Frequently asked questions

Comprehensive legal services for businesses and individual clients: commercial company law, civil-law contracts, debt collection, litigation, real estate transactions, family and criminal law, fiscal offence cases, representation before public authorities and personal data protection (GDPR).

In commercial, civil, family, criminal, administrative and consumer cases. We also represent clients before administrative bodies and supervisory institutions, such as the President of the Energy Regulatory Office (Prezes URE), the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF), the bodies of the National Revenue Administration (Krajowa Administracja Skarbowa) and the President of the Office of Rail Transport (Prezes Urzędu Transportu Kolejowego).

Yes. We give advice by telephone and by video call — without the need to come to our office. Documents and the power of attorney can be provided remotely.

We start with a consultation at which we analyse the matter and present possible solutions. We then agree the strategy and the terms of our engagement in writing, prepare the documents and represent the client in negotiations or in court.

Yes. We support entrepreneurs in setting up and registering companies, in conversions, mergers, divisions and liquidations, and in amending articles of association and drafting shareholders' agreements.

That depends on the complexity of the matter, the scope of assistance and the work involved. We agree our fees individually after analysing the matter and always present them to the client in writing before the engagement begins.

Yes. We act as defence counsel in criminal, white-collar and fiscal penal cases — including fraud, management offences, and offences relating to gambling and gaming machines. We also represent victims and assist in enforcement proceedings, for example concerning electronic monitoring.

The purchase, sale and lease of property, analysis of the land and mortgage register (księga wieczysta) and contracts, mortgages, regularising the legal status of a property, and disputes concerning ownership, acquisitive prescription (zasiedzenie), dissolution of co-ownership and eviction.

Yes — before tax offices and customs and tax offices, the President of the Energy Regulatory Office (Prezes Urzędu Regulacji Energetyki), the National Support Centre for Agriculture (Krajowy Ośrodek Wsparcia Rolnictwa), the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (Komisja Nadzoru Finansowego) and the President of the Office of Rail Transport (Prezes Urzędu Transportu Kolejowego). We help in obtaining licences and permits, during inspections and in administrative disputes.

Call 790 377 775, write to [email protected] or leave a message using the form on the Contact page. Our office is located at al. Grunwaldzka 87/91 lok. 10 in Gdańsk.

The deadline for filing a statement of defence is set by the court and is stated in the document you received. In commercial cases, all allegations and evidence must already be put forward in the statement of defence. Do not wait until the last day — contact us straight away so that there is time to prepare your defence.

Yes. Everything an advocate learns in connection with providing legal assistance is covered by legal professional privilege (tajemnica adwokacka).

All documents relating to the case: contracts, letters from the court or a public authority together with the envelope (the date of service determines the deadlines), correspondence, invoices and photos. It is a good idea to write down a timeline of events – a few sentences with dates. If there are many documents, you can send them to us by e-mail in advance.

As a rule, yes. In Polish civil cases the losing party reimburses the opponent's costs of proceedings (koszty procesu), including the fee of the attorney (art. 98 k.p.c.). However, the court awards them according to the rates set in a regulation, which may be lower than the fee agreed with the law firm. It also works the other way round: if you lose, you must reckon with paying your opponent's costs. We discuss the cost risk before a statement of claim (pozew) is filed.

Our law firm charges for its services – we describe the rules on the page Fee principles (in Polish). People who cannot afford legal assistance can use free legal aid (nieodpłatna pomoc prawna) at points run by the districts (powiaty), and in court proceedings they can apply for exemption from court costs (zwolnienie od kosztów sądowych) and for a court-appointed attorney (pełnomocnik z urzędu).

The deadline is stated in the order. Under Polish law, when an order for payment (nakaz zapłaty) issued in summary payment-order proceedings (postępowanie upominawcze) has been served in Poland, you have two weeks from service to file an objection (sprzeciw) (art. 480² k.p.c.). Once the deadline passes, the order becomes final and may be handed over to a bailiff (komornik). In the objection or the pleas (zarzuty) you must immediately present your defences, facts and evidence – which is why it is not worth waiting until the last few days.

The item waits at the post office for 7 days, after which the postman leaves a second notice (awizo) for another 7 days (art. 139 § 1 k.p.c.). The court may treat an uncollected letter as served – deadlines then run even though you do not know what the letter says. The court may also have the first document in a case, e.g. a statement of claim, served by a bailiff. If you missed a deadline through no fault of your own, an application to reinstate it (wniosek o przywrócenie terminu) must be filed within a week after the cause ceased (art. 169 § 1 k.p.c.).

In Polish civil cases you must first apply for service of the judgment with its written reasons (uzasadnienie) – within a week of the judgment being announced (art. 328 § 1 k.p.c.). The appeal (apelacja) is filed within two weeks of service of the judgment with reasons (art. 369 § 1 k.p.c.). In criminal cases the application for reasons is filed within 7 days of the judgment being announced, and the appeal within 14 days of service of the judgment with reasons (art. 422 § 1 and art. 445 § 1 k.p.k.). Missing the deadline for the application for reasons usually closes the way to an appeal.

Call us: 790 377 775. A detained person has the right to demand immediate contact with an attorney (adwokat) (art. 245 § 1 k.p.k.). Find out where they are being held and in what case. Prepare documents about the detained person's job, place of residence and family – they may be useful at the hearing on pre-trial detention (tymczasowe aresztowanie). Do not contact the victim or witnesses about the case. More about pre-trial detention: Veto of the Code of Criminal Procedure reform (in Polish).

Yes. We need access to the case files and information on any deadlines that are running. The existing power of attorney (pełnomocnictwo) is terminated by the client or by the previous representative, and we notify the court of the new one. Getting to know the files of a pending case takes time, so it is worth contacting us before a deadline approaches.

Yes. An attorney may appear before courts and authorities throughout Poland. In cases outside the Tricity (Trójmiasto) we handle some steps remotely – hearings are increasingly held remotely, and we file documents electronically. We agree the terms, including travel costs, before we start working together.

A power of attorney in electronic form is signed with a qualified electronic signature, a trusted signature (podpis zaufany, via the trusted profile – profil zaufany) or a personal signature from the e-ID card (podpis osobisty, e-dowód) (art. 89 § 1² k.p.c.). You can also send the signed original by post. A power of attorney filed with a court or authority is, as a rule, subject to a stamp duty (opłata skarbowa) of PLN 17.

Their powers are very similar: both give advice and represent clients before courts and authorities, and since 1 July 2015 a legal adviser may also act as defence counsel in criminal cases (art. 82 k.p.k.). The difference lies mainly in how the profession is practised – an attorney may not be in an employment relationship (art. 4b of the Polish Bar Act (Prawo o adwokaturze)); attorneys work in a law office, a team of attorneys (zespół adwokacki) or a partnership/company.

Before we accept a case, we check whether there is a conflict of interest. If we represented the other party in the same or a related case, we will not take the case. This follows from the rules of attorneys' professional ethics and protects both clients as well as attorney-client privilege (tajemnica adwokacka).