Former Dentons Real Estate Partner Maciej Jodkowski has joined Greenberg Traurig’s Warsaw office as Partner. His three-person team comprising Senior Associates Karol Lewandowski and Karolina Tulwin, as well as Alicja Kwiatkowska followed.

Former Pfeifer & Langen Poland Head of Legal Sylwia Stepniewska-Idzior has joined SMM Legal as a Partner and will head the firm’s German Desk.

Recent post-Covid months have shown some interesting positive trends on the Polish real estate market with a few surpassing expectations.

Over the past couple of years, Poland has become a leading player in the European IT market. According to Eurostat, there are approximately 554,000 IT specialists living in Poland. Although this is less than 5% of the total IT workforce in the EU, the number is constantly growing. It is also widely recognized that Polish IT specialists are well trained. If you also consider the convenient geographical location between West and East and the stable economic situation, it is no surprise that many foreign companies have found Poland to be a promising place to develop software and carry out related research and development activities.

Innovative technologies, software development, and gaming are becoming an increasingly important part of not only Poland’s M&A market but of the whole region. The greater presence of global tech investors seeking potential acquisitions in Poland is putting pressure on local developers to keep up with international standards and the fast pace of the acquisition process.

Poland and Ukraine – a distinct pairing some would say. The two European countries are close to one another – both geographically and historically – yet, while they share a lot of similarities, they remain quite distinct. Given the sheer size of these countries and economies, their relationship, and a growing amount of investor interest – going both ways – we took a deeper dive to explore what makes their relations tick. And what better way is there to understand the countries’ entangled relationship than to talk to someone with Marcin Wierzbicki’s profile? Born and raised in Poland, the Konieczny Wierzbicki Managing Partner has had the opportunity to spend quite some time in Ukraine and, as such, has a unique perspective on both countries and their respective markets.

Even though situated at the outskirts of the EU, Poland undoubtedly serves as one of the main pathways into the Union’s affluent west. The importance of its infrastructure is reflected in its prioritized investment position. Looking at investments made by the European Investment Bank alone, one could see that out of the EUR 79.8 billion invested in the country since 1990, about 47% went to infrastructure.

2021 turned out to be a surprise and many 2020 predictions concerning the legal market have not come true (luckily!). Despite predictions, legal advisors continue to be extremely busy. This is especially the case in M&A, real estate, and restructuring.

White & Case has completed a new round of firm-wide promotions, appointing 28 Local Partners and 40 Counsels. Among these were new Local Partners Jakub Gubanski, Aleksandra Oziemska, Bartosz Smardzewski, and Pawel Zagorski in Warsaw, Gokce Uluc in Istanbul, and Marianna Galusova in Prague.

On October 25, 2021, CEE Legal Matters reported that Balicki Czekanski Gryglewski Lewczuk had advised Symfonia on its acquisition of Cloud Planet and Skanuj.to. CEE In-House Matters spoke with Wioletta Kaloska, General Counsel at Symfonia, to learn more about the matter.

Maciej Kalinowski has Joined Spectris Energy as its Head of M&A Legal in Poland.

Former Pfeifer & Langen Poland Head of Legal Sylwia Stepniewska-Idzior has joined SMM Legal as a Partner and will head the firm’s German Desk.

Greenberg Traurig’s Warsaw office has established an Environmental Protection Practice led by Counsel Barbara Pancer.

Linklaters Managing Associate Marta Domino has been appointed Head of the firm’s Banking and Finance practice in Warsaw.

On 18 October 2021, the Council of Ministers has published the draft Act on protection of persons reporting breaches of law. The Act is intended to implement Directive 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law ("Directive 2019/1937") into the Polish legal system. The Act establishes rules and procedures for the protection of whistleblowers, i.e., persons who report information obtained in a work-related context about breaches of the European Union law.

Franchising may be an attractive proposition for many companies wishing to expand internationally. Take a look at this overview to discover the applicable franchise law in Poland, covering the essentials for franchisors, the relevant areas of law, selected aspects such as fees, and dispute resolution and applicable law.

A taxpayer cannot resort to the principle of in dubio pro tributario to select an interpretation of a provision of law that is more favourable when a different interpretation is more favourable for the vast majority of taxpayers.

 In “The Corner Office” we ask Managing Partners at law firms across Central and Eastern Europe about their backgrounds, strategies, and responsibilities. With summer having just passed, the question this time: What is your one favorite yearly activity to disconnect?