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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 is no success in legal work without “soft skills”. Typically, lawyers’ skills lie with negotiation, which cannot be developed without good listening and communication, clarity and confidence. We can build our position by responsibility and exemplarity – it leads to “leading by example” and recognised mentoring programmes. Finally, as we are not working alone, I would mention cooperation and respect and would add humour as a good ingredient to achieve a proper mixture. For me these last issues are important, because I would like to work in a good atmosphere, driving to my office in a good mood (and living it as well) – this also supports our effectiveness.

What are the main qualities you look for in a potential new hire?

When hiring I look for passion, engagement, pragmatism, courage and responsibility. Thinking out of the box and openness will help to overcome obstacles. From my perspective, experience and expertise is an asset and is needed to some extent, but could grow gradually along with complexity of tasks of an employee.

What advice would you give to any peers or colleagues working in the Polish market for the first time?

If you will be staying in Poland for a long time, talk to the people, spend some time outside Warsaw – in the mountains, by the sea, in other cities and in the countryside. Feel the place. And find your trusted advisors. Bit by bit you will understand the people and business. Whatever form you prefer – trainings and courses, individual guidance or just observation and action – all is achievable and manageable to support your entry.

What can law firms in Poland, and the wider CEE region, do to win more business from you?

In cooperation with the law firms I appreciate pragmatic and “compact” advice, however after considering the broader context of the case, reasonable timing and pricing. Good working atmosphere is a plus.

FOCUS ON… CONTRACT MANAGEMENT

Legal support for contract management – workshop day.

Back in Łódź. It’s our third group in the first module of contract management training at Eiffage Academy.

With Paweł we have the pleasure to start the workshop for the next group of my workmates. They are already after the pre-training task and we are today representing the outcome of the work of over 20 people. Our goal is to share our experience, organise and raise knowledge and legal awareness of the trainees, and standardise the approach to problem solving… how will it be this time?

After a welcome and introduction, Paweł has started with the presentation of the lifetime of the project and the lifetime of the contract, and went through the process and procedures mapping. This is an exercise about the transfer of the contract from the commercial to the production phase, and it is now my turn.

I’ve started with the presentation of the participants of the construction process, their roles, competencies and obligations. So far so good!

A year ago, when we were thinking about how to support our project managers in their roles and have initiated work on dedicated training programme, I knew that it would be a big challenge. Since that time we have created our own concept, proposed topics for the training, conducted brainstorm sessions, prepared materials, including an “SOS Kit”, structured activities within the project, had a pilot workshop and launched the target workshops for about 40 our colleagues.

Next exercise. Division of the responsibilities between the project manager, contract manager and site manager. It always initiates a long discussion, which is an important feedback for the trainers and the organisation.

And here begins my favourite part – cooperation of the parties during the construction phase and essential conditions of the contracts on construction works. We talk about specific, real cases from our yard. There are as many different experiences as there are people in the room.

As always, this is a very good lesson for the trainers and we well see in a near future in practice if it is the same for our colleagues. There are two more training modules ahead of them and some exercises between the modules.

The above is only one example of the support of legal function regarding contract management. It’s fully dedicated to the construction branch and includes specific experience and needs of Eiffage Poland. I hope that this will inspire others to take similar actions – it would be beneficial for the entire industry.

IN THE WORDS OF NOMINATORS:

We are honoured to nominate Artur Chrzanowski, who has been in his current role since early 2016.

He is an experienced real estate lawyer with extensive knowledge in both the retail business, gained as a head of legal department of METRO Group between 2007 and 2014, and the construction business, where his past experience at Skanska is also worth mentioning.

During his career, Chrzanowski was involved in a number of large scale real estate projects, performing a variety of functions and representing his principals in a wide range of transactions.

He leads his nearly ten people in a team of lawyers and performs a variety of corporate internal functions at Eiffage Polska entities.

Being a person dedicated to quality and detail he demonstrates the highest level of professional standards in his field of expertise. In his work he successfully combines his personal calm and pragmatism with the ability to propose creative and adjustable solutions. His great technical knowledge and negotiation skills enable him to successfully represent Eiffage Polska in all types of discussions with the group’s customers and business partners. Chrzanowski is also praised for his highly business-oriented approach to legal matters he faces, as one of key figures at Eiffage Polska.