Director of legal projects | Bank Pekao
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? The proposed merger of Bank Pekao and Alior Bank – the...
Group general counsel | E-Infra (Electrogrup Infrastructure )
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? At the beginning of the year I took over the role...
General counsel | LUKOIL Romania
What are the unique challenges of working as an in-house lawyer in Romania? In terms of talent, Romanians are very smart, ambitious, innovative and eager to prove themselves as professionals....
General counsel | Skanska Central Europe
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? This year the Skanska Company is implementing a new corporate governance...
General counsel | ITI Neovision
After gaining experience in corporate departments working for leading Polish and international law firms, Agnieszka Gotlibowska-Horoszczak focused on media and telecommunication law. She worked in legal departmens of MTV Networks...
Senior counsel, Poland, Baltic States and PMI SCE | Philip Morris Polska Distribution
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? As of June 2019 I lead legal team for Philip Morris...
Counsel Poland, European Union (EU) department | Philip Morris Polska Distribution
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? Philip Morris is transforming from a company focused on selling cigarettes...
Chief legal officer | Bank Pocztowy
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? In 2018-2019, the Bank has been engaged in two complex proceedings...
Head of legal M&A | Eurocash Group
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? The sale transaction by Eurocash of 100% of shares in PayUp...
Head of legal department | Abstra
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? During my career at Abstra (the largest producer of YouTube video...
Counsel, Poland, European Union (EU) department | Philip Morris Polska Distribution
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? During the last two years I was involved in the project...
Executive director - legal division | Banca Comerciala Romana
Alexandru Berea is one of the key individuals in the senior management team of Banca Comerciala Romana (BCR) – a member of Erste Bank Group – as well as a...
Head of legal | Enel Distributie Romania
To name only few of the reasons for this nomination, Alina Dumitrascu is not only a true professional with impressive legal and regulatory knowledge, she is also a game changer,...
Legal director | Market Construction
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? At my previous company, we managed the establishment of a brand...
Legal director | Carrefour Romania
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? In 2016, Carrefour Romania acquired 86 supermarkets operated by Rewe Group...
Head of legal department | ECO-INVESTMENT
Andrej Farkas is involved in several transactions simultaneously, efficiently organising external lawyers and management of ECO-INVESTMENT and its subsidiaries within the CEE region. He is famous for proposing high-level business-oriented...
Head of legal | SocialTech
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? I joined the SocialTech team in November 2018, and among the...
Director | PZU
Andrzej Gładysz is an extremely experienced in-house lawyer and manager, working in financial markets for 28 years, including participation in the creation of legislation being the basis for insurance activity,...
Head of legal and compliance department | Idea Getin Leasing
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? The merger – registered in February 2018 – between Idea Leasing...
General counsel – global markets | CCC
We are delighted to nominate Anna Atanasow, who is general counsel, global markets at CCC, who has performed her role since 2015 and over this period actively acted in wide...
Legal counsel | Eiffage Polska Serwis
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? Since March 2018 I’ve been involved in the construction of an...
Head of legal and administration | Grupa Pracuj
Anna Kamińska is head of legal and administration in Grupa Pracuj, a leading provider of solutions that help companies with employee recruitment, retainment and development. Kamińska always has an innovative...
General counsel | Ciklum Group
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? I would highlight three projects in the past two years, including...
Head of international legal affairs | First Investment Bank
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? Considering that almost every large transaction naturally involves some sort of...
Regional legal manager | Tenaris Silcotub
If I were to describe Arina Dobrescu in a few words, those would be energetic, compassionate, friendly, hardworking, forward thinker, nature lover, reliable, responsible. I’ve known Dobrescu for more than...
Head of legal department | Eiffage Polska Serwis
How important are “soft skills” or personal attributes outside of technical legal skill, and which “soft skills” do you feel are most important for an in-house lawyer to possess? There...
Head of legal UGI East region | AmeriGas Polska (UGI International Subsidiary)
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? One of the most important transactions I’ve participated in and supported...
Legal and public affairs director - Central South Europe | Michelin
Camelia Nicoara has more than nine years as an in-house lawyer at Michelin. She started her in house career with Michelin in 2005 and after five years as promoted to...
Legal director Poland and Eastern Europe, hygiene and home | RB Poland
Catalin Istrate is an outstanding general counsel, managing the legal issues of RB entities in several jurisdictions. We appreciate a lot his great efforts in ensuring clear and transparent communication...
General counsel | ENERGO-PRO
Christian Blatchford, general counsel for ENERGO-PRO, should, in my opinion be listed amongst the distinguished corporate counsel in (at least) Central and Eastern Europe. Blatchford joined ENERGO-PRO as general counsel...
General legal counsel | VIA SMS group
We are happy to nominate Daiga Muizniece for the GC Powerlist. Over the past 11 years Muizniece has worked in both corporations and big four tax and law firms, covering...
General counsel | AmRest
Dawid Książczak is nominated for managing the legal affairs of AmRest, which is not only the largest CEE food chain operator but also a European company listed in Poland and...
Member of the management board, general counsel | Selvita
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? In 2019 I led a corporate split of Selvita into two...
Legal and corporate affairs director | AB InBev Efes Ukraine
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? The most important project of the previous two years was legal...
General counsel | Aion
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? Participating in the process of the acquisition of a Belgian bank,...
General counsel | Poland Sotheby’s International Realty
What are the characteristics of important transactions that you have been involved in during the last two years? The transaction model in the real estate market is changing into a...
Director, legal and global operations management | Gedeon Richter
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? Setting up from scratch the structure of the global compliance system...
Head of legal department, country legal coordinator | Société Générale Oddział w Polsce
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? I have taken from Societe Generale (SG) London negotiations of ISDA...
Head of legal and compliance department | Alliance Healthcare Romania
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? In the one year since I joined Alliance Healthcare Romania, I...
Country legal manager | Coca-Cola HBC Romania
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? I am very happy that my daily work includes a lot...
Head of legal | Microsoft
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? The role that I have at Microsoft is uniquely structured, as...
Corporate legal director | E.ON Romania
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? Legal and compliance advice on local due diligence process for...
Head of legal department | UniCredit Bank Serbia
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? The Victoria Group restructuring; UŠĆE Tower 2 project finance; K2 project...
Head of legal department Europe Central North | Michelin Polska
Michelin Polska has operated from 1994 and is the largest tyre factory in Poland, as well as one of the largest Michelin plants in the world. It currently has approximately...
Deputy head of legal department | Naftogaz of Ukraine
Ielyzaveta Badanova is an exclusively qualified Ukrainian energy law professional, who is well-experienced in international energy law, EU law, Ukrainian gas market law, and more. She has an excellent career...
Head of legal and corporate affairs | ING Bank Romania
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? When speaking about transactions I must start by saying that a...
General counsel | Raben Ukraine
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? Raben Ukraine conducted a major recent change in corporate structure. An...
Managing director and country head of legal | BNP Paribas Bank Polska
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? My largest project was the acquisition of the core business of...
Director | mBank Hipoteczny
For the last six years Izabela Makowska has held the position of head of legal at mBank Hipoteczny in Warsaw. Overall, she had been working with mBH for nearly 20...
Head of legal (media law) | Ringier Axel Springer Polska
With over 20 years of experience in the media legal sector, Jakub Kudła has had legal support to the company’s Poland daily operations, that often included establishing high profile projects....
Director of sports legal and administration | Legia Warszawa
Jakub Laskowski has worked with Legia Warszawa (the biggest and one of the most successful football club in Poland, which boasts over 100 years of tradition) since 2013. Currently, as...
Head of legal and compliance | Vision Express Polska
Jakub Staśkiewicz is currently head of legal and compliance at Vision Express Polska, the biggest retailer in the Polish market in scope of correction glasses and optical services. He has...
Vice president, legal affairs, risk management and corporate security | Vodafone Czech Republic
Group general counsel and head of the legal office | PKN Orlen
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? The squeeze-out project in relation to the shares of UNIPETROL. An...
Director of the legal department | mBank
I recommend placing Jarosław Wolak in the GC Powerlist. He was able to remain an expert while at the same time become a brisk manager with a keen feeling of...
Head of legal | Polski Fundusz Rozwoju (PFR)
Joanna Blaszczyk stands out amongst general counsel known to me in the way she handles complex projects against tight deadlines. Her role with the Polish Development Fund requires a combination...
General counsel | Orange Polska
[Nominated for] leading the largest acquisition by Orange in Poland of the BlueSoft group, a software company specialising in providing tailored solutions for blue chips. The acquisition strengthens Orange’s skills...
Director of legal, personnel and general affairs | JAT Tehnika
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? Having in mind that Jat Tehnika is a completely state owned...
