CMS Reich-Rohrwig Hasche Sigle is the big mover this year. On the back of an outstanding year, the firm finally breaks into the top rung....
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CMS Reich-Rohrwig Hasche Sigle is the big mover this year. On the back of an outstanding year, the firm finally breaks into the top rung. In fact, many of the firm's peers were surprised not to see the firm in pole position. "I think CMS have done well, they've obviously done very well because they were acting on the buy side of Delta. So it has been a fantastic year for them financially, very good indeed for CMS," one partner says. "CMS is a bit different, they were working for the Belgians in a huge transaction last year. They are good they are really good," another partner says.
Rising star, Natasa Zavisin, has really made a name for herself in the last year. "With CMS, I think Natasa personally owned this Delta deal and definitely deserves to be mentioned," one peer says. Stojan Semiz is another notable among peers. "Semiz is a good guy at CMS, as well he's a good lawyer," one partner says.
Without doubt, the firm's ascendancy is marked and preceded by the high profile deals it attracted of late. The firm raised the bar in the Serbian legal market when it advised the Belgian food retailer, Delhaize Group, with regard to its €933 million acquisition of the largest food retailer in Serbia, Delta Maxi Group. By a long stretch, this deal is the largest private transaction in Serbia and the region. Additionally, the firm is presently advising Gazprom on all corporate and commercial matters with regard to the setup of a gas storage facility in Serbia. This includes the creation of a joint venture with a Serbian partner. The advice also pertains to the implementation of the energy treaty between Russia and Serbia.
CMS' CEE (Central & Eastern Europe) network is renowned and is a forerunner to its growing regional strength. "It was very technical and complicated, involving many jurisdictions, they created a climate of trust and confidence. They had good coordination with our in-house counsel so we're working as one with the team and also they were very easily reachable, we could call them at any time. Very client oriented and business minded. They played a great role in structuring the deal and in filtering interactions in the different jurisdictions," one client says.
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