About us
“DeBenedetti Majewski Szcześniak advice is always on time, accurate, and of high quality” Legal 500 EMEA (2009) With increased competition and in dynamically changing economic conditions, the successful development of an enterprise and the implementation of investments require complex, non-standard legal solutions. Therefore, choosing the right law firm to advise you on the right legal steps is a crucial element for every successful business strategy. Assistance from a trustworthy legal advisor with extensive experience and an out-of-the box approach to problems may determine success or failure. DeBenedetti Majewski Szcześniak is a law firm specializing in the provision of legal advice for complex projects for business entities. We specialize in business law, trade in financial instruments, bankruptcy and rehabilitation law, the implementation of international investments as well as litigation. Our law firm is accomplished at dealing with matters that require non-standard legal solutions. Our mission is to implement our clients’ vision; we assist them in achieving ambitious plans and making their ideas reality. Our team is built of highly experienced practitioners and theoreticians of law. We assist our clients wherever we are needed. When experience counts…
Mission and Values
Our values have helped to build the reputation of our firm Our mission is to provide effective solutions allowing our clients to achieve business success and strengthen their position on the market. Our clients appreciate the quality of services provided and the results of our work. Our in-depth knowledge of current business trends, as well as the possibility to foresee and adjust to each individual situation, help us to correctly predict future events, and to immediately react to new challenges. In our everyday work we are highly reliable and loyal to our clients. Trust Working on sophisticated legal solutions requires strong relations with our clients based on trust, which is a core value for us. Reliability We treat every mandate from our clients with due diligence. In order to properly identify our clients’ needs, we thoroughly analyze their unique situation and are fully available to them on any issue. We care deeply about the timely provision of our services. Professionalism Our team is built up of experienced lawyers who are experts in specific fields of law. When providing legal assistance, we always look for effective solutions. We are not afraid of new or non-standard matters, and are willing to advise on transactions constituting a real challenge.
Fields of expertise
Qualified experts in selected fields of law Businesses are concerned about professionalism, the quality of co-operation and visible results. They expect expert assistance in selected fields of law. Our offer is tailored to meet their needs. Having assisted our clients from the financial sector for years, we are very familiar with the specific features of this sector. The main fields of practice of the law firm are as follows: • business law (mergers and acquisitions) • law on trade in financial instruments • banking law • insurance law • bankruptcy and workouts • white-collar crime • capital markets • labor law • administrative law • litigation and arbitration
Experience
Our high level of advisory services results from many years of practice Efficiency, the ability to adjust to changing business conditions, the choice of effective solutions, meeting the expectations of a constantly changing market are among the challenges that every company faces. Assistance from an experienced legal partner cannot be underestimated, especially when the legal partner is able to appreciate the risks of the decisions made. DeBenedetti Majewski Szcześniak is not only a team of experienced lawyers, but also partners and business advisors engaged in our clients’ matters. Extensive knowledge and experience allows us to participate in complicated and non-standard business transactions, and to ensure a high level of advisory services and practical solutions. The matters in which the law firm advises on are complex and multi-faceted. They often raise social concerns.
Clients
Our clients have co-operated with us on an ongoing basis for years Our clients include Polish and international entities. We provide advice to institutional entities as well as private individuals, well known international investors and individual start-ups. Among our clients are predominantly financial institutions, but we also provide legal assistance to entities from the energy sector, FMCG, real estate as well as automotive and agricultural sectors. A significant number of our clients have co-operated with us on an ongoing basis for years, which is the best recommendation of a law firm and proves the high quality and efficiency of our work.
Team
Highest quality of legal services Success may be achieved by people. Success requires mutual support and openness. The knowledge of legal theory combined with the experience of the partners and other lawyers gained in international law firms and prominent Polish financial institutions, which is reinforced during co-operation with the law firm, guarantees that our clients receive services of the desired quality.
International reach DeBenedetti Majewski Szcześniak is a member of Globalaw and IBLC – a worldwide networks of law firms, working together to share experience and develop knowledge of other legal systems. This also significantly helps to ensure the efficient and professional provision of legal assistance when implementing international projects. We often take part in international projects, which expand our knowledge from the field of international markets and business activities. Our lawyers provide services in Polish, English, German and Spanish.
Partners
C. David DeBenedetti New York Attorney, Partner David DeBenedetti specializes in issues related to structured finance, mergers and acquisitions, investment funds, hedge funds, as well as venture capital transactions. He also deals with planning and implementing investments, specifically in their cross-border aspects. Attorney of the State of Ohio (1997, currently inactive) and the State of New York (2001). He graduated from the University of Toledo (B.A. cum laude 1991) and from Georgetown University Law Center (J.D. 1996). He is an Arbitrator in the Court of Arbitration at the National Chamber of Commerce. Between 1997 and 2004, he co-operated with the Warsaw and New York offices of an international law firm. He has spoken at numerous conferences and meetings on investing in Poland, bankruptcy and rehabilitation, Polish securities law, structuring real estate deals, and intellectual property in Warsaw, New York, London, Tokyo, Los Angeles and Miami. In October 2008, David DeBenedetti joined the faculty of the Lazarski School of Commerce and Law, where he teaches a seminar on mergers and acquisitions. Member of the Board of Advisors for a program offering an LLM in International Business Practice of the Center for International Legal Studies in Salzburg, Austria. He is a member of the American Bar Association, New York State Bar Association and the Rotary Club.