Head of legal | Globalworth Poland Real Estate
Almost from the beginning of Globalworth’s business activity in Poland, Judyta Sawicka has lead the legal department currently consisting of sixlawyers and provided legal assistance in the real estate acquisitions...
General counsel | Capgemini Polska
Kamila Bury is a very experienced lawyer with experience gained in international law firms and corporations. She is a lawyer who currently supervises the legal affairs of a very large...
Project management lawyer | Panattoni Development Europe
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? One of the most important transactions I was recently finalising was...
General counsel | Skanska Property Poland
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? Amongst others, I have been involved in several divestment transactions with...
Head of legal | Getin Noble Bank
Katarzyna Fidala is head of legal in Getin Noble Bank, she has extensive experience in the banking sector as a former head of legal at Deutsche Bank PBC. She specialised...
Legal counsel | G2A.COM
How important have “soft skills” or personal attributes outside of technical legal skill been to the team’s success, and which “soft skills” do you feel are most important for an...
Legal and compliance director CEE | Bayer
Krzysztof Mazurek is a highly experienced lawyer, being focused on pharmaceutical and life science issues throughout his well thought-out career. He has gained knowledge holding positions in distinguished international law...
General counsel | Pfleiderer Group
Krzysztof Nowak is recognised as an entrepreneurial, results-oriented legal adviser with extensive experience and unique technical skills. Nowak [has shown] unique expertise in analysing, structuring, negotiating and closing complex transactions,...
Head of legal | Sanofi Ukraine
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? The previous two years appeared to be extremely active in terms...
Chief legal counsel | MET Hungary
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? I am very happy and proud to have participated in the...
Legal and external affairs director | Vodafone Romania
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? Vodafone Romania’s now finalised acquisition of UPC Romania, announced on 1...
Legal and security director – Czech Republic and Slovakia | Coca-Cola HBC Česko a Slovensko
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? In 2018 Coca-Cola HBC Česko a Slovensko stepped into a totally...
General counsel, business integrity officer | Unilever Poland and Baltics
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? Starting from a transactional perspective I can mention the spreads business...
Head of legal | EuroCash Group
Maciej Czajkowski is the head of legal, in charge of implementing and executing major processes [of Eurocash Group], varying from data protection to employment and restructuring. He is a well-versed...
Head of legal | RealCo Property Investment and Development
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? I have been involved in the investment process regarding “Młyn Maria”...
Head of legal | OLX Poland
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? In the last two years, OLX operations in Poland mainly focused...
General counsel | Mota-Engil Central Europe
Magdalena Cholewa-Klimek is a business oriented legal professional with more than 15 years of experience, working for companies in the construction and real estate sectors of the Central and Eastern...
Head of legal services Central Europe | DP DHL
DP DHL Group is the world’s largest multinational package delivery and supply chain management company, that operates in over 220 countries and has more than 400,000 employees. Małgorzata Klukowska is...
Chief legal and compliance officer | Oknoplast
It is a great pleasure to nominate Marcin Bryniarski for a GC Powerlist as an outstanding and experienced counsel serving in the position of chief of legal and compliance officer...
Head of legal department and commercial proxy | METRO PROPERTIES
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? Strategy development, implementation, organisation and management of the Praktiker Polska debtor...
Head of legal | Sapiency
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? The transaction involving the acquisition of Dotpay by Nets Denmark. How...
Bank director, head of legal services area | Santander Bank Polska
Marcin Prell is a top legal counsel who was responsible for creation of the main legal department teams in top Poland-based banks from 1992 until today. He started at Wielkopolski...
Head of legal department | Nest Bank
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? During the last two years in Nest Bank, we’ve faced a...
Head of legal | MetLife Slovakia
Maria Paszto is a very competent and professional lawyer with extensive experience in the insurance industry.
Head of legal, compliance and antitrust | MediaMarkt Polska Group (Media Saturn Holding Polska)
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? As the head of legal, compliance and antitrust at MediaMarkt Polska...
Regional legal counsel | Ferrero
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? I have assisted in introduction of several new Ferrero products on...
Legal head | Novartis
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? At Novartis Romania, we are committed to improving the wellbeing of...
Chief legal officer | LS Airport Services
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? There are a number of agreements I’ve been involved with. Among...
In-house lawyer | FORTUNA
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? I’ve played a central role in establishing the in-house legal practice...
