On 1 January 2022, Anna Flaga-Martynek (infrastructure projects), Marta Midloch (infrastructure projects and capital markets), Marcin Smolarek (banking and finance), Maciej Szambelańczyk (energy), Anna Wojciechowska (company law and corporate governance) and Anna Wyrzykowska (real estate and property development) joined the ranks of WKB’s equity partners.

The following counsels were nominated to partners: Agata Szczepańczyk-Piwek (capital markets and financial services), Sergiusz Urban (environmental law) and Jordan Zafirow (dispute resolution).

Promotions to counsel were granted to Wojciech Kulczyk (competition and consumer law), Bartosz Łaski (real estate and property development) and Krzysztof Sikorski (energy).

It is greatly satisfying for our firm to be able to promote such a large group of people who have been involved with WKB for so many years. The new equity partners, partners, and counsels have proved, through their hard work, commitment, knowledge, and legal imagination, that they are experts on the market and of excellent value to the firm. I congratulate every one of them on their well-deserved promotions – said Jerzy Baehr, managing partner at WKB.

We are promoting five great female lawyers who successfully manage crucial practices at WKB. Four of them join the ranks of WKB’s equity partners. We consistently support women’s careers, and they make up more than half of WKB’s entire team – added Agnieszka Wiercińska-Krużewska, an equity partner at WKB.

New equity partners:

Anna Flaga-Martynek has worked with WKB since 2005. She began her career as a first-year trainee attorney-at-law in the litigation department and, over time, due to the profile of the clients she worked with, she became involved in infrastructure investments. Her experience in solving disputes and deep interest in the technical side of each project helped her build a position as a pragmatic, effective and business-oriented advisor. Anna specializes in advising clients on their strategic infrastructure projects, at all stages, in the sectors such as energy, roads, aviation, construction, waste management, and water and sewage.

Marta Midloch joined WKB in 2014. The first project which she advised on independently as part of WKB was the construction of the Potęgowo wind farm (over 100 MW). She specialises in advising on significant infrastructure projects, such as the construction of a power unit, a streetcar depot or dozen winds and photovoltaic farms. Among the clients, she works with  TAURON, EUROWIND, and KGAL, as well as TOTO Costruzioni Generali and MPK in Poznań. She is known for establishing lasting, trust-based relationships, which make it possible to effectively support clients in the most demanding projects, and to build a competent and inspiring team, which is the foundation for responsible and unconventional consulting.

Marcin Smolarek has practiced banking law for 20 years. He joined WKB over 5 years ago after working for many years’ on strategic projects at a leading Polish law firm. His position on the market has allowed him to successfully strengthen WKB’s banking practice, which now consists of twelve lawyers and is ready to simultaneously manage numerous projects in the broad field of financing. Apart from advising banks or borrowers on financing projects, Marcin also advises on debt restructuring, securitisation, debt trading, and the lending sector.

Maciej Szambelańczyk has been with WKB since its start in 2004. He gained his energy law experience alongside Jerzy Baehr, PhD. The team they lead is regarded as one of the best in Poland. Maciej’s experience includes restructuring projects in the power industry and investments in new energy generation sources. For years he has advised both domestic and foreign investors on the acquisition and development of renewable energy projects in Poland. Every year, he is recommended in the energy law field by, among others, Chambers Europe. He has taken part, as a representative of industry associations, in numerous legislative works on the power sector, including on the Law on Renewable Energy Sources, the Law Concerning Offshore Wind Energy, or the Law on Electromobility.

Anna Wojciechowska has 20 years of professional experience. She joined WKB in 2013 and a year later took over supervision of the company law and corporate governance practice. Anna holds Polish and German law degree and specialises in advising clients from the DACH market. She also heads the German Desk. Anna specializes in advising on corporate reorganizations, including mergers, divisions, and transformations of companies. She advises foreign investors on expanding into the Polish market. She has taken part in strategic corporate projects for both foreign and domestic clients, and has worked for, among others, the Bauer Media Group, the EDF Group, ENEA, Gaz System, PZU, PKO BP, CEZ, Energix Renewable Energies, Polskie ePłatności, Ryanair, Stock, ABB/Hitachi, BC Bavarian Candles, and Hochtief. In her work, she emphasizes teamwork, building long-term relationships with clients and co-workers, and also values a friendly work environment.

