjanovski Junior Associate
Andrej Stojkovic photo Mr Andrej Stojkovic Attorney at Law, Associate
Ema Tasevska photo Ms Ema Tasevska Attorney at Law, Associate
Metodija Velkov photo Mr Metodija Velkov Attorney at Law, Partner
Attorneys at Law : 15
English
French
German
Russian
Serbian
Croatian
International Bar Association (IBA)
World Services Group (WSG)
The South East Europe Legal Group (SEE Legal)
American Chamber of Commerce in Macedonia
European Business Association (EBA)