Prof. dr hab. Jarosław Majewski Advocate, Partner Jarosław Majewski specializes in criminal law, banking law and consumer law; he is considered to be an expert in the legal aspects of protection of trade and commerce. Advocate, Pro-vice Chancellor at the Cardinal Wyszyński University in Warsaw, Professor at the Faculty of Law and Administration at this university, since 2003, a member of the University Senate, between 2008 and 2010 Dean of the Faculty of Law and Administration. Chairman of the Criminal Law Department. In 1993 he qualified as a judge, and in 1994 he qualified as a legal advisor. Since 1995 he has practiced as a legal advisor in various positions, and since 2005 he has been an advocate. He is an Arbitrator in the Arbitration Court at the Polish Bank Association. A graduate of the Faculty of Law and Administration of the Jagiellonian University in Cracow, between 1991 and 2002 he was a research fellow there. He was awarded a prestigious fellowship by the Polish Research Foundation, and was also a fellow at the Tokyo Sasakawa Foundation and the Vienna “Werk Janineum” Foundation. From 1997 to 1999 he served as Deputy Director of the Legal Department at the Headquarters of PKO BP S.A., before moving to become Director of the Legal Department of the Headquarters of BGŻ S.A. until 2003. He is a former member of the Commission for Ethical Banking of the Polish Bank Association. He is the author of numerous legal opinions, including those written at the request of the Sejm – the Polish Parliament. He is the author or co-author of over 100 publications in various fields of law. He has written treatises, commentaries, articles and glosses published in Polish and international scientific magazines, including a well-received commentary on the Criminal Code and white-collar crime, as well as treatises on the protection of creditors, trade in securities, banking secrecy and confidential information.
Dariusz Szcześniak Legal Advisor, Partner Dariusz Szcześniak specializes in mergers and acquisitions, insurance law, investment and pension funds, securities law and corporate law, as well as administrative and court procedures related to the operation of capital companies. A graduate of the Faculty of Law and Administration of Warsaw University. In 1995 he qualified as a judge and in 1996 he qualified as a legal advisor. From 1995 to 1997, he was a member and subsequently Director of the legal team in the Funds Management Department in the Polish Development Bank. Between 1997 and 1998 he served as legal advisor and Director of the Legal Department of PBK ATUT Investment Fund. Between 1998 and 2004 he was legal advisor and the head of the Department of Capital Markets in the Warsaw offices of international law firms. In our law firm he is responsible for M&A of financial institutions, covering such things as mergers and acquisitions of insurance companies and transfers of portfolios. He acts as an attorney in procedures in front of the Polish Financial Supervisory Authority and administrative courts. In the 2003 Guide to the World’s Leading Capital Markets Lawyers, Euromoney Legal Media Group recommended Dariusz Szcześniak as a legal expert in capital markets in Poland.
Wojciech Barański Legal Advisor, Partner Wojciech Barański specializes in financial law, banking law and bankruptcy law. He has extensive experience in providing advisory services to banks. He graduated from the Faculty of Law of the University of Maria Curie-Skłodowska in Lublin. Legal advisor since 1999. From 2000 to 2005 he acted as a legal advisor in the Legal Department of the Headquarters of BGŻ S.A. At the same time, between 2004 and 2007 he acted as the President and Liquidator in a capital fund. In our law firm he has been responsible for numerous transactions concerning syndicated loans, loan syndication and bond issues. For the purposes of the banks, he prepares draft documentation concerning credit collateral. Furthermore, he deals with particularly complicated procedures in the scope of enforcing claims, and represents our clients in bankruptcy procedures. Wojciech Barański has conducted a series of workshops for employees of commercial banks in the field of securing loans, as well as foreign currency law training sessions for banks, the Ministry of Finance and other public administrative bodies. He has been a legal expert of the Sejm Committee for Administration and Internal Affairs.
Awards and recommendations
Awards and recommendations One of the world’s leading legal directories, the Legal 500 EMEA guide for 2009, recommends our law firm for Corporate and M&A: “DeBenedetti Majewski Szcześniak Kancelaria Prawnicza Sp. K. is a four-partner firm active in the insurance sector. It has advised on the acquisition of life insurance portfolios and on the restructurings of insurance operations. Advice is «always on time, accurate, and of high quality»“. In 2009 and again in 2010, we were granted an International Legal Award by ILA Summit and Awards Leaders League in the category of M&A and corporate finance practice as one of the 10 best Polish law firms. Our law firm received a Corporate International Global Award 2010 in the following two categories: Dispute Resolution Advisory Firm of the Year in Poland, and Investment Funds Advisory Firm of the Year in Poland as well as Global Award 2011 in the category Insurance Law Firm of the Year in Poland.
We look forward to working with you
DeBenedetti Majewski Szcześniak Attorneys-at-Law ul. Królewska 16 00-103 Warsaw, Poland Tel.: + 48 22 339 54 00 Faks: + 48 22 339 54 01 officewarsaw@dms.net.pl www.dms.net.pl DeBenedetti Majewski Szcześniak. All rights reserved.