Established by senior Croatian lawyers from three separate firms, Lovric│Novokmet│Smrcek — LNS — has opened its doors in Zagreb.
Founding Partners Toni Smrcek and Pavo Novokmet first started working together in 2017 and, as Tus Novokmet Smrcek in 2018, were nominated for the CEE 2018 Deal of the Year for their work on BC Partners’ acquisition of a majority stake in the United Group. With former Divjak Topic Bahtijarevic Partner Mate Lovric replacing Tomislav Tus, LNS began its operations in April 2019.
According to LNS, "Mate Lovric's background is in high-end M&A work, Toni Smrcek is a well-established figure in the banking and finance area, [and] Pavo Novokmet is a household name on the Croatian capital markets and dispute resolution market." According to the firm, "the three will lead a full-service law firm assisting clients looking for focused and experienced corporate service."
"I am looking forward to experiencing (and enjoying) this ride together with my two friends, Pavo and Toni, who happen to be great people and great lawyers," said Mate Lovric. "We’ve known each other for many years (as far as from primary school) and we share not only professional values, but what is more important, life values.“"
"We have stepped down from our positions in top-tier Croatian law firms for a reason – to focus more efficiently on creating value for our clients,“ said former Savoric & Partners Partner Toni Smrcek. "The three of us together with our teams will continue to provide solution-orientated and seamless support to our clients, but now within a new format that is designed to be resilient and more flexible in a changing legal environment.“
"The founding or our law firm may be seen as a small step towards the consolidation of the new generation of top ranked Croatian lawyers, as opposed to traditional spin offs that have been blooming recently,“ said Novokmet, who spent over ten years at Zuric i Partneri before starting his new firm.
