Personalities from the list
By : Magdalena Wierzchowska
Every employee of Wierzbowski, Szubielska i Wspolnicy can see through a glass wall into the office of 44-year-old Managing Partner Krzysztof Wierzbowski, but there's a lot that is less transparent about the boss himself. Maybe his reserve is the secret of his success: Wierzbowski's company works with law firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and he tried hard to make that happen. "Sometimes I worked 20 or even 24 hours a day," he said. "There was a shower in the office and somebody brought me changes of clothing."
Wierzbowski's company started working with PwC in 1997. "(Working here) is a continuous process of learning about people and about myself," he said. "Working here is not limited to the skills that were brought here initially." Still, he regards experience as his greatest asset, next to reliability in fulfilling duties and hard work.
Law firms in Poland are not specialized enough to meet the demands of Western customers and Wierzbowski regards it a major problem in the industry. "It's because of the relatively small market (for legal services) and the (small) size of law firms," he said. Moreover, administrative inefficiency on all levels from regional to national as well as proverbially long court procedures is a problem for law firms as customers expect prompt action. "Lawyers are in the middle, between a rock and a hard place," Wierzbowski said.
He's optimistic, though, that the "number of good Polish law firms will increase." He projected increasing competition between companies that belong to international networks in the near future. He's also looking forward to building his firm even further.
Past notes
Studied at Warsaw University's law and administration department from 1975-1979.
Although he first wanted to be a judge, he soon changed his mind "because of politics." (Martial law was introduced while he was training.)
Began his professional law career at Law Firm no. 19 (Zespol Adwokacki).
Established own legal firm Legal Agency IUS in 1988.
In 1991 was one of the founders of the Warsaw office of U.S. firm Dickinson, Wright, Moon, Van Dusen & Freeman. "A few years of work in this company ... taught me how to manage projects, manage the company, and speak fluently in English," Wierzbowski said.
Last word
"The more I learn, the more I see how much I have to work both on myself and the company."
