Eligiusz Krześniak is the managing partner of our Warsaw office and professor and chair of the Commercial Law Faculty at the Lazarski University in Warsaw, where he teaches business law. His practice focuses mainly on arbitration and regulated sectors, such as telecommunications, media, energy and M&A transactions, including some of the largest projects in those areas in recent years in Poland.

Recommended in The Legal 500 EMEA 2024 in the Dispute Resolution, Energy & Natural Resources, and TMT categories. Client feedback confirms he is a “top-notch expert and leader.” He is also praised for being “dedicated to each task’, ‘commercially orientated, versatile and always available.”

Eligiusz is a member of the board of the Polish Association of Legal Employers, and the president of the Management Board of the Polish Arbitration Association.

He is listed among recommended arbitrators by leading Polish (Court of Arbitration at the Polish Chamber of Commerce in Warsaw and Court of Arbitration at the Confederation of Lewiatan) and international (Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland, and Qatar Sports Arbitration Tribunal in Doha, Qatar) arbitration institutions.

Eligiusz, along with the Squire Patton Boggs team, supported leading telecom operators in Poland in groundbreaking projects implemented in the telecommunications market – building strategic alliances with partners from other areas of the market, contracts with the regulator or introduction of virtual operators into the Polish market.

For decades, Eligiusz has represented renewable and conventional energy producers, participating in many breakthrough transactions and projects on the Polish market.

In his practice, Eligiusz has repeatedly represented clients in civil and administrative cases, primarily in precedent-setting cases in the field of energy law and telecommunications law. As a long-standing experienced arbitrator, Eligiusz resolved numerous arbitration cases as an arbitrator in proceedings under the CAS, KIG and Lewiatan Rules, as well as in ad hoc arbitration, and represented clients in arbitration proceedings under the ICC, SCC, CAS, KIG and Lewiatan Rules, as well as in ad hoc arbitration.

He also has extensive experience in advising on mergers and acquisitions. Eligiusz has acted as the lead lawyer on a number of projects regarding the acquisition of enterprises and the assembly, service and licensing of information systems for banks, insurance companies, and IT and telecom equipment suppliers.

Eligiusz is one of the authors of the Arbitrator’s Pledge, launched in 2019.

For years, he has been featured in such rankings as Chambers Europe and The Legal 500 EMEA as one of the leading lawyers in Poland.

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TMT

  • Advising the world leader in global, mobile satellite communications on a pioneering project related to the launch of the world’s first integrated satellite and air to ground connectivity network, allowing high-speed plane passengers broadband Wi-Fi access across 30 European countries.
  • Advising a leading provider of cloud-based software solutions for the life insurance and financial services industry. We have advised the company on a framework agreement for cooperation in software development with a Polish startup company.
  • Advising one of the world’s recognized telecommunication companies on all aspects of the telecommunications market in Poland, in particular on regulatory matters in connection with the rollout of the 5G network in Poland.
  • Advising on strategic aspects of cooperation with Orange Polska in respect of T-Mobile Polska’s wholesale access to Orange Polska’s network and Orange Polska’s BSA services on its own fiber infrastructure for T-Mobile's clients in multifamily houses.
  • Successfully representing a major Polish software company, in multimillion-dollar settlement talks with a market leader over alleged breach of its IP rights.
  • Assisting a blockchain technology company, focused on compliance as a service, with a legal analysis of a process crucial to the operation of its most important product, i.e., the AML Platform.
  • Advising a Polish company developing globally innovative, additive manufacturing technology that enables ultra-precise printing of nanomaterials on its expansion into the US, as well as with regard to the sale of its nano-printers in Europe.
  • Advised a client in the process of the acquisition of ATM machines from a leading Polish bank, including M&A, commercial matters and competition law.
  • Advising T-Mobile Polska S.A. on a strategic partnership with one of the Polish banks to offer multichannel access to a wide range of banking products and services to over 15 million customers of the operator in Poland.
  • Representing T-Mobile Polska S.A. in all-embracing negotiations to set up joint venture “Everything Everywhere” with its competitor Orange Polska S.A. The negotiations resulted in setting up the Networks! Sp. z o.o. responsible for the construction of telecommunications infrastructure shared by both operators and in a series of radio access network (RAN) agreements by Orange and T-Mobile; the transaction is an example of one of the few Radio Access Network Sharing projects in the world.
  • Representing China National Electric Engineering Co. Ltd., a major Chinese energy construction firm, in public procurement proceedings, including before the National Appeal Chamber, concerning construction of two new power stations of a capacity of 1,000MW and 910MW, respectively, worth US$1.7 billion and US$1.3 billion, respectively.
  • Acting as the lead lawyer in negotiations on behalf of a leading global IT company in agreements for Lukas Bank S.A. regarding the assembly, service and licensing of a computer system.
  • Representing a private equity investor in a venture capital investment in a nationwide cable operator.
  • Representing and advising Poland-based operators in numerous transactions and projects concerning mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) and mobile television in digital video broadcasting – handheld (DVB-H) standards.
  • Representing a television broadcaster in arbitration proceedings in Poland and in judicial proceedings in the US, of a value of over US$50 million, in a dispute with a licensee holding limited rights to one of the broadcaster’s channels.

Energy

  • Representing Boryszewo Wind Invest Sp. z o.o. from the Enerco/Invenergy group in a 2017 successful dispute with Energa S.A. before one of the courts of appeal and the Supreme Court for unlawful premature termination of a long-term contract for the purchase of green certificates.
  • Advising a number of Spanish, Greek, Canadian and German investors operating in the wind energy sector on various corporate and regulatory matters, including regulatory obligations, negotiating the interconnection agreement with the grid operators, negotiating lease agreements with landowners, and taking over existing projects at various stages of development.
  • Representing a major Polish renewable energy developer in court proceedings related to the EU funding of a number of biogas projects throughout Poland, involving the total funding of approximately €15 million. The engagement included representation at all stages of administrative and court proceedings, including before the Supreme Administrative Court, and resulted in obtaining high-level rulings of key significance to the practice of distribution of EU funds for similar projects.
  • Advising a group of subsidiaries of Invenergy LLC and major Polish renewable energy developers in relation to the financing of two phases of wind farm development to be located in Darłowo in northern Poland. BRE Bank led the consortium of international banks providing the financing, and Wind Invest Sp z o.o. was the main borrower.
  • Advising a group of subsidiaries of Invenergy LