JPM & Partners

Fully plugged into the corporate scene, our lawyers are as dynamic and enterprising as the market itself.

In the fast-paced corporate world, decisions have to be made quickly and decisively. Whether you’re launching a new venture, investing in an existing company or buying one out, our corporate team is always at hand with practical, strategic and rigorous advice.

Our corporate lawyers combine business acumen with acute industry knowledge in sectors ranging from banking to energy, infrastructure, retail, technology and communications.

We routinely advise international companies – not least from the USA, Canada and China – and private equity firms on all aspects of M&A deals, from due diligence to antitrust, as well as on joint-venture projects, sales and purchase agreements and PPPs.

We have a proud track record of advising companies of all sizes, local and global, in establishing, building and expanding their business operations in Serbia and the wider Southeast Europe (SEE) region.

The firm is ranked in Tier 1 by Legal 500 for Commercial, Corporate and M&A, in Tier 1 for Financial and Corporate by IFLR1000, and Band 2 by Chambers and Partners for Corporate/Commercial.

Work Highlights:

• Advising the consortium of Karlovarské minerální vody a.s. and PepsiCo on the acquisition of Knjaz Milos, one of the largest producers of mineral water, soft and energy drinks in Southeast Europe. We conducted due diligence and advised on the Management Warranty Deed, Sales and Purchase Agreement and other transactional documents, as well as the competition law aspects of the transaction.
• Advising Gastrans, a joint-venture between Gazprom (Russia’s leading natural gas producer) and Srbijagas (Serbia’s state-owned natural gas supplier) on complex corporate and commercial matters related to the implementation of a project to build a 400km natural gas pipeline through Serbia. Part of the TurkStream project, the interconnector will join up with pipelines in Bulgaria and Hungary to deliver natural gas from Russia to central Europe.
• Advising Warburg Pincus (one of the largest private equity firms in the world) as a potential buyer of a majority stake in United Group, the largest alternative pay-TV company in the former Yugoslavia from the US-based private equity firm, KKR. The transaction was valued at EUR 2.6 billion.
• Complex corporate advice regarding a joint-venture between the Government of Republika Srpska and China Shandong International Economic & Technical Cooperation Group to build the 42 km Banja Luka-Prijedor highway. The project entails the development, design, financing, construction, completion, operation and maintenance of the first highway concession project in the Republic of Srpska.

JPM is a one-stop-shop for all your real estate and construction projects.

A combination of market forces and tighter legislation has made Serbia and the wider region a more complex environment for executing property transactions. Full command of local regulatory requirements and watertight legal advice has never been more important.

Our experienced team of real estate lawyers guides investors through every step of the process, whether it be buying or selling commercial properties, developing real estate projects, negotiating finance deals, or drafting tender and construction agreements (be they FIDIC contracts or tailor-made).

We also advise landlords, tenants, and facility management companies on commercial leasing agreements and offer comprehensive representation on all aspects of construction projects in the energy and infrastructure sectors.

The firm is ranked in Tier 2 by Legal 500 and in Band 2 by Chambers and Partners for Real Estate.

Work Highlights:

• Advising Veolia, one of the biggest water management, waste management, and energy services companies in the world, in the course of the bidding process for the PPP project for waste treatment and disposal. The project involved numerous real estate issues including the long-term lease of the existing landfill site and the obtaining of construction and other permits for the development of further landfills, as well as waste collection, treatment, and renewable energy facilities.
• Advising China Shandong International on real estate matters relating to the design and construction of Corridor 11, a motorway connecting Belgrade to the South Adriatic and, by extension, Romania to Serbia to Montenegro and Italy.
• Advising Lidl, one of the biggest European food retail chains, in its acquisition of real estate for the development of retail stores throughout Serbia.
• Providing full legal support – including drafting, negotiating, and preparing all the transaction documents and disclosure letters – to Delta Real Estate d.o.o., a member of Delta Holding Group and one of the leading real estate developers in the region, in its sale of shopping malls in Belgrade and Podgorica for over EUR 200 million.

We have outstanding expertise in handling all aspects of intellectual property (IP) rights – from creation to exploitation, protection and enforcement.

Astute legal guidance can significantly raise the value of your intellectual property portfolio, no matter what sector you operate in.

In the IT arena, our team has advised a vast range of tech companies drawn from all spheres of work and at all stages of development, from emerging start-ups to established industry leaders. We have gained the experience and expertise necessary to make sure your intellectual property portfolio is extracting maximum financial reward.

We can assist you with:

• Trademarks
• Patents
• Copyright
• Industrial design
• Trade secrets
• Confidentiality and privacy rights
• Technology transfers
• Domain name disputes
• Licensing agreements
• Chain of title reviews
• Ownership issues
• Brand development
• Marketing and distribution
• Partnering and strategic alliances
• Cease and desist letters
• Infringement actions
• Due diligence issues

The firm is ranked in Tier 3 by Legal 500 for Intellectual Property.

Work Highlights:

• Advising H&M (Hannes and Mauritz) in connection with their launch into the Serbian market. This involved a wide range of IP issues including brand protection, labelling, advertisement, consumer protection, product liability and web domain protection.
• Advising General Motors/Opel on the implementation of Flex Extended Warranty in Serbia.
• Providing British American Tobacco with legal opinions concerning personal data protection issues.
• Advising Paramount Pictures International Plc, England, on IP issues relating to dubbing agreements.

We go the extra mile to bring every dispute to a prompt, satisfactory, and lasting conclusion.