Head of legal and compliance department | A&D Pharma (part of DR Max Group)
Deputy head of legal division | Banca Transilvania
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? Although every transaction is relevant in its own way and it...
Legal and compliance manager | Arctic
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? An important project is WEEE management (waste electrical and electronic management)....
Chief law officer | A-100 Development
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? The A-100 Development group of companies is one of the most...
Head of law department and compliance officer | Henkel Ukraine
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? For the last two years we have had a tremendous number...
Counsel European Union (EU) department | Philip Morris Polska Distribution
Patrycja Poppe is a well-versed business-oriented lawyer who knows precisely what is needed and how it should be delivered. She is always available for additional questions. She has very good...
Managing director of legal and operational division, general counsel | Bank Ochrony Srodowiska
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? Three significant transactions include successfully renegotiating the leasing agreement for the...
Chief legal officer | Operator Chmury Krajowej (Domestic Cloud Provider)
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? The management of legal services and strategic negotiations regarding an agreement...
General counsel | Onwelo
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? I am responsible for providing sophisticated legal and compliance advice in...
Legal counsel CE | Fox Network Group Poland (integrating The Walt Disney Company CEE)
How important are “soft skills” or personal attributes outside of technical legal skill, and which “soft skills” do you feel are most important for an in-house lawyer to possess? In...
Chief counsel, business, IP and privacy | CD Projekt
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? I was involved in negotiation of a contract with Keanu Reeves...
Chief operations officer | EPP
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? The acquisition of 12 major shopping centres and retail parks in...
Legal and compliance manager - LG Electronics Central Europe | LG Electronics
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? A case in the field of labour law regarding the employer’s...
Legal and international affairs director, member of the management board | F.B.I. TASBUD
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? I think is really difficult to choose clearly the most important...
Director, legal department | Centralny Ośrodek Informatyki
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? Navigating complex negotiations between several parties with opposing interests regarding intellectual...
Head of legal | G2A.COM
Stanisław Sopel has been at G2A for nearly three years, and as head of legal is a member of G2A’s board responsible for the company’s growth. He also sits on...
CEE legal counsel | AbbVie
Stefania Dinu is an incredible lawyer with a wealth of experience in the pharmaceutical sector. She has a great power in interacting with the business and combining the legal advice...
Head of legal | Samsung Electronics Polska
We are pleased to nominate Tadeusz Szymaniec for this year’s GC Powerlist as an outstanding and experienced counsel serving position of head of legal in Samsung Electronics. We have worked...
Head of legal and public policy | Volkswagen
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? I was responsible for acquiring multiple strategic plots of land for...
Vice general counsel | Polskie Górnictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo (PGNiG)
Tobiasz Szychowski has gained his experience at major law entities, in particular being a head of litigation and ADR department at one of the largest Polish law firms for over...
Senior counsel | Citi
Tomasz Krajewski is one of the most competent and innovative in-house lawyers operating in the Polish banking sector. He is actively involved in the implementation of open banking solutions in...
General counsel | Tauron Polska Energia
Since the beginning of 2017, Urszula Wiśniewska has worked as a chief legal officer, [managing] a team of 120 lawyers and specialists from one of the largest capital groups in...
Head of legal department | PKO Bank Polski
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? I would say that the most important challenge in the field...
General counsel Poland | Siemens Poland
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? The legal team supported all major Siemens infrastructure projects in Poland...
Director for legal affairs and government relations | Naftogaz of Ukraine
Yaroslav Teklyuk is a highly qualified Ukrainian lawyer, well experienced in numerous areas, including litigation, bankruptcy and restructuring, energy and tax laws. Previously, he worked at Vasil Kisil and Partners,...
Director of legal and compliance department | wonga.pl
What changes have you made to the workings of the legal department during your time in your current role? How has that affected the wider company? I have been working...
Since first being published as The Corporate Counsel 100, The Legal 500’s GC Powerlist series has grown exponentially since its beginnings in 2013. It started by covering four of the world’s most established legal markets, and whilst the core objective of the publication – highlighting the most capable, outstanding and innovative in-house counsel in a jurisdiction – has remained the same, the reach and scope of the GC Powerlist has since become almost unrecognisable. Now present in a vast array of jurisdictions and with a portfolio of 70 unique editions, the GC Powerlist series has firmly been established as the “go-to” title that assesses and features leading corporate counsel across the globe.
