On July 5, 2023, Wardynski & Partners announced it had appointed Partner Michal Wons to coordinate the work of the firm's M&A team and develop the practice alongside Partners Konrad Grotowski, Kinga Ziemnicka, Jakub Lerner, Adam Pawlisz, and Lukasz Sliwinski.
On the same day, a team of 27 Corporate/M&A lawyers led by Partners Izabela Zielinska-Barlozek, Anna Dabrowska, and Krzysztof Libiszewski had left Wardynski & Partners to join Wolf Theiss (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on July 7, 2023).
Wons will Head Wardynski & Partners' M&A practice going forward and is also a Co-Head of the firm's Real Estate practice. He joined the Wardynski team shortly after graduating, starting in 2006 and working his way up in a career spanning 17 years.
In addition to his M&A responsibilities, Grotowski is also in charge of the Wardynski & Partners Restructuring and Bankruptcy practice. He joined the firm in 2000, after having worked with Allen & Overy's M&A team for a year and a half. He was also a Lawyer with the Polish Securities and Exchange Commission between 1998 and 1999.
Specializing in Corporate/M&A, Ziemnicka also heads the firm's Corporate practice and its Corporate Accounting practice. She joined Wardynski & Partners in 2008 and made Partner in 2021. Before that, she spent eight years in-house as a Legal Advisor to Bakoma.
Lerner handles M&A, private equity, capital markets, and commercial transactions. He joined Wardynski & Partners as a Partner in 2022. Before that, he spent almost six years with Noerr as a Local Partner and five more with CMS as a Senior Associate, between 2011 and 2016. Earlier he spent six years as an Associate with K&L Gates in Warsaw and another two-and-a-half with Weil Gotshal & Manges in New York.
Specializing in M&A, private equity, and corporate law, Pawlisz also works on restructuring and financing matters. He joined Wardynski & Partners in 2021 as a Senior Associate, made Counsel in 2022, and was appointed a Partner in June 2023. Before that, he spent two years as a Senior Associate with SSW, and five more with DZP, starting as a Junior Associate in 2014 and leaving the firm as a Senior Associate in 2018.
Sliwinski focuses on corporate law, advising on the establishment and day-to-day legal affairs of companies, as well as transactions, restructuring, and liquidation. He joined Wardynski & Partners in 2005 and was recently appointed a Partner in June 2023. Before joining his current team, he spent almost two years in-house with Syrena Hotels as a Junior Lawyer.
"In recent years we have been joined by many lawyers who are devoting their knowledge and experience to developing new specializations. The group of Equity and Salaried Partners has expanded significantly, and this is reflected in the structure and composition of our teams. We will continue this process," Founding Partner Tomasz Wardynski commented on the firm's organizational changes. "High qualifications and skills, creativity, and first and foremost professional ethics constitute the foundation of our clients’ trust. Neither technology nor politics will alter these principles at our firm."
"We have parted ways with three Equity Partners and several of the Salaried Partners and other lawyers who have worked alongside them," Wardynski said of the recent departures. "We thank them for their many years of cooperation, particularly those who have been trained and brought up within the firm. We wish them well."
