On December 8, CEE Legal Matters reported that BDK Advokati had advised MediGroup on its acquisition of Konzilijum. CEE In-House Matters spoke with Mihailo Obucina, Director of Strategy, M&A, and Business Development at MediGroup, to learn more about the acquisition.

The last time I wrote for CEELM, we had been discussing how COVID-19 changed a General Counsel’s scope of activity. How everything shifted in a short time frame and how we were waiting to see the world return to a regular pace – different, but still comfortable enough – without the pandemic threat paralyzing us all.

Alex Florescu of Nepi RockCastle, Andrzej Klimek of Idea Getin Leasing, Bora Kaya of Gama Power Systems, Clementina Canel of Fepra, Dora Szebeni of Vanguards Fashion Group, Eirini Florou of Holcim, Eleni Stathaki of Upstream Systems, Gamze Bedirkurum of Ericsson, Gunel Rzayeva of VavaCars, Ioana Regenbogen of ING, Iwona Gajek of BNP Paribas, Judit Miskolci of Teva, Mary Chaidou of AIG, Milan Lomic of L’Oreal, Radu Culic of Roche, Ramona Ene of ADM, Sylvia Nanovska of Telelink, Viktor Fonth of HB Reavis, Wioletta Kaloska of Symfonia, Zita Toth of Primaenergia, Zuzanna Kopaczynska-Grabiec of Wonga.pl, and others share their approach to working with and managing external legal counsel.

Former PwC Director Dragan Lupsic has joined Heineken Srbija as Corporate Affairs Director.

The Fresenius Group has appointed Belgrade-based Marijana Poznan to Head of Legal Commercial EMEA Centar, Medical Technology/Care Enablement.

Srdjan Sisic has relocated to Montenegro to join One Crna Gora as its Chief Corporate Affairs Officer.

Mondelez International has appointed Jelena Djurovic to Counsel M&A & Intercompany.

On April 11, 2022, CEE Legal Matters reported that Jankovic Popovic Mitic had advised Gomex and the Seaf South Balkan Fund on the sale of Gomex to Ceecat Capital. CEE In-House Matters spoke with Goran Kovacevic, General Director at Gomex, to learn more about the sale.

Serbian lawyer Aleksandra Simic has been appointed to the role of Head Ethics Risk and Compliance iCEE at Novartis, based in Switzerland.

On November 3, 2021, CEE Legal Matters reported that Karanovic & Partners had advised ElevenEs on partnering with EIT InnoEnergy to build a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery factory in Subotica, Serbia. CEE In-House Matters spoke with Nemanja Mikac, CEO at ElevenEs, to learn more about the matter.

On September 24, 2021, CEE Legal Matters reported that Karanovic & Partners had announced it entered into an agreement with Gypsy Roma Urban Balkan Beats to provide ongoing pro bono legal support on contracts, scholarships, and copyright matters. CEE In-House Matters spoke with Caroline Roboh, Founder and CEO of Gypsy Roma Urban Balkan Beats (GRUBB), to learn more about the matter.

Former Air Serbia General Counsel Branko Gabric has joined BDK Advokati as Counsel and Head of the Compliance; Investigation Practice.

On October 25, 2021, CEE Legal Matters reported that Karanovic & Partners had advised the Innovation Fund of the Republic of Serbia (IF) on launching the Katapult start-up accelerator in Serbia. CEE In-House Matters spoke with Mladjan Stojanovic, Program Manager at the Innovation Fund, to learn more about the matter.

Former PwC Manager Stefan Dobric has joined Bambi as Legal Director in Belgrade.

Aleksandra Popovic, Director of Legal Affairs Serbia and Macedonia at Atlantic Grupa, describes the digitalization process at her company and its impact on the legal function.

Gligorije Brajkovic, Head of Legal Department at UniCredit Bank Serbia, reflects on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the role of the general counsel.

According to Branko Gabric, General Counsel at Air Serbia in Belgrade, we are living in historic times. He reports that the unprecedented pandemic, as well as the subsequent vaccination process, has greatly affected not only the aviation industry, but also the legal sector in his country.

On January 15, 2021, CEE Legal Matters reported that BDK Advokati had advised Frontier Pharma and the Baystone investment group on the acquisition of Zdravlje Leskovac, a Serbian pharmaceutical company owned by Actavis, which is itself a subsidiary of Israel's Teva. CEEIHM spoke with Kiren Naidoo, Co-Founder and Managing Director at Frontier Pharma, to learn more about the acquisition.