Now, we at The Legal 500 are evolving the GC Powerlist series even further, deepening our commitment to highlighting and exploring issues and challenges at the forefront of the minds of leading in-house lawyers. Therefore, this and future editions of the GC Powerlist will have a very different look to their predecessors. Instead of profiling individual counsel or in-house legal teams, more incisive insights from in-house thought leaders on the topics of the day will be featured extensively throughout our new look GC Powerlist publications.
With an abundance of feedback from senior in-house legal professionals across Central and Eastern Europe as well as their counterparts in private practice, this year’s edition of the GC Powerlist: Central and Eastern Europe is the largest ever by some distance. In addition to in-depth qualitative information via interviews, we also obtained feedback in the form of a short survey, offering concise information about some of the most important topics in market. The results can be seen on the opposite page in chart format.
As the data shows, a large percentage of respondents indicated they were part of the management structure or executive committee of their organisation. Thus, it can be seen that amongst CEE in-house lawyers, there is a high degree of integration between legal and decision making processes in their organisations, showing how entrusted the senior in-house lawyer has become in the region. The second question evinces a clear majority of respondents increased interaction with the business thanks to threats of cybersecurity breaches and data protection issues, indicating these well-publicised and dangerous matters could serve as an opportunity for in-house counsel to further integrate with business colleagues. The third question relates to usage of law firms, and qualities that CEE based counsel would prefer to see demonstrated by them. The results show that business alignment and organisational understanding is the quality prized by most respondents, with communication and resourcing the next two most popular, showing that the law firm in CEE who best understands a client would be most likely to win business in the region. All of these topics – as well as several others – are afforded more in-depth analysis and discussion within these pages, and can be found within the interview transcripts within this publication, as well as in the nominator quotes provided by our sources.
It was my pleasure to speak to and extensively interview CEE-based counsel, each with their own priorities and challenges, and I would like to thank our sponsors – EY Law and Zięba & Partners – for supporting this publication. I’d also like to thank our extensive network of law firm partners and in-house counsel in the region whose opinions we canvassed during the course of the research. Of course, feedback is valuable and welcomed, so if there are any comments or suggestions please feel free to get in touch with these.
Last but not least, I would like to congratulate all those featured in this year’s list. Their selection means they have been identified as in-house counsel who are amongst the standard bearers of the profession, and as specialists who confront and manage commercial and legal challenges in a way that marks them as market leaders.
EY is proud to be supporting The Legal 500 GC Powerlist: Central and Eastern Europe. In this event, we are celebrating the recognition of in-house counsel in a region which is steadily gaining in importance in terms of inbound investment and geopolitical status.
Congratulations to those who participated in this effort, to general counsel who submitted their profiles and achievements and to The Legal 500 staff for their hard work in evaluating and ranking these submissions.
The in-house legal function is being disrupted every day. Legal issues are becoming complicated and extremely demanding, the leadership of organisations is relying on the GCO in order to navigate through new areas of risk and to reach creative solutions. Moreover, technology is changing completely all the traditional areas of this function, in terms of workflow, delivery of service and communication with counterparties, recipients of the service and external counsel. Moreover, data is becoming a critical issue in terms of monetization, design, privacy and management of cyber risk.
This already challenging landscape is further disrupted by geopolitical developments with a global impact which affect CEE significantly for historic and commercial reasons. It should not be forgotten that a number of countries in this geography have been part of the EU for less than two decades while others are in the process of modernisation.
Identifying challenges is not enough for GCs in this region. They must constantly adapt and show agility, transforming themselves and members of the function. More importantly, they must educate other stakeholders within the organisation to ensure compliance and conformity with legislative amendments, global tax initiatives or political actions like sanctions and trade measures. They must work hard to convince colleagues and C-suite executives to act proactively instead of retroactively, whilst ensuring that the commercial objectives and competitiveness of their organisation is not overly compromised. Finally, they are key drivers in the creation of a culture embracing acceptance, diversity, gender equality and work-life balance.
EY has worked hard to understand the concerns and objectives of the GCO. For this reason, we have been investing heavily in order to create a “Better Working World” for in–house counsel. The acquisition of Riverview Law in 2018 and Pangea 3 in 2019 has given us a market leading ability to reimagine and redesign this function. Our service model has expanded empowering us to work with the GCO in order to respond to the above challenges.
