Author: ts_pm

We make things happen! What started out 20 years ago as a small team of lawyers has grown to become one of the largest law firms in Poland. Today it provides its services to top companies in key business sectors.

GWW was founded by five lawyers in the mid-1990s, which in Central Europe was a time of intensive social and economic transition.  

They started their practice with advising on IPOs and in the telecom and real estate sectors. At that time they could not have imagined that in 20 years they would become the leader in TMT (telecom, media and new technologies) legal consulting, with a tax practice ranked among the best tax consulting firms in the country. The two above areas of practice developed on the foundation laid by cooperation with the top Polish broadband, fixed-line, DTV and mobile providers, such UPC, Netia, pay-TV provider Cyfrowy Polsat (Polkomtel), Play or Orange Polska. It is worth noting that GWW is a free-standing company and not a part of a multinational corporation.

The GWW law firm is always ready to take on new challenges. It has acquired unique expertise in the energy and TSL sectors, transactions on the real estate market and facilitation of the investment process. Apart from a long list of clients and referrals, it can boast numerous awards and distinctions in both Polish and international rankings of law firms. The story of GWW proves that the most important success factors in corporate advisory are: the sense of responsibility stemming from strongly identifying with the clients best interest, the courage to think outside the box when analysing regulations and to offer a strategic vision for the clients business.

GWW BRANDS

 KEY CLIENTS

• Cyfrowy Polsat – Polish DTH platform, a member of Cyfrowy Polsat Capital Group
• Polkomtel – one of the largest mobile communications operators in Poland, a member of Cyfrowy Polsat Capital Group
• Orange Polska
• UPC Polska – one of the largest digital cable television and broadband Internet providers in Poland
• PKN Orlen – Orlen Group is the largest producer and distributor of petroleum products and petrochemical products in Poland
• Polish Oil and Gas Company (PGNiG) – gas market leader in Poland
• Polish Railways (PKP PLK) – PKP Group company responsible for managing the state-owned railway network in Poland
• Amica – leading maker of household appliances on the Polish market
• Boston Consulting Group
• mBank (BRE Welth Management)
• Polski Holding NieruchomoÊci – one of the largest groups in the commercial property sector in Poland in terms of the market value of its portfolio
• USP Zdrowie – innovative supplier of over-the-counter medicine

 

PRACTICE AREAS

• Capital markets
• Competition
• Dispute resolution
• Employment
• Energy and natural resources
• Infrastructure
• Investment and construction process
• IP rights & IT technologies
• Mergers & Acquisitions
• Pharmaceuticals
• Private client (HNWI)
• Real property
• Sports
• Taxes
• Telecommunications
• Transfer pricing
• TSL (Transport, Shipping, Logistics)

For the tenth time now, the editors of “Rzeczpospolita”, a leading business daily, announced their awards for best tax advisory firms and best tax specialists. In the current edition of the Ranking, the tax practice at GWW, run under the GWW Tax brand, received the prestigious “Transaction of the Year” award.

The new ranking category evaluates firms providing tax services for high-profile transactions and GWW Tax was the proud recipient of the “Transaction of the Year” award. The title went to the team headed by attorney Andrzej Próchnicki for their assistance to the Cyfrowy Polsat Group with refinancing the PLN 11.5 billion debt incurred by the companies that currently form part of the Group, among other things for the purpose of acquiring Polkomtel (leading cell phone provider in Poland). It represents the largest refinancing of a single capital group in the history of the Polish banking sector. The selections were made by the Ranking Jury led by Prof. Hanna Litwińczuk, which brings together renowned representatives of the world of science, entrepreneurs’ organisations and members of the National Board of Tax Advisors.

Furthermore, GWW Tax achieved:

• 9th place in the revenue listing.
• 9th place in the listing of tax advisors most frequently selected by companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
• 11th place in the quantitative listing, which takes into account the number of tax advisors (the Ranking covered 66 of the largest tax advisory firms).

We are particularly honoured about the annual recommendations for the Law Firm and individual GWW lawyers in areas of law connected with regulated sectors: TMT as well as energy law and natural resources. In this year’s Ranking:

• 1st place and the title of leader went to our TMT Team;
• the title of “recommended lawyer” was awarded to attorney Rafał Duczek (TMT) and attorney Wacław Knopkiewicz (Energy and Natural Resources Law) / who has held this title since 2012;
• the title of “recommended firm” in the Energy and Natural Resources Law category, which we have held continuously since 2011.

