BDV Law Firm

Globalization, accession to the EU, and constant change of legislation makes Croatia a challenging environment for businesses. The dynamic environment is forcing companies to rethink their current settings, adjust their business operations, and reorganize. Decision-making processes have become more sophisticated than ever before, requiring flexibility and high-end day-to-day advisory support.

The quality of the decision-making processes, and companies’ abilities to adjust to existing market trends or create new ones rely heavily on legal support.

BDV teams up with clients with the intention of providing legal support in corporate matters, helping clients to tackle market challenges successfully

Being aware that businesses in their daily operations, as well as in special situations, require a hands-on approach, BDV’s corporate team closely cooperates with both in-house counsels and executives to successfully execute business strategies and solve different corporate matters. These matters could include convening, participating in or directing shareholders’ meetings, protecting shareholders from involuntary dilutions, revoking board members, and interpreting the business judgement rule. We understand the dire need for the highest level of responsiveness and we aim to provide initial feedback on any corporate law matter within the shortest possible time period.

We also advise shareholders in regulating effective relationships

Our corporate team follows the best practices in vertical and horizontal corporate governance matters, applying these standards in the context of specific businesses. To that end, we assist clients with the implementation of efficient internal processes between multiple tiers of internal corporate organizations, and the regulation of horizontal (shareholders’) relations.

In special situations, our corporate team assists in finding optimal solutions and strategies for resolving complex shareholder disputes or facilitating shareholder activism.

Our team devotedly provides innovative assistance to clients oriented to positive outcome in dispute resolution and arbitration proceedings. Our dispute attorneys at law provide advice regarding risk management in order to ensure optimal position for the client in case of a dispute.

Our engagement includes individual mandates connected with complex legal matters requiring innovative resolutions and coordination of creative approach. Our methodology when assessing an outcome in a potential dispute is based on developing a detailed list of advantages and disadvantages for a potential litigation, thereby enabling clients to make rational commercial decision..

We manage litigations and arbitration proceedings involving broad spectrum of matters in the domain of corporate and commercial law, including disputes between shareholders, damages claims, bankruptcy as well as employment law, tax law and general commercial law. Our dispute resolution team assists clients in all stages of litigation - from primary assessment of strategies, through negotiations and settlements, to litigation and arbitration proceedings until the dispute is finally resolved in the enforcement proceedings.

Our corporate practice, and track record with corporate clients, resulted with BDV’s accrued and sensible working knowledge of how the businesses think and operate. We advise HR departments, as well as management on variety of employment related matters, covering both collective and individual employment law aspects.

Our clients address us for strategic advice on substantial employment, compensation and benefits-related issues often including tax peculiarities, as well as for day-to-day support on employment issues

Our employment team negotiates with employees, work councils and other employee representatives, and where necessary - represent corporate clients, or managers in labor court litigation.

Data Protection

Nowadays, data protection has become a pressing concern. EU General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (GDPR), which entered into force on 24 May 2016 and is fully applicable as of 25 May 2018, significantly raises the bar for data protection compliance. Prescribed fines go up to EUR 20 million or 4% of the total worldwide annual turnover.

We assist our clients in the process of ensuring compliance with the GDPR and advise on a broad range of privacy and data protection matters, including: privacy impact assessments, data processing agreements, data protection by design and by default, codes of conduct, binding corporate rules, privacy policies and procedures, and data breaches. We also offer data protection officer services and specialised data protection training programs.

Intellectual Property

We act as patent and trademark agents for our clients and advise them how to protect technological inventions. Our services include counselling, litigation, dispute resolution, and licensing in patent, trademark, and copyright matters.

The Croatian market, as part of the Eastern European emerging markets, has been the focus of investors seeking opportunities that come with higher returns than those existing in the Western European markets. On the flip side, this potentially higher return can be accompanied by greater legal uncertainty, disorder in land registers, continuously changing legal frameworks, and the enforcement of security interests. For these reasons, investors, when making investment decisions, rely heavily on risk assessment provided by legal advisers.

Therefore, investors are, when making investment decisions, more cautious than ever before, and are looking for legal advisers who are equally cautious in their predictions of legal implications in relation to projects where returns are often made only after a longer period of time, accompanied by numerous complex and uncertain administrative procedures.

BDV lawyers understand the importance that legal advice has on an investment decision in Croatian real estate, and act with the utmost diligence while providing that legal advice. We also advise clients on creating a sophisticated investment structure with an aim of optimizing the best return while overcoming legal risks. Our tax law experts actively participate in structuring such transactions in order to achieve an optimal tax transaction structure for our clients.

Our clients include project developers, real estate owners, private and institutional investors, and secured creditors. Our services include advice in ​​project finance, complex security instrument structures, restructuring, leases, and property disputes.