Category: On the Move

Nemanja Jovovic has joined Bojanovic & Partners as the firm’s new Head of Competition.

Jovovic, who is qualified in both Montenegro and Serbia, specializes in Corporate/M&A, Litigation, Competition/Antitrust, and Criminal Law. Prior to joining Bojanovic & Partners, he worked at the First Basic Court in Belgrade and in private practice with DBP Advokati. According to Bojanovic & Partners, “Nemanja is one of the leading competition lawyers in SEE, with considerable experience in competition and antitrust law.”

“The breadth of Mr. Jovovic’s experience and his decision to join our team is testament to the growth of our firm and we are very happy to have him,” commented Bojanovic & Partners Managing Partner Vladimir Bojanovic.

Lithuania’s WINT law firm has agreed to join Estonia’s Glikman Alvin Levin and Latvia’s Kronbergs Cukste Levin to create a new pan-Baltic alliance.

WINT, led by former TGS Baltic Partners Daiva Usinskaite-Filonoviene and Giedrius Danelius and AAA Law Partner Andrius Iskauskas, opened its doors at the end of 2018 (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on December 28, 2018). The firm replaces Dominas Levin — which left to join Walless in April of last year (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on March 7, 2019) — as the Lithuanian member of the alliance, which was originally founded in the summer of 2018.

According to a statement on the Glikman Alvin Levin website, “WINT’s extensive experience in the areas of dispute resolution, restructuring, bankruptcy law, public procurement, IT and communications, business law, financial transactions and tax law provides a great advantage and enables the sharing of this experience through a common network in the Baltic States and beyond.”

According to that same statement, “Levin has a long-standing relationship of trust with its significant customers, both domestically and internationally, from the European Central Bank to corporations such as ABB. Levin’s extensive experience in corporate consulting, tax law, banking, fintech, M&A, ICOs, dispute resolution and international arbitration makes the new alliance one of the most influential service providers in all Baltic countries.“

Schoenherr lawyers Pawel Halwa and Thomas Kulnigg have been promoted to Equity Partner as part of the firm’s annual promotion round, and lawyers Constantin Benes, Leon Kopecky, Guenther Leissler, Laurenz Schwitzer, Manuela Zimmermann, Georgiana Badescu, Madalina Neagu, and Milos Lakovic have been promoted to Contract Partner.

Poland Managing Partner Pawel Halwa graduated from the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan. Before joining Schoenherr in 2011 he spent four years with EY Law, seven years with Domanski Zakrzewski Palinka, and a year and a half with Salans (now Dentons). According to Schoenherr, “he has longstanding experience as a cross-border transactional lawyer, specialized in corporate/M&A, regulatory, and banking and finance law. As office Managing Partner in Poland, he plays an important role in further strengthening Schoenherr’s CEE footprint.” 

Austrian lawyer Thomas Kulnigg joined Schoenherr in 2006, directly after graduating from the University of Vienna. He specializes in corporate/M&A and played a leading role in the establishment of Schoenherr Technology & Digitalization group. According to the firm, “he has made a name for himself within the technology & digitalization industry and the start-up/venture capital scene.”

Fellow Austrian lawyer Constantin Benes, who specializes in real estate and construction law, has been with Schoenherr for more than ten years. According to the firm, “he advises clients in connection with construction projects, urban developments, real estate transactions as well as construction litigation.” He graduated from the Karl-Franzens University in Graz and holds an LL.M. from the Columbia Law School. 

Leon Kopecky, also in Austria, joined Schoenherr in 2015. He focuses on international arbitration, and according to the firm, “his vast experience helped the Schoenherr team gain international recognition and win among the largest investment and commercial arbitrations in the region.” He holds Master’s degrees from the Universities of Edinburgh, Rotterdam, Hamburg, Manchester, and Vienna. Prior to joining Schoenherr he spent three years with both Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.

Guenther Leissler heads the Data Protection group at Schoenherr. According to the firm, “having joined the regulatory practice group in Vienna in 2006, he specializes in data protection, gaming and telecommunications law [and] he represents various clients in all kinds of privacy-related proceedings.” He received both a Magister’s degree and a Ph.D. from the University of Vienna.

Laurenz Schwitzer joined the banking, finance and capital markets practice group at Schoenherr in Vienna in 2013 after spending two and a half years with the Austrian Foreign Ministry and almost three years with Deloitte Financial Advisory. According to the firm, “he has vast experience in complex asset financing and financial restructuring with special focus on real estate finance, mezzanine financing, direct lending, and green finance.” He holds degrees from the University of Economics and Business in Vienna and the University of Vienna. 

Manuela Zimmermann, who joined Schoenherr in 2010, is admitted to practice both in Austria and Germany. According to the firm, “she specializes in insurance contracts and insurance regulatory law, and primarily advises national and international insurance companies on their market entries and daily legal matters.” She obtained her law degree from the TU University in Dresden.

