In The Corner Office, we ask Managing Partners at law firms across Central and Eastern Europe about their backgrounds, strategies, and responsibilities. As we bid farewell to 2023, this time around we turn our attention forward: What is your one main wish for 2024 and what do you see as the biggest potential risk?

On November 1, 2023, the amendment to the Slovenian Insolvency Act (ZFPPIPP-H) entered into force and introduced a series of significant changes that should not be overlooked.

Former ODI Law Partner and Head of Transactions Suzana Boncina Jamsek has launched BJK Law, a specialist boutique law firm in Ljubljana.

Cerha Hempel has announced it is expanding into Slovenia through a new cooperation with Ulcar & Partnerji as of March 1, 2024.

Harrisons, Maric & Co, Lambadarios, and Wolf Theiss, working with Linklaters, have advised a banking consortium led by UniCredit Bank London on the United Group's EUR 1.7 billion issuance of four tranches of senior secured and PIK notes as well as on the increase and extension of its EUR 410 million revolving credit facility. Selih & Partnerji, working with Paul Weiss, advised the United Group. Schoenherr, Koutalidis, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, and Elvinger Hoss Prussen reportedly advised the United Group as well.

Partners Jan Sibincic, Matic Novak, and Nina Cuden have recently announced the launch of their new firm: Sibincic Novak & Partners has opened its doors in Ljubljana.

Did you know that, using the Activity Rankings function of the CEELMDirect website, you can look up the 2023 deal leaderboards in each CEE market, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Slovenia?

In a recent update to the VAT Act in Slovenia, notable amendments have been introduced, particularly focusing on services in the public interest. Article 42(1)(5) of the VAT Act has changed, emphasizing VAT exemptions exclusively for services provided within activities deemed in the public interest.

Nlaw Partner Martin Hren has become the new Managing Partner of the firm's Croatian office. At the same time, Nlaw announced the opening of its US office with Of Counsel Katya Mezek at the helm.

Mariella Kapoun and Georg Gutfleisch have become Partners at CMS in Austria, while Amela Zrt and Ivan Kranjec have become Partners at CMS in Slovenia, as part of the firm's latest promotion round.

Poland's Weronika Kapica and Daria Rutecka, Romania's Adina Damaschin and Mara Moga-Paler, Serbia's Zoran Soljaga, Slovakia's Michal Lucivjansky, and Slovenia's Peter Gorse have all been appointed to Partner positions with Schoenherr.

Drakopoulos has become a part of the South East Legal Alliance, thus expanding the network’s reach to Athens, Bucharest, and Nicosia.

Masa Kramar, Eva Rop, Matija Urankar, and Marusa Senica have all been promoted to Partner positions with the Senica law firm in Ljubljana.

On January 4, 2024, Boyanov & Co announced that the EUR 1.4 billion sale of Cargo-Partner subsidiaries to Nippon Express (reported by CEE Legal Matters on May 17, 2023) had closed.

Wolf Theiss has advised joint lead managers Barclays, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Erste Group, Goldman Sachs Bank Europe, and Nova KBM on the Republic of Slovenia’s EUR 1.5 billion Reg S note issuance.

How tax residence is determined is one of the key tax issues that dictate in which country an individual’s worldwide income will be taxed. Primarily, tax residence is determined by domicile and center of economic and personal interests. Uncertainty arises when the decision cannot be made on the basis of residence alone and the economic and personal interests are not in the same country.

With CMS’s recently published European M&A Outlook report taking the temperature of the M&A activity across the continent, CMS Romania Managing Partner Horea Popescu and CMS Vienna Partner Alexander Rakosi share their insights on M&A trends in the CEE region.

For more than half a year, Slovenia has been intensively preparing amendments to the Employment Relationship Act (ZDR-1), which is usually called the “little workers’ constitution.” Like any other exemplary EU country, we transpose and implement all EU regulations and directives into our legal order in as timely and effective manner as possible. Unfortunately, this often does not solve the most acute problems of the labor market and the adopted legal solutions do not always help the economy to achieve higher productivity.