Poland

Lawyers in Chadbourne’s Warsaw office have played an instrumental role in many of the major transactions in Poland in recent years. In the early 1990s, we were especially active in privatization and real estate development, and we have built a strong reputation in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, corporate, tax and energy. Our lawyers have represented numerous Polish ministries and other state institutions, in addition to local enterprises, multinational corporations and other Western investors, as well as international financial institutions.

Mergers & Acquisitions and Joint Ventures

The Firm represents domestic and international clients in corporate matters such as public offerings, joint ventures, foreign investments and mergers and acquisitions. Our lawyers also have considerable experience in advising clients on general corporate matters, including corporate governance and disclosure as well as compliance with obligations resulting from the Polish Securities Act and other regulatory laws. They represent multinational corporations that have established branch offices in Poland and other central European countries.

Banking, Finance and Insurance

The Firm also represents major international financial institutions, investment funds and merchant and investment banks in connection with their financing and investment activities in Poland. Our lawyers advise clients on such matters as legal due diligence, corporate structuring, tax issues, financing, analysis and preparation of financial documentation. They also counsel insurers and reinsurers on Poland’s evolving statutory mandates.

Privatizations and Restructurings

The Firm represented the acquirer in the first privatization in which a Western firm was permitted to purchase a controlling interest in a former Polish state-owned enterprise. Since then, our lawyers have represented acquiring companies and Polish ministries in privatization processes within the automotive, oil, steel, paper, financial and food sectors.

Tax and Customs

The Warsaw office advises clients on tax planning in connection with foreign investments, mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, joint ventures, securities offerings and other corporate transactions, as well as tax litigation and issues related to value-added (VAT), excise and gambling taxes. The Firm represents taxpayers before fiscal chambers, tax inspection offices, the Administrative Courts and the Constitutional Tribunal. The Warsaw office practice also encompasses customs issues, in particular customs litigation relating to tariff classification and customs value of imported goods before customs offices, customs chambers and the Administrative Courts.

Real Estate Development

The Firm represents international and Polish developers, institutional investors and lenders in connection with office, retail, warehouse, residential and hotel projects throughout Poland. We provide advice on a wide range of legal matters, including tax planning, structuring, due diligence, leasing, financing, acquisition, sale, management and construction. We also have experience in litigating infringements of lease, investment and other real estate contracts.

Energy

Chadbourne lawyers advise power generating utilities, distribution companies, electricity traders and energy market organizations in connection with privatizations, project finance and regulatory issues, as well as with renewable energy and co-generated electricity matters. Our lawyers represent energy companies in cases brought before the Energy Regulatory Authority and the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, as well as before the Supreme Court.

Litigation and Arbitration

Lawyers in the Warsaw office advise clients in complicated, multi-level and multi-jurisdictional litigation cases involving Polish and international corporations and investors, as well as other countries and their institutions. They also have a broad experience in arbitration, mediation and other business dispute resolution practices. Two of our lawyers played a critical role in the establishment of the Arbitration Court at the Polish Confederation of Private Employers LEWIATAN, and one of them is the President of the Polish Arbitration Association.

Representative Experience