An in-depth look at Stevan Dimitrijevic of Dimitrijevic & Partners, covering his career path, education, and top projects as a lawyer, as well as a few insights about him as a manager at work and as a person outside the office.
Career:
- Dimitrijevic & Partners; Founder/Senior Partner; 2016-present
- Sberbank Banja Luka; Independent Member of the Supervisory Board; 2017-2022
- Karanovic & Nikolic; Partner; 2006-2016
- NLB Razvojna Banka, Banja Luka; General Secretary; 2002-2006
- National Bank of Greece, Belgrade, Serbia; Compliance Officer; 2001-2002
- Agroprom Banka, Banja Luka; Lawyer; 1999-2001
Education:
- University of Belgrade; Ph.D., Private International Law and Investment Arbitration; 2022-present
- University of Banja Luka; LL.M., Faculty of Law; 2020
- University of Belgrade; LL.B., Faculty of Law; 1998
Favorites:
- Out-of-office activity: Running, cooking, sailing
- Quote: Something lawyery: Nemo plus iuris transferre potest quam ipso habet
- Book: The Greeks by Roderick Beaton
- Movie: The Diary of Diana Budisavljevic
Top Projects:
- Representing Bosnia and Herzegovina in an investment arbitration – Usha et al v. Bosnia and Herzegovina, PCA Case 2018-03 (2018-2020) – in a team that succeeded in defending the respondent, with the claim of more than USD 30 million fully rejected and all costs awarded to the state.
- Advising the Chinese Development Bank on the thermo-power plant Stanari development and financing in 2011-2012. This was the first green field project of this kind in the wider region. The transaction was almost blocked due to the local legal system not being set up to the standards for the requirements of foreign creditors.
- Advising Affidea on the ongoing Affidea cancer treatment center PPP. This is the first PPP developed without a special “PPP Law” in place.
- Advising Altima Partners on the privatization of Banja Luka Brewery, including in terms of follow-up assistance between 2006 and 2021.
CEELM: What would you say was the most challenging project you ever worked on and why?
Dimitrijevic: Anything you do for the first time, all pioneering projects would fit into the “most challenging” category. However, one project stands out: the Stanari Thermal Power Plant project. The reason is that we had to navigate a comprehensive line of issues on every aspect of the project. First and foremost, bridging cultural differences between Chinese lawyers and the creditor and local, Bosnia and Herzegovina- and Serbia-based people, either those involved in the operations of the project company or those who were decision makers on the public side that had to accept the implementation of original legal instruments. Next was the set of legal challenges – we had to use all available local law instruments to mix them to obtain new complex cross-border FX instruments that would otherwise be impossible to implement. Last but not least, all that was happening against “due yesterday” deadlines. With the additional pressure of tight timing imposed by the creditor and the time difference with the Chinese partners involved, we ended up working in shifts like real thermal power plant workers.
CEELM: What was your main takeaway from it?
Dimitrijevic: To become a complete professional, a true master of our legal arts, one needs to develop not only legal skills, but also to get to know how to multitask and to navigate through different legal systems, mentalities of private versus public sector officials, and different personalities in general, all with the goal of achieving the desired result for the client in a timely, creative, and legally bulletproof manner.
CEELM: What is one thing clients likely don’t know about you?
Dimitrijevic: My non-legal creative side – ranging from my cooking to occasionally (still!) performing as a drummer.
CEELM: Name one mentor who played a big role in your career and how they impacted you.
Dimitrijevic: Djordje Djurisic, one of the Hall of Fame lawyers from Belgrade who practiced business law. I worked closely with him when he assisted the National Bank of Greece in Belgrade, sometimes spending more time in his office than in the bank. It was a very intense and thoughtful introduction to the legal world. Although a sole practitioner, late Djordje Djurisic introduced me to all crucial aspects of both knowledge of business and law, but also of servicing foreign clients. This was a life-changing experience that marked my later career and highly influenced my ambition to become an attorney at law.
CEELM: What is the one piece of advice you’d give yourself fresh out of law school?
Dimitrijevic: The same one I received from one of the assistants at the Law Faculty, University of Belgrade, back in time, Milan Parivodic. When asked what is the most practical thing to do to follow an ambition to become a professor (obviously that was my first idea of how I would like to get involved with the law), he advised: “do not wait, simply embrace the first opportunity to work and start getting busy with the law, without waiting for the perfect job to happen.” There are no perfect chances or ideal timings for anything in life. It is all up to us to create our world by immersing ourselves in experience and letting life happen, as it opens to us, every day and with every occasion. We just need to open our minds and our hearts.
This article was originally published in Issue 12.8 of the CEE Legal Matters Magazine. If you would like to receive a hard copy of the magazine, you can subscribe here.