Anna Wyrzykowska joined WKB in 2012 and worked with the M&A/corporate and real estate teams. In 2017 she became head of the real estate and property development practice, as well as leading the French Desk. She has taken part in many M&A and real estate projects, advising Stena Recycling, BNP Paribas, Stock Spirits, Beiersdorf/Nivea Polska, PKO BP, Panattoni, Accolade, ING Lease, Miele, Karl Lagerfeld, Marc O’Polo, Lotte Wedel, Benson Elliot/Schroeder, and Nokia, among others. As the first Polish woman in history, she was elected President of one of the largest legal organizations in the world – the International Association of Young Lawyers (AIJA). Since January 2020, she is also an officer of the Real Estate Section of the International Bar Association. She is one of the key individuals at WKB cultivating the firm’s strategic international relationships. Her life is one of constant travel.

New partners:

Agata Szczepańczyk-Piwek has been advising clients on financial projects for over 15 years and has been with WKB since early 2017. She began her work with the firm as a member of the banking and finance team, and over time become a co-head of the capital markets practice. Agata specialises in legal and regulatory matters concerning the activities of financial institutions. She also advises on bond issues. Her most interesting recent projects include providing regulatory support for one of the largest financial groups in Poland in developing an optimal business model for the group, regulatory advice to Aviva on the sale of its Polish business to Allianz, and supporting mBank Hipoteczny in issuing bonds and mortgage bonds.

Sergiusz Urban, PhD joined WKB in 2011 and since then has been heading the environmental law practice. He has a thorough understanding of environmentally sensitive industry sectors such as energy, chemical, waste, water, sewage, and construction. He is particularly interested in issues relating to waste management, environmental impact assessments, emission permits, and administrative proceedings.  He has advised, among others: Verizon, BIC, Tauron, PGE, Miele, Valeo, ENERIS, Energix, FBserwis, Stock, Orlen, Raben, Sharp, and TGE. Sergiusz combines his expert work with academic activity and is the author or co-author of dozen academic and popularizing publications.

Jordan Zafirow joined WKB in 2010, and through the years becoming one of the key members of the dispute resolution team. Before coming to WKB, Jordan already had years of experience in litigation and arbitration, as well as day-to-day support for business entities. Jordan specialises in advising on complex infrastructure projects. He advised on strategic projects for such clients as PORR S.A., Webuild S.p.A., Bilfinger Tebodin, Aldesa Construcciones and PUT Intercor.

New counsels:

Wojciech Kulczyk joined WKB in 2010. He advises clients on the full range of competition law issues (including cartels, distribution agreements and other vertical relationships, as well as practices constituting an abuse of a dominant position). Wojciech handles coordinating WKB’s work on complex merger control proceedings as well as certain investment control proceedings and is regarded as one of the leading specialists in this field in Poland. In recent years, he has been involved in some of the most important merger control cases, including complex proceedings conducted by the President of UOKiK during their, so-called, phase II.

Bartosz Łaski joined WKB in 2019. He specialises in commercial real estate and construction law. He has extensive experience in advising on real estate transactions (e.g., the disposal or acquisition of real estate or special purpose vehicles), where he has represented both developers and investment funds. Bartosz has advised clients in the industrial, office and residential real estate markets, among others.

Krzysztof Sikorski joined WKB in 2011. He specialises in energy law and energy project development issues, with a particular focus on renewable energy sources. Krzysztof advises energy companies on their day-to-day operations as well as infrastructure and municipal sector entities. Advising on the establishment of a power distribution system operator within an existing generation facility, enabling support for 130 MW project, has been one of the most challenging and interesting works.