We have significantly strengthened our legal advisory capabilities in core areas like labour and employment law, financial services law, transactions law, digital law and corporate and commercial law. Building on our multidisciplinary model, we can bring to any GC the whole range of the EY services.
In addition, we have embedded Legal Function Consulting, our Legal Operations Platform and Forensic and Integrity Services into our service offering to the GCO. With Legal Function Consulting, we aim to assist GCs in their task to optimise their resources and improve the productivity and quality review of their function. This transformation exercise creates the need for new tools that will enable the GC to achieve the envisaged results. One of these tools, is our Legal Operations Platform, a modular and bespoke solution, the backbone of a contemporary in-ouse legal function, tailored to the needs of any organisation, of any size, language or cross-border presence.
Finally, the continuous strive for transparency and integrity has been the driving force behind the close co-operation between EY Law and EY Forensic and Integrity Services, enabling GCs to process and review bulk data and conduct forensic analysis. We hope that our services will continue to make your life easier and will enable you to spend your valuable time where it most needed.
This event is for all of you. The people and the teams which are leading the way, pushing for innovation, quality, excellence. Congratulations to all of you. This recognition will most certainly work as a stimulus for further progress and hard work in the interests of your organisations.
Another year has flown by and we again find ourselves celebrating the achievements of in-house lawyers. We, as a firm, and I personally, am proud and delighted to be involved in this cause for another year, having sponsored The Legal 500 GC Powerlist: CEE since its inception in 2017.
A lot has happened in the last year to make the role of a CEE general counsel even more challenging. In Poland alone, we have faced significant changes to criminal and civil procedures, the VAT system, employment law, and real estate ownership rights.
The title ‘GC Powerlist: CEE’ is deceptive, as it suggests that general counsel in CEE only operate in the Central and Eastern Europe region, which fails to reflect the fact that Polish and CEE companies are becoming more and more global. As a private practice lawyer, I have seen a dramatic change in the nature of our assistance. Five years ago, approximately 75% of our work was of a domestic nature, with the remaining being international. Today, that proportion is completely flipped, with 75% of our work being international. For a CEE general counsel, the consequence of this is significant, resulting in a multiplication of duties and tasks. In the past it may have been enough for a CEE in-house lawyer to focus on the home and immediate neighbouring markets, however, today it is imperative for a CEE general counsel to be abreast of global changes.
And the global economic climate isn’t making a general counsel’s life easy. Ongoing topics such as Brexit and sanctions against China are having a wide impact on CEE businesses. Add to the mix the pressures of efficiency and the introduction of new technology, and you have a general counsel facing a highly challenging and shifting environment.
The GC Powerlist: CEE is a “who’s who” of senior in-house lawyers who have demonstrated that they are able to not only face but succeed in this challenging world, and have shown vision and purpose in doing so. They add real commercial value to their businesses and are increasingly recognised at the highest level. A number of the GCs listed already occupy seats at the boardroom table.
The GC Powerlist: CEE is a definitive line-up of the most innovative, focused and solution-minded in-house lawyers in the region, and we at Zięba & Partners look forward to the possibility of meeting and, where possible, working with this group of leading individuals.
Our sincere congratulations to all those featured.
For the third consecutive year, Legal 500 partnered with Red Legal Iberoamericana to celebrate the very best in-house counsel from across Europe who dedicate their efforts to the vibrant region of Latin America. In fact, these lawyers possess a unique set of skills that enables them to navigate the challenges and diversity of Latin America in an agile and well-versed manner.
The event took place at the Hotel Wellington in the elegant city of Madrid, Spain, on 7th November 2024. Attendees were welcomed by Sara Maggi, senior editor — research and content at Legal 500, who congratulated all the powerlisters for their contributions to business across Latin America and emphasised the importance of recognising such exceptional lawyers.
Julio Veloso, partner at Broseta Abogados, then took the stage. After offering his congratulations, he invited Alejandro Sainz, senior partner at Sainz Abogados, to join him on stage. They reiterated their pride in sponsoring this research and publication, which recognises unmatched talent.
Santiago González Pérez, vice president and senior employment counsel for EMEA at American Express, shared an in-house perspective on the challenges of working in-house and managing client expectations while operating in a business environment. He also highlighted the importance of being recognised by such prestigious publications.
The evening continued with a cocktail reception featuring drinks and canapés, alongside networking opportunities between talented peers. The event was a great success, and we look forward to next year, as we continue to recognise the efforts of Latin American specialists based across Europe.