Disputes can be complex, time-consuming, and expensive. We, therefore, seek to resolve disputes before they reach the court or arbitration, through negotiation and mediation.

We are proud of our track record in consistently bringing disputes to satisfactory conclusions, often succeeding where other firms have failed. We believe this to be a consequence of our legal skills and strength, but also our practical business sense.

If a dispute does end up in court or before arbitration, we have an experienced team of determined lawyers prepared to back our clients to the hilt. Whether it be breaking or terminating an agreement, defaulting on a contract, or pursuing reimbursement and compensation claims, we will solve problems with utmost care, advising the clients on strategy and local procedures as well as representing them before court or arbitration.

We have gained a wealth of experience representing clients in almost every industry and sector, giving us the agility to counsel every kind of client, from emerging start-ups in growth industries to established heavyweights in more mature markets.

The firm is ranked in Tier 1 by Legal 500 and in Band 2 by Chambers and Partners for Dispute Resolution.

Work Highlights:

• Representing China Shandong International Economic & Technical Cooperation Group in negotiations and court proceedings with international and local subcontracts relating to its work on one of the biggest infrastructure projects in Serbia, the construction of Corridor 11, the Obrenovac-Ljig sector of highway E736. Claims total EUR 10 million.
• Advising BASF SE Germany in several disputes in connection to buying and selling chemical products in Serbia.
• Advising Xella Serbia in reaching a settlement with the Serbian state and electric power industry company regarding damage compensation and relocation of the client’s operational business. Claims total EUR 50 million.

We help clients develop progressive workplace strategies and find solutions to the most complex of employment issues.

From advising on the HR elements of M&A deals to helping companies draft employment contracts, recruit foreign staff, negotiate redundancy packages and manage termination procedures, our labour law team has a wealth of experience operating in every sector.

We work in tandem with company executives and human resource managers to develop policies and procedures that minimise legal risks, promote constructive workforce relations and reduce workplace liabilities.

Employment law is constantly evolving, in Serbia and across the wider SEE region. Our specialist lawyers are committed to keeping abreast of the lasted changes to the landscape, the better to be proactive in advising clients on their workplace strategies.

Sometimes litigation proves inevitable and our team is fully equipped to provide clients with vigorous, practical and effective representation.

The firm is ranked in Tier 1 by Legal 500 and in Band 3 by Chambers and Partners for Employment.

Work Highlights:

• Advising Merkur Casino Austria (a member of the Gauselmann Group) and Merkur games doo Beograd on employment and HR issues including drafting general and individual documentation (rulebooks, employment agreements, resolutions and policy requirements for employment termination) and the procedure required for the engagement of foreign citizens in key management positions.
• Advising L.C. LECE, Serbia, on labour compliance matters, including procedures for establishing and terminating employee contracts at staff and management level at Mine Lece, the biggest gold mine in Serbia.
• Advising IKEA on the drafting of general and individual contracts, redundancy and termination procedures, salary calculations and ongoing HR issues.
• Advising PTC, USA, on the drafting of mandatory general and individual acts for redundancy procedures, agreements on mutual employment termination, the rights and obligations of foreign employees, and the conducting of liquidation procedures.

Criminal Law and Criminal Compliance

Scrutiny of state authorities of the business sector practices is resulting in the increased number of criminal investigations and prosecutions, launched in respect of both infractions and corporate offenses, that need to be addressed with proper legal counseling to avoid or minimize serious negative consequences.

In order to avoid or minimize threatening punitive consequences, proper legal guidance and representation are essential whenever the companies and their directors are involved in criminal investigations.

JPM Criminal law and Criminal Compliance team of lawyers have multidisciplinary background and agility to counsel and provide full attention to each client. Our experienced team can manage such situations, whether it be entailing defending and representing companies, or the individuals affected usually the individual company directors, board members, or other employees of the company.

Defense and Representation

JPM provides services of defense and representation to affected companies and individuals, throughout criminal and other penal proceedings, in response to the fact-finding and preliminary investigation, as well as during criminal and other penal cases in all their later stages.

These refer primarily to criminal law and infractions in conjunction with other related legal areas –  corporate law, anti-corruption, and fiscal law, environmental protection law, banking law, civil and law of property, public procurement, foreign trade, and trade commercial laws, labour law, medical and pharmaceutical law, insurance law and the law on personal data protection,  energy, and infrastructure law, and other legal areas, within which a specific consulting and advisory service is provided in terms of how to bring down to a minimum the accountability in the mentioned cases.

We are representing affected companies and individuals, in any criminal and other penal proceedings where they appear as damaged parties due to suffered criminal and other penal offenses committed against them and are acting in this way in all stages of these proceedings, solving their problems with expertise and determination. We are also representing them in relevant litigations or other proceedings when indemnification is concerned as the result of criminal and other penal offenses perpetrated to their detriment.

Criminal Compliance

Our specialist lawyers are committed to providing timely and focused legal advice in respect of any aspect of criminal and other penal law by application of the integrated approach with other legal areas, particularly in identification and risk assessment (criminal due diligence), and providing preventive legal counseling designed to minimize possibilities of non-compliance with the criminal and other penal provisions.

JPM Criminal law and Criminal Compliance team is also performing a preliminary legal investigation of the existing business practices to identify the existence of potential criminal offense, infraction, or corporate offense.

JPM is experienced in providing proactive support to company directors and employees through specific training sessions and help them overcome the most complex law challenges.