About

Having in mind that Jat Tehnika is a completely state owned company (Republic of Serbia), the privatisation process is ongoing, and now is in its final stage. One of my biggest challenges was taking part in a due diligence team, especially considering very complicated property – legal issues with neighbouring companies, Air Serbia and Airport Nikola Tesla. Handling such complex, and dating way back property – legal issues within a team, is perhaps the most complicated work I have done so far, and if it ends successfully, something I would be very proud of. I should add, that as a success I also consider implementing greater discipline into implementing laws in Jat Tehnika, especially those regarding labour.

How important have “soft skills” or personal attributes outside of technical legal skill been to the team’s success, and which “soft skills” do you feel are most important for an in-house lawyer to possess?

It is like an airplane with two engines – one is enough to fly, but with two turned on, you can fly safer, faster and longer, in which case one engine is your formal knowledge and experience gained during studying and working, second one is your soft or personal skills. Dedication, devotion and ability to adapt to work and cooperate with different personalities are on the top of the list for me.

What are the main qualities you look for in a potential new hire?

As I mentioned in my previous answer, some soft skills and personal attributes from the list must be fulfilled. Beside devotion, dedication and to be quick in making decisions, willingness to adopt new kinds of working procedures and knowledge is a must.

What advice would you give to any peers or colleagues working in the Serbian market for the first time?

After the arrival of big, foreign companies to Serbia, the market for in-house lawyers expanded. The issue this type of market faces, is highly networked and well developed practice of private law firms. Big law offices with a significantly higher number of experienced lawyers have a competitive edge over the others. Therefore, there is an evident lack of quality of in-house lawyers on the market. In accordance with that, there will be much more quality opportunities in forthcoming days for those who choose this area of legal business to improve themselves, and my advice is – “go for it”.

To conclude, better days are yet to come for in-house lawyers in Serbia, and with that, as trade and markets develop, lawyers will have a better insight into where their career should head.

If you had to give advice to an aspiring in-house lawyer or GC what would it be and why?
It may sound like a cliche, but it is true – always believe in yourself and never give up. Hard work and constant learning always pays off, sometimes in the situations you cannot even imagine.

FOCUS ON… THE MRO

I would like to introduce my industry to the wider audience, as it follows. The MRO (Maintenance and Repair Organization) specialises in performing maintenance actions to ensure the continuing airworthiness on aircraft and their components, such as jet engines and landing gear.

The maintenance of aircraft is under the spotlight as airlines look to outsourcing to remain competitive. This is opening up huge opportunities for maintenance service providers – and the market is heating up.

The latest studies predicts continued growth for the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) industry until 2028, with the value set to rise to $114bn globally – a jump of nearly 50% over 10 years.

For the first time in the airline history, carriers recorded three consecutive years of record or near record profits, thanks to constrained fuel prices and operational efficiencies. Rising demand for air travel is keeping production lines at aircraft, engine, and component manufacturers busy and setting records.

Lower oil prices, along with the willingness of airlines to spend on upkeep, are resulting in delayed retirements of older jets, which in turn provide more business for the MRO industry because of their additional servicing needs.

Globally, MRO spend related to narrow-body and wide-body aircraft will comprise $69.2bn of the $77.4bn total, with regional jets and turboprops combining for an MRO spend of just $8.2bn. For 2018, narrow-bodies make up 57% of the fleet and 45% of MRO market share. Wide-bodies, on the other hand, make up 20% of the global fleet, but represent more than 44% of the MRO expenditures because the aircraft are more maintenance-intensive and more complex.

The MRO industry will significantly grow during the next decade in order to satisfy growing demand on the technical maintenance market due to an increasing number of new generation aircrafts, having in mind that 10,000 new units are expected.

Furthermore, the world’s biggest aircraft manufacturers, Airbus and Boeing, anticipate that between 550,000 and 680,000 new mechanics will be needed in the next two decades. This means that the aviation industry’s fastest growing region, Asia Pacific, will absorb up to 40% of manpower, which will additionally increase the MRO’s labour cost.

Beside investing in new MRO technologies globally, the issue of renewal of technical staff is expected. The deficiency of necessary mechanics and engineers could jeopardise the evolution of aviation in some regions (for example the US or Asia Pacific region), as soon as 2022. The MRO’s will have to offer far more attractive conditions for existing employees to stop migrations of staff to companies offering better working conditions, and also to recruit new staff.

One of the major issues for an MRO is training and certification of both existing and new staff. It is essential to invest in training and education of the staff, in order to maintain a high quality of MRO services on benefit of the customers. In accordance with that, compliance, law, HR and training units inside of MRO companies will be one of the key parts for every maintenance organisation.