AI Issue 6 2017

Acquisition International - June 2017 19 Help Where It Is Most Needed As consultants generally greatly contribute to a company’s success, it is the goal of our law firm to offer the best possible legal consulting to our clients, to help them make the most informed decisions. Added to this, we want to make them understand the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and the threats of their current and possible future legal positions. The team members here take an individual approach to provide the services that are most in line with the clients’ needs. The team here works in two locations, i.e. in the main office in Ljubljana and in the branch office in Kozina, to be more accessible to those of our clients who are not based in the capital. Below is a short description of the expertise of the leading individual experts here. Attorney Dr. Aleksij Mu ž ina, Assistant Professor He graduated from the Faculty of Law of the University of Ljubljana in 1997, from a comparison of the legal and economic development indicators, for the Mediterranean EU countries and Slovenia. In the same year, he passed his professional exam at the Academy of Administration in Ljubljana and in 1999, he passed the bar examination. Two years later, he completed his master’s degree in civil and economic law about legal protection, in public procurement procedures. He acquired his doctoral degree on the 8th January 2000, with a dissertation on the legal nature of the concession relationship. He was a member of the National Review Commission for Reviewing Public Procurement Procedures since 2001, and since 2003 as vice- chairman). Before that, he worked as a consultant at the Municipality of Koper. The National Assembly appointed him as the Chairman of the National Review Commission on 15th July 2004 and he held this position until 30th June 2006. Apart from his vast bibliography (COBISS: MUŽINA Aleksij 28042, 285 works, especially in the fields of public procurement, concessions and other areas of public finance), he frequently cooperates in various consultations in Slovenia and abroad. In 2003, dr. Aleksij Mu ž ina received the ‘Young Lawyer of the Year’ award from the Association of Lawyers. In 2004, he was also habilitated as an assistant at the Faculty of Law of the University of Ljubljana in administrative law and public administration. In September 2006, the Senate of the University of Primorska nominated him as an assistant professor in law. Since 2013, he has been a member of the Permanent Arbitration at the Chamber of Commerce of Slovenia and an examiner in the state law examination (the bar examination). Occasionally, he also lectures at the Faculty of Law in Ljubljana. Attorney Mag. Marko Ž vipelj He graduated at the Faculty of Law of the University of Ljubljana in October 2002, with the thesis ‘Liability for damages of doctors’. He started employment at the National Review Commission as a consultant at the beginning of 2003. He remained there for four years, the last six months of which we worked in Zagreb as a Resident Twinning Adviser (RTA), an agent of the European Commission, working on the coordination of procedures for the preparation of Croatian legislation and other legal acts. In 2009, he received his Master’s Degree from the Faculty of Law of the University of Ljubljana on the topic ‘execution of the public procurement contract in the aspect of European and national law’. He is the author of contributions (articles, seminars) in the field of public procurement law and occasionally works as an external consultant in the organisation SIGMA (OECD and European Commission), based in France. Receiving the award The firm is honoured to receive the award ‘Leading Public Procurement and Concessions Consultant of the Year’. The award reflects the hard work and dedication of all the employees in the firm and especially the partners, who have, with their knowledge, expertise and leadership lead the firm to the point where it is today. Although it does feel rewarding to receive the award - the feeling of accomplishment will not deter the firm from further efforts to keep perfecting our knowledge - and to offer the best services and representation. The award is therefore an acknowledgement, but not an end, as the ultimate reward is the satisfaction of our clients. The award confirms our efforts on the path to build a reputation on creativity, a comprehensive approach of clients’ needs and the confidentiality of the attorney-client relationship. It also confirms our experts’ extensive experience gained through many years’ practice in courts and leading positions in the system of public procurement law, as well as public- private partnership and local autonomies. Therefore, the award will provide us with further motivation to be the best at what we do. It will also inspire us to be the best possible choice for our clients, in terms of providing legal advice, representation and defense. Plans for 2017 and beyond In 2017 and in the following years, it is our goal to remain a leading law firm in the areas of public procurement, concessions law, public-private partnerships, public finances and other areas. We know that we need to keep perfecting our knowledge and experience to remain at the forefront, to offer the most useful advice and solutions to our clients’ problems. Therefore, we intend to keep building on our professional expertise and the trust of existing clients, as well as new clients in Slovenia and abroad.