SPOTLIGHT SATURDAY

Milos Marjanovic
Partner at Smith & Marjanovic Law, LLC

What is your current role and what are your main responsibilities?

I am a co-owner and partner at Smith & Marjanovic Law, LLC where my main responsibilities are handling the staff and associates at the firm. The firm consists of two law partners, three associates attornyes and four legal assistants/paralegals. I also manage a case load of personal injury and criminal defense cases where I am the lead attorney.

What three words would you use to describe yourself?

Friendly, Straightforward, Driven.

Please share a brief overview of your career path and how you got to where you are today.

After becoming an attorney in 2017, I was a solo practitioner at Marjanovic Law, LLC for approximately seven years where I primarily handled criminal defense, guardian ad litem work and general litigation. In January 2024, I partnered with attorney and best friend, Taylor E. Smith, and opened Smith & Marjanovic Law, LLC. Smith & Marjanovic Law, LLC primarily practices in personal injury, wrongful death, excessive force and civil rights violations.

What inspired you to pursue a career in law?

What inspired me to pursue a career in Law was the need to continue my education after receiving my Bachelor's Degree. It was either law school or medical school and I had a better temperament for law school. It was also a goal as I am the first person in my family to have become a Lawyer while my younger sister became the first Doctor.

What are some of the most notable achievements in your career?

I am proud to have been a Guardian Ad Litem for over 100 kids that were in State custody due to Child abuse and Neglect. I was a court-appointed attorney of the children and at times fought both the respondent parents as well as the State in what I thought was the best interest of the child(ren). Many of my clients were either reunited with their stable families or were freed for adoption after a termination of parental rights trial which enabled them to find stable and loving forever homes.

What do you find most rewarding about your work?

I enjoy and find it rewarding to work with the people that are in my firm as well as helping our clients at a time when they are encountering great challenges in their personal lives.

What’s the best piece of advice you have ever been given?

Showing up and failing is way better than not showing up at all.

How do you balance your professional and personal life?

I have a rule where my weekend is spent with the family. If the workload in the office prevents me from enjoying the weekend with the family, that is an indication to take in fewer cases so time can be made. The firm operates in a fashion where time off is just as important as the day to day operations of the firm.

Please share a fun or interesting fact about yourself that not many people know.

I enjoy watching old and timeless Yugoslav movies. Think Balkan Express, Zikina Dinastija, Maratonci Trce Pocasni Krug ect.

What do you hope to get out of the Serbian Attorney Association?

I hope to meet like-minded professionals who share the same interests and backgrounds as myself. Growing up and living in New Mexico, we never had a strong community of people who were from the Balkans.