Working with foreign law firms

Yes — that is the foundation of our cooperation. We do not contact your client beyond the scope of the entrusted matter and do not take over the relationship. The client stays your client from day one to the close of the matter. This holds whether we work one-off or as your standing team. Your firm remains the sole owner of the client relationship.

We work on a non-solicitation basis and treat your firm as the client. In practice that means we do not offer your client our own services and do not approach them beyond the matter. We agree the scope of client contact with you in advance. If the client comes to us directly, we refer them back to you. We do not build our own commercial relationship with your client after the matter ends.

We report to you, not over your head. Every arrangement, filing and procedural decision reaches your team first. That is the condition for the long-term trust we care about more than any single matter. The model of working with foreign firms only works when the partner is sure their relationship is safe.

In the model that suits you and fits the ethics rules: an hourly rate, a project quote or an agreed fee split where it is permitted. We choose the model together with you, depending on the type of matter and how you bill your own client. We always start by asking what is convenient for you to bill against.

An hourly rate suits matters with an unpredictable course, for example litigation. A project quote gives you cost certainty up front — for due diligence, an opinion or a standard transaction. We can also combine models — say, a retainer for day-to-day support and an hourly rate for disputes. A fee split we use only where the ethics rules of both sides allow it.

The rules on sharing fees between lawyers differ by jurisdiction, so we settle this at the outset, transparently and in writing. We record the rates, the scope and the billing method before we start work. We add no hidden mark-ups or charges you don't know about in advance. That way the cost of the Polish side of the matter stays predictable for you.

Polish, English and German — in speech, in documents and in reporting. All communication with your team can run in your working language, with no intermediary. In practice you don't need your own translator to deal with us. Calls, conference calls and day-to-day arrangements run in English or German, as you prefer. We can also join calls with your client, if you want a Polish lawyer present.

We correspond and draft documents in your working language. Proceedings before a Polish court run in Polish — court filings are submitted in Polish, as procedure requires. We translate and explain every such filing, so you know what was submitted and why. We translate legal terminology functionally, giving the Polish term and its meaning.

We write case-status reports in your language and in the format you are used to. When enforcing a foreign judgment, foreign-language documents require a sworn translation into Polish — we arrange it and keep the deadlines. If a third language comes into the matter, we arrange the translation so your team can keep working in English or German. That way you never lose control of the substance of the matter at any stage.

Yes — we prepare legal opinions on Polish law for transactions, financings and proceedings. An opinion confirms in writing how a given question stands under Polish law, for your team and the other side. We issue it under the firm's name and the signature of the attorney-at-law or advocate running the matter. It is not a general comment but a position you can rely on in practice.

Most often they concern the capacity and authority of a Polish company, the validity of security or the enforceability of obligations in a contract. In a financing, the opinion is usually a condition for the bank or investor to release funds. The scope of each opinion depends on the questions the other side expects answered. We can also update it if circumstances change between agreement and closing.

We prepare the opinions in a standard accepted by foreign parties and financing institutions, with clearly stated assumptions and reservations. We spell out every assumption and carve-out, so the other side knows what we take responsibility for. If you need an opinion for a specific transaction, we tailor its scope to the other side's requirements. We set the form, addressee and cut-off date to fit your transaction's timetable.

We enforce a foreign ruling in Poland by one of three routes, depending on its source: an EU judgment under the Brussels I bis Regulation, an arbitral award under the 1958 New York Convention, and a non-EU judgment through recognition-and-enforcement proceedings. Each route ends in enforcement carried out by a Polish court bailiff.

A judgment from another EU state is enforceable in Poland without a separate declaration of enforceability. You need the judgment and a certificate from the court of origin — with those we go straight to a Polish bailiff. The debtor can object, but the burden of starting that dispute is on them, not on you. In practice the path from a complete set of documents to the start of enforcement is short.

For arbitral awards and non-EU rulings we run recognition-and-enforcement proceedings before a Polish court. The 1958 New York Convention narrows the grounds for refusing recognition of an arbitral award to a limited list, which makes them relatively predictable. The court does not re-examine the merits — it checks only the grounds for recognition. Once we obtain the enforcement clause or the recognition order, we move the matter to bailiff enforcement.

For urgent matters — an interim injunction or a running procedural deadline — we respond within one to two working days. In that time we confirm whether we can step in and set out the first steps. We give urgent matters priority over work with a flexible deadline. It does not mean we file a pleading in two days — it means the matter is in the team's hands within that window.

The first step is always a conflict check — we don't move without it. In parallel we establish which deadline is running and how much time is really left. If it is about to lapse or an injunction is needed, we prioritise the matter and tell you at once what we need from your side. We also say honestly when there is too little time to prepare something properly.

To step into an urgent matter we usually need a power of attorney, the basic case documents and the other side's details. An application for an injunction can be filed quickly, provided we have the full picture. If the matter needs documents translated, we start that at once, alongside preparing the application. The sooner you reach out, the more options stay on the table — with court deadlines, days count, not weeks.

Before taking on a matter we run a conflict check, and we protect confidentiality under the ethics rules of the Polish bar of advocates and attorneys-at-law. Both duties follow directly from the codes of professional ethics, not only from our contract with you. It is the standard foreign firms expect from a Polish partner.

We check for conflicts before we learn the details — against the parties and related entities you name for us. Anything you pass us at this stage is already covered by confidentiality. If we find a conflict, we say so immediately and either decline the matter or propose a solution consistent with the ethics rules. In an ongoing relationship we run this check separately for each new matter.

We treat your client's information as professional secrecy and do not use it beyond the entrusted matter. The professional secrecy of an attorney-at-law and an advocate is protected by statute in Poland and unlimited in time. The duty to keep it continues after the matter ends. We limit access to the case materials to the people actually working on it. That way your client is protected to the same standard as with you.

Yes — we regularly work for firms and clients from the US, the UK and other non-EU markets. A non-EU matter does not change our role: we run the Polish part and report to you. For many such firms we are the first point of contact when their client's matter touches Poland. Working outside the EU is routine for us, not an exception.

We know the procedural and evidentiary differences between the Polish system and common law and explain them to your team, so there are no surprises. Polish civil procedure has no broad discovery — documents are gathered differently, and the court has more control over the taking of evidence. A witness is examined under Polish rules, not in the style of cross-examination. We show each such difference on a concrete example from your matter.

We flag these differences at the outset, before they become a problem mid-matter. We also explain how enforcing a non-EU ruling works in Poland — through recognition-and-enforcement proceedings before a court. Where it matters, we point out the tax or sanctions consequences on the Polish side. That way your team and client know what to expect.

Most often: disputes and enforcement in Poland, the Polish side of transactions and due diligence, setting up entities, and opinions on Polish law. These are the four areas where a foreign firm most often needs a local partner. Less frequently but regularly, employment, real-estate and regulatory matters with a Polish element come up too.

In disputes we act as local counsel before a Polish court or in arbitration and carry the matter through to enforcement. In transactions we run the Polish side — negotiations, documentation and closing — plus due diligence on Polish entities and assets. We also set up companies and branches for foreign clients and issue opinions on Polish law. In each of these we stay coordinated with your lead counsel.

They share one thing — the need for a team that knows the Polish reality and can explain it in your language. We fit the scope to the specific matter, from a single step to full conduct of the case. If we don't do something in-house, we say so and point you to the right specialist. That arrangement protects your reputation with the client, because someone who genuinely knows it stands behind the Polish part.