About

I would say that the most important challenge in the field of transactions was the establishment of a technology company – Operator Chmury Krajowej, a joint venture of PKO Bank Polski and Polski Fundusz Rozwoju. The company provides cloud-based services of data storage and processing for entrepreneurs and public administration, which, so far, were mainly offered by large foreign corporations. This project is important not only from the business side – the launch will increase competition and lower prices on the Polish market, but also from national, overall perspective which is digitisation of Polish business and public administration.

When it comes to litigation I think that the one of important was the case brought by the sanation mass manager against the Bank for a declaration of ineffectiveness of a guarantee statement for the amount of approximately PLN160m. A comprehensive approach to defending the Bank’s interests, commitment and professionalism resulted into Bank’s success in court despite the opponent’s extremely offensive attitude.

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?

It is much easier to learn hard, specialised skills than to shape your character and personality. However, I wouldn’t cross out people who don’t have soft skills. Of course, it is great to work with experienced lawyers who have positive attitude, great communication skills and ability to work in a team, but I have been working with brilliant, successful lawyers who do not possess all those traits of character and I must admit that this cooperation was also very satisfying and fruitful for me. Among soft skills that are the most important for an in-house lawyer I would name good communication skills. For example lawyers in PKO Bank Polski are involved in big projects which are carried out by many people from other departments of the Bank. In this regard it is crucial to be able to communicate with different people with various specialisations and to convey legal knowledge in an accessible and understandable way.

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

The most important qualities we are looking for are, of course, education and experience, however this last trait is not decisive. If the applicant has potential, wants to develop in new fields and is open to learning, I will be happy to give them a chance to get experience. In our legal department we have quite a lot of lawyers who started with no experience in the banking field and are now specialists in narrow areas of law. In my opinion, innovation, creativity and openness to new solutions is extremely important nowadays as the business market and legal requirements are rapidly changing. Independence and good work organisation skills are also important. As we are working under great time pressure, I am looking for people who do not need to be constantly monitored to perform their duties.

My advice would be that they should get familiar with the local specificity. Not only in terms of legal requirements. I think rather of business culture. It is crucial to know how the market works, what are the differences between cooperating with big international firms and state-owned enterprises, what are their needs and capabilities – both financial and legal.

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

If we outsource work to external law firms, we are always looking for top-class specialists in a given field of law. This is because we often introduce innovative business solutions and, therefore, deal with legal issues that were not yet examined by the doctrine nor judicature. We need bold lawyers who won’t be afraid to express their opinions and give recommendations in business and legal environment that might not be familiar yet.

FOCUS ON… Progress

A recipe for the success in profession of in-house lawyer in the view of the head of legal department.
I think that the biggest challenge of daily work as an in-house lawyer is a skilful aligning of the needs of business with the requirements arising from provisions of law. The most important thing is the ability to look for legal solutions that will allow business to develop. In the context of still increasing legal requirements and constantly changing economic environment, this is a real challenge, but still, it is worth it.

If you face a lot of work every day and want
to be effective as a leader, try to implement centralisation and specialisation. In the beginning
of my work as the head of legal department, I
created legal teams specialised in particular
areas of law, like retail banking and insurance, corporate banking and investment services,
internal services and corporate matters, litigation, labour law. Basing upon the general structure of the department, I also decided to create agile, interdisciplinary teams, which I supervise and support, that successfully deal with cross-organisation changes and projects requiring
looking at legal problems from the perspective
of many divisions.

I also think that in the profession of the in-house lawyer, especially, the head of legal department, it is crucial to gain the trust of people you are working with, and, of course, the managers of the enterprise you are rendering services for. Creating good development conditions for your co-workers is also crucial. If you take care of all matters mentioned before and create a positive work atmosphere, you will, for sure, shortly achieve success in this profession.