Orehovec, Vinter, Kiš, Šimunovic

The firm: Orehovec, Vinter, Kiš, Šimunović is a law firm providing expert and personally tailored legal assistance to Croatian and foreign clients with a variety of transactions, projects and disputes, from all areas of law, with special emphasis on commercial and corporate law, banking and finance, insolvency and restructuring, and real estate and construction.

The law firm is incorporated in 2012 under the name Ilić, Orehovec & Partners as a continuation of the cooperation of attorneys Tomislav Orehovec and his partners and their joint practice founded in 2005. Continuous expansion and joining of new partners made us one of the fastest growing law firms. In 2018, as a result of a change of ownership structure, the firm changed its name to Orehovec, Vinter, Kiš, Šimunović. Our future is ensured due to the combination of know-how and experience of our partners and a plethora of qualities of our youngest associates.

The speed of our expansion is a reflection of our clients’ trust and proof they recognize us as a reliable partner for the resolution of their everyday business problems and as support in the most complex transactions and projects.

Our guiding principle is the provision of services of the highest standard, oriented towards fast, business, practical solutions.

Our clients: Our clients are a reflection of our work. A great majority of our clients are Croatian and foreign companies from different lines of business, like commerce, banking, financial services, utility companies, oil & gas, energy, construction, hotels, automotive industry and telecommunications. We provide legal services to some of the largest Croatian companies on a daily basis, but also find our clients among local self-governing units and governmental institutions. On the one hand, the variety of the lines of business and the size of our clients are a challenge for our attorneys, but simultaneously endow us with exhaustive experience from different legal areas.

Legal services
Corporate and commercial law: Our corporate and commercial law team offers our clients comprehensive legal assistance from this area, especially with company incorporation, restructuring and status changes, as well as with the issues of corporate management and mutual relations of shareholders. We are especially proud of our team members who successfully implemented some of the most complex and most demanding corporate spin-offs and restructuring procedures. Owing to our wide experience with all types of transactions, we advise our clients on the drafting and negotiation of all types of commercial contracts, partnership and joint venture contracts, in cooperation with associated law firms from the region enabling us to provide comprehensive support with cross-border transactions.

Banking and finance: Our banking and finance team has extensive experience in the provision of legal assistance in the form of legal advising and drafting of all banking documentation, especially of all types of banking contracts, loan and credit contracts and other types of financial products, with special emphasis on related collateral contracts. Our support includes due diligence of the borrower and legal opinion for lenders in the loan approval procedure or assessment of the likelihood of collection of receivables. Furthermore, we advise our clients in numerous debt restructuring procedures, including refinancing, pre-bankruptcy settlements and other arrangements with creditors and bankruptcy proceedings against debtors.

Dispute resolution: Our dispute resolution team has wide experience in the representation of clients in court proceedings, arbitrations, mediations and other dispute resolution procedures. Legal assistance provided to our clients includes a wide variety of services ranging from representation and advising in the resolution of complex commercial disputes from the domains of construction, energy, IT and telecommunications to employment disputes and debt collection. Prior to the initiation of court proceedings, as the last resort for dispute resolution and the realization of our clients’ rights, we regularly attempt to resolve the disputes amicably. Likewise, our approach to dispute resolution is the formation of a special team depending upon procedure type and the area of law, whose expertise allows us to give our clients the best support available for their proceedings.

Mergers and acquisitions: Our mergers and acquisitions team counsels Croatian and foreign investors in the acquisition of target companies from different lines of business, as well as in all other types of corporate status changes. Legal assistance from this area also includes complete support during the transaction, starting from the performance of due diligence, advising during the preparation of tender documentation to negotiations and drafting of all contracts required for transaction completion. At all times, we have in mind the need of our clients for speed and in-depth work, met by the formation of special teams, depending on transaction size, complexity and line of business.

Employment: Attorneys from our employment team have extensive experience with the provision of comprehensive legal assistance in the domain of employment and labour law. Legal assistance offered to our clients includes a wide variety of legal advising, from advising employers on the establishment of employment relations, drafting of the required contracts and general documents, restructuring and counselling in relations with unions, to work contract termination. We also resolve labour law disputes, paying special attention to the sensitivity of labour relations and the related high risks for employers.

Insolvency and restructuring: Owing to the insolvency practitioner license issued by the Croatian Ministry of Justice, in the last eight years members of our team acted as bankruptcy trustees in over 100 bankruptcy/insolvency proceedings in Croatia, which makes us the leading law firm in Croatia in the domain of bankruptcy and insolvency related dispute resolution cases

Energy and infrastructure: Owing to their dedicated work in the representation of clients from the energy and infrastructure sector, the members of our team provide Croatian and foreign clients comprehensive legal assistance focused on the provision of practical advice, especially pertaining to the oil and gas industry and other types of infrastructural projects. Our support includes advising in all matters of legal and regulatory conformity, public-private partnerships and other matters relating to the implementation of different types of infrastructural projects.

Real estate and construction: Owing to their years-long wide experience with all types of procedures and legal affairs relating to real estate and construction, the members of our real estate and construction team provide our clients comprehensive legal assistance, starting from real estate due diligence, legal planning of the project prior to purchase, drafting of all sale purchase documentation, resolution of land register status and entry, to real estate construction and use. In so doing, we advise our clients with regard to the obtainment of all necessary construction permits, as well as in the contracting of different types of works and the conclusion of other types of real estate related contracts, especially in the part of their use and management, like contracts of lease of business premises.

Competition: Members of the competition team of Orehovec, Vinter, Kiš, Šimunović are focused on the provision of practical support to our clients in the form of avoidance of risks stemming from the regulations governing the protection of market competition, primarily in the automotive industry, oil and gas industry and all other branches of economy. We advise our clients in the matters of group and individual exemptions, as well as on the matter of abuse of dominant position.

Intellectual property: The members of our intellectual property team offer our clients a comprehensive package of services relating to intellectual property and the protection thereof. We advise and represent our clients in proceedings before State Intellectual Property Office in the matters of stamp, patent and industrial design registration, as well as in the conclusion of contracts from this area. Our support also includes representation in proceedings relating to the violation of rights.

Values and goals
Our goal is the success of our clients. We help you achieve success by providing services in keeping with the highest ethical and professional values.

Excellence. There is no room for compromise in the quality of our services. Every service will be provided in its entirety and on time, by offering appropriate legal advice, in line with the highest professional and ethical standards.

Loyalty. A lawyer’s main duty is loyalty to his/her client. That is why the client always comes first.

Reliability. We will fulfil all undertaken obligations in full and on time. This is our way of honouring your trust.

Expertise. We take pride in the expertise of our employees. We take care to keep up with the broadest and latest case law and professional literature to give you appropriate and complete legal advice.

Practicality. Service must be oriented to practical solutions in keeping with the business needs of our clients.

Perseverance. Sometimes there are no fast and easy solutions but giving up is never an option.