Squire Patton Boggs’ Warsaw office has been recognized in Poland’s largest annual Law Firm Ranking, organized by the national business newspaper Rzeczpospolita.
This year, because of the global pandemic, new categories were added, reflecting the impact on the legal market brought about by COVID-19, and the gala event itself was held online.
The judges recognized Squire Patton Boggs with accolades for its work in the following areas:
• Pro Bono Support for Polish Entrepreneurs Amid the Pandemic –
During the COVID-19 pandemic Squire Patton Boggs launched a complimentary online Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Contingency Risk Assessment Tool which provided businesses with a self-assessment of their contingency arrangements together with the option of receiving a contingency planning template. Within 24 hours of completion, the tool provided a company with a summary, mapping the risk factors that it may not have yet considered and identifying what it should be doing to mitigate the impact of the virus on business operations, including legal requirements, staff well-being, commercial obligations, funding, supply chain issues and much more.
• Involvement in Drafting Anti-Crisis Legislative Solutions Amid the Pandemic –
Squire Patton Boggs lawyers have been involved in advising a task force at the Polish Bank Association working on the draft amendment to the Act on Financial Restructuring of Enterprises and Banks (1993), so that this form of company financial restructuring may resume post COVID-19 and temporarily fast track out-of-court restructuring. The firm’s lawyers Piotr Święcicki, Marcin Wnukowski and Małgorzata Olech contributed to the project. Parliamentary debate ultimately led to adoption of a differing restructuring proposal (see the firm’s blog: Poland’s Simplified Restructuring Proceeding Takes Effect).
In addition, Squire Patton Boggs’ Warsaw office also cooperated with the Polish Chamber of Chemical Industry (PIPC) on developing the Chamber’s official positions on subsequent coronavirus-related Shield Acts. The Chamber’s proposals were intended to protect the Polish chemical sector amid the pandemic and to minimize longer term adverse effects.