Legal 500 EMEA also awarded recommendations to GWW in the following areas:

• Taxes – 2nd place in the listing of recommended firms, consistently since 2012;
• Real Estate and the Construction Industry;
• Corporate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions | in “Other recommended firms”.

The following GWW team members were listed as recommended individual lawyers:

TMT
•    Rafał Duczek
Energy and Natural Resources
•    Wacław Knopkiewicz
Tax
•    Artur Cmoch
•    Andrzej Ladziński
•    Andrzej Próchnicki
•    Leszek Białoń
Real Estate & Construction
•    Jacek Wilczewski
•    Stanisław Grynhoff

Complete ranking results are available on the website of Legalease.

On 14 April 2016, the Supreme Court granted the last-resort appeal lodged by GWW on behalf of a group of producers. Consequently, proceedings in this case, after a year-long dispute, were successfully resolved by the Supreme Court, who ruled in favour of GWW’s Clients (case ref.: IV CSK 593/15).

The Clients now have the green light for the court of second instance to take into account the value of the blueberry bushes planted on the properties of the other party as a shared asset subject to division. Furthermore, in hearing the case again, in allocating the shared assets, the court of second instance will have to take into account and award to GWW’s Clients a share in the proceeds from blueberry sales, which were generated after the opposing party had dissolved the partnership.
 
The case concerned the division of shared assets of partners in a partnership, who, until 2006, operated a blueberry farm on properties owned by some of them. As a result of dissolving the partnership, it became necessary to divide the assets of the partnership. This gave rise to a dispute, which was then referred to the court.

Wed like to thank our clients for their confidence in us!

According to the Dziennik Gazeta Prawna ranking, GWW has Poland’s best corporate income tax and personal income tax advisors. We were also named the number two firm for tax projects.

The following GWW team member were named among GWW’s best tax advisors:
•    Artur Cmoch – 1st place in “Personal Income Tax”  |  awards won consistently since 2014 and in 2011;
•    Andrzej Próchnicki – 1st place in “Corporate Income Tax”  |  leader in “Income Taxes” in 2014;
•    Tomasz Burczyński – 2nd place in “Court Disputes”;
•    Kamil Szczęsny – 2nd place in “Local Taxes and Charges”.

This means that GWW advisors won the most individual titles in the best tax advisor listing in Poland.

Moreover, since 2010, GWW’s tax practice has been consistently placed in the top three tax advisory firms. In this year’s edition of the Ranking, we secured:
•    2nd place among top tax advisory firms for “TAX PROJECTS”
•    5th place on the listing of largest tax advisory firms in the large firm group (employing 10 or more tax advisors).

GWW represented the owners of land located in areas of exceptional nature conservation value in Zakopane, for instance those adjacent to the route to the Kościeliska Valley. Attorney Joanna Sebzda-Załuska represented the entity before the court. A crucial role in this project was also played by attorney Dorota Chramęga.

On 17 March 2016, the Province Administrative Court in Kraków handed down a very favourable ruling for developers carrying out projects in Kraków (case ref. II SA/Kr 1456/15 ). GWW, through attorney Paweł Wójcik, represented a Wrocław developer. A crucial role in this project was also played by attorney Dorota Chramęga and attorney Joanna Sebzda-Załuska.

The ruling of the Court eliminates major financial burdens that, until recently, had to be borne by developers (fee corresponding to 25 percent of the value of the property), who, in carrying out projects in Kraków, wanted to change the purpose and designation of the State-owned properties located in the City of Kraków.

Please visit the new GWW office in Wrocław:
ul. Stawowa 6/17
50-016 Wrocław
(other details unchanged)

“In response to our Clients’ expectations, we decided to move to our own large office space. Although we are staying in the very heart of Wrocław, we reduced the inconveniences involved in reaching our previous Old Town location, especially in view of the fact that our team continues to grow. The current location is certainly much more convenient as it is now easier to get to our office and find parking. You can safely say that a big advantage of the Stawowa location is that is subtly combines prestige, convenience and modernity, while the proximity of the Market Square keeps us connected to the city’s history,” said Joanna Sebzda-Załuska and Paweł Wójcik, managing partners of the Wrocław office of GWW.

This is Poland’s first ranking of law firms to be based on quality data. Its results are made up of assessments given by the biggest Polish regulated-sector companies.

The ‘gold’ in such a prestigious ranking adds to and confirms GWW’s skills highlighted by international rating companies year after year ever since 2007, by awarding GWW and its partners the title of leader or recommended law firm for legal services provided to TMT (telecommunications, media, new technologies) entities.