GESSEL Attorneys at Law

Competition/Antitrust, Compliance

Bernadeta is an attorney at law and a partner at GESSEL. Expert in competition and consumer protection law, with a unique track record featuring private practice as well as the public sector. Worked at the Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) for a total of 13 years, most recently (2014-2017) as Vice President charged with three departments – Concentration Control, Competition Protection, and Legal.

After a brief period as a junior judge, Bernadeta developed an interest in competition law, then a new discipline in early 1990s Poland. After her first stint at UOKiK, she spent one year leading the legal department of UPC and then joined GESSEL in 2001.

In 2014, after moving to the head office of UOKiK, she oversaw the authority’s activities in the realms of corporate concentrations, market collusions, and abuse of dominant market positions. Propagated compliance culture; initiated and oversaw preparation of two publications recognised by the World Bank and the International Competition Network (in, respectively, 2016 and 2017) in contests for the best educational / information project in the field of competition law: guidelines concerning funerary services and municipal water and sewage utilities.

In 2017, returned to GESSEL, becoming a partner and building up the firm’s competition and consumer law practice. Advises clients on cases concerning mergers, market agreements, abuse of dominant market position, abuse of contracting advantage, and payment backlogs.

English

Faculty of Law and Administration, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan Judge’s training articles with the Regional Court in Poznan; called to the bar as a judge, admitted practicing as an attorney

Active in amateur theatre, avid reader and pianist, gardener.