Georgiana Badescu, head of Schoenherr’s EU & Competition practice group in the firm’s Bucharest office, joined the firm in 2017 after almost 12 years with Voicu & Filipescu. She holds an LL.M. from the University of Pantheon Sorbonne and an LL.M. from the University of Bucharest. 

Madalina Neagu joined Schoenherr’s Corporate/M&A practice group in Bucharest in 2008 after five years with Bostina & Asociatii and a year with Nestor Nestor Diculescu Kingston & Petersen. According to the firm, she has “many years of experience in large M&A transactions and takeovers, competition matters, acquisition finance, and the privatization of state-owned companies.” She holds an LL.B. from the University of Bucharest. 

Milos Lakovic joined Moravcevic Vojnovic and Partners in cooperation with Schoenherr in Serbia in 2007. According to the firm, “he specializes in regulatory matters with vast energy-law experience, leading the highly ranked energy department in the Belgrade office.” He graduated from the University of Novi Sad. 

“I am delighted that we are recognizing such an exceptional and international group of partners and counsels this year,” commented Managing Partner Michael Lagler. “They will play an important role in delivering the advice our clients demand in an increasingly complex world, requiring expertise and experience across practice groups and industries.” 

In addition the firm reported that it’s new Steering Committee took over on February 1, 2020, consisting of Partners Michael Lagler, Gudrun Stangl, Martin Ebner, Alexander Popp, and Slaven Moravcevic.

Norton Rose Fulbright today named Ayse Yuksel Mahfoud as its Head of Cross-Border Practices, a new position at the firm that it says “will strategically address clients’ needs for high-quality cross-border legal advice and cutting-edge market intelligence.”

A corporate partner based in New York, Yuksel Mahfoud is also Norton Rose Fulbright’s Istanbul Partner-in-Charge. In her new role, she will work with colleagues to develop the firm’s cross-border practice across all areas of law.

“With more than 50 offices on six continents, we have the platform and personnel to meet the cross-border needs of our impressive international clientele,” said Norton Rose Fulbright’s US Managing Partner Jeff Cody. “Our clients will benefit immensely from Ayse’s vast experience in handling global matters and her familiarity with the firm’s capabilities.”

Yuksel Mahfoud, who has served on Norton Rose Fulbright’s Global Executive Committee since 2017, commented: “The combination of our global client base and our worldwide platform means that we have tremendous opportunities to better assist our clients with their cross-border business. In this exciting new role, my focus will be to collaborate with our partners and clients to assess cross-border needs and engage with cross-border multidisciplinary teams to address those needs.”

Yuksel Mahfoud began her career with Dewey & LeBoeuf in 1998, and in 1998 moved to Debevoise & Plimpton. After five years there she joined Chadbourne & Parke, and she opened that firm’s Istanbul office in September 2011. Chadbourne & Parke merged with Norton Rose in 2017. She received her JD from Columbia Law School and her BA from Harvard University.

Nazali Legal & Tax Services has opened an office in Moscow, led by Partner Altinay Sheralieva.

According to Nazali, the office “will provide support to customers who do business in Russia or have business relations with Russia in all kinds of legal and tax issues with the principle of ‘solution at one door.’ In addition, [the] office will advise customers on issues that fall under the jurisdiction of Ukraine, Belarus, and Turkic Republics, where Russian is spoken.”

Sheralieva led Nazali’s Russian Desk, which the firm created last summer (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on September 3, 2019). Nazali describes her as “experienced in a wide range of issues, including legal due diligence, merger and acquisitions, corporate law and contracts law,” and reports that “she provides legal consultancy to the Turkish companies doing business in Russian Federation and represents them in local courts.” According to the firm, “she has extensive experience in construction, mining, automotive, tourism, food, FMCG, aviation industries [and] conducted multi-jurisdictional legal due diligence, merger and acquisition, restructuring projects for Turkish investors, drafted agreements within the scope of turn-key construction projects.”

Serbia’s Doklestic Repic & Gajin has announced that it has established a correspondent law office in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the form of that city’s Karabdic Law Office.

According to Doklestic Repic & Gajin, “from DR&G’s head office in Belgrade, the partner in charge of Bosnia and Herzegovina will be Dr. Dragan Gajin, who is Head of Competition at the firm.”

According to DR&G, “established in 1956, Karabdic Law Office provides a full range of legal services in Bosnia and Herzegovina to local and international clients. The lead attorney of the office, Mr. Kerim Karabdic, has a plethora of experience in all areas of business law and has been repeatedly recognized as a leading commercial lawyer in Bosnia and Herzegovina by Chambers Europe and Legal 500 EMEA.”

“We are happy to have on board Kerim and his team,” Gajin stated. “We have already worked with him on several projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina, so this is only upgrading our existing relationship of trust and cooperation. For me personally, having a correspondent office in Bosnia and Herzegovina means a lot, as I have spent a part of my career between Belgrade and Sarajevo. I hope this cooperation with Karabdic Law Office will bring me more opportunities to be in that beautiful city.”

DR&G’s announcement comes shortly after the firm announced it had established a similar “correspondent office” relationship with Danilo Radulovic Attorney at Law in Montenegro (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on November 29, 2019). Also this fall, DR&G was one of the founding members of Lex Adria, an alliance of leading independent law firms in the Adriatic region (as reported on October 24, 2019).

White & Case lawyers Jan Jakoubek, Karel Petrzela, Ida Kucerova, Jakub Wolkowicz, and Vladimir Ivanco have been promoted to Local Partner by the firm as part of its global promotion round, with those promotions becoming effective on January 1, 2020.

Czech lawyers Jan Jakoubek and Karel Petrzela are members of White & Case’s Global M&A Practice in Prague. Jakoubek graduated law from the Charles University in Prague in 2004. Before joining White & Case in 2016, he spent seven years with Kotrlik Bourgeault Andrusko. He focuses on Corporate/M&A and Commercial and Media Law.

Petrzela graduated from the Charles University in Prague and holds a Ph.D. from it as well. Before he joined White & Case he spent almost five years with CMS. he specializes in Corporate/M&A, joint ventures, and portfolio company matters, particularly in regulated sectors and real estate.

Colleague Ida Kucerova, also in Prague, is a member of the firm’s Global Banking Practice. Kucerova graduated from the Masarykova Univerzita Brno in 2006 and holds an LL.M. from the University of Bristol. Prior to joining White & Case in 2010, she spent a little under a year with Linklaters and a year and a half with Kinstellar. She advises clients on international and domestic financial transactions with a particular focus on real estate finance.

Polish lawyer Jakub Wolkowicz, who has been promoted to Local Partner in White & Case’s Warsaw office, has been with the firm for almost nine years, working  as a member of the Global International Arbitration Practice in Paris, Geneva, and Warsaw. Wolkowicz graduated from the Jagellonian University in Krakow in 2010 and holds an LL.M. from the Queen Mary University of London. Prior to joining White & Case, he was an associate with CMS UK and was an assistant with the British Honorary Consul in Michigan, USA.

Finally, Slovakian lawyer Vladimir Ivanco, promoted to Local Partner in the Global M&A Practice in Bratislava, has been with White & Case for almost 14 years. He holds a Master’s degree from the Univerzita Pavla Jozefa Safarika v Kosiciah and an LL.M. from the Ghent University Law School. Ivanco advises clients on real estate matters, corporate matters, and commercial disputes.

Speaking of all 52 lawyers involved in the firm’s promotion round (including 38 promoted to Counsel and another 14 to Local Partner), White & Case Chairman Hugh Verrier said that “White & Case is a truly global and diverse law firm and these promotions, across 21 offices and 12 global practices, are a clear expression of those fundamental characteristics. These lawyers demonstrate exceptional ability and share a commitment to the highest standards of client service.”

Doklestic Repic & Gajin has announced the establishment of Lex Adria, an alliance of independent law firms in the Adriatic region, to provide what the firm calls “seamless and premium legal support across the area.”

According to Doklestic Repic & Gajin, the Lex Adria alliance will “further enhance the regional capabilities of DR&G and other members of the alliance, which will, through Lex Adria, continue to provide high-quality, uniform and efficient legal support throughout the entire region of the former Yugoslavia.”

The founding partners of the alliance are Doklestic Repic & Gajin from Serbia, Vidan Law from Croatia, Ulcar & Partners from Slovenia, and Georgi Dimitrov Attorneys from North Macedonia. 

According to DR&G, membership in the alliance is based on “one firm per jurisdiction” principle and is by invitation only. According to the firm, “each member firm was carefully selected and vetted to ensure that it meets the highest quality standards, the common culture of timely responsiveness, and client satisfaction.”

DR&G will, in addition to Serbia, also be covering the jurisdictions of Montenegro and Bosnia & Herzegovina. 

Sabina Lalaj, who has led Deloitte Legal in Albania and Kosovo since 2015, has been promoted to Local Legal Partner at the firm.

According to Deloitte Legal, over her 15 plus years of experience, “Sabina has assisted local and foreign investors across the two jurisdictions in some of the most important transactions in terms of value and complexity.” The firm reports that “Sabina’s commitment, creativity and problem solving skills are praised by clients, which during the years have entrusted her with their business cases, covering matters of M&A, finance & banking regulatory transactions, corporate governance issues, real estate and energy projects, concessions and PPPs agreements, etc.”

Sabina graduated from Tirana University in Albania and obtained a Master ‘s of Art on South East European Studies at the National & Kapodistrian University of Athens. She joined Deloitte Legal in 2015 after spending a year and a half at the Bank Assets Resolution Trust, five years at the Bank of Albania, and seven years as a Senior Associate with Boga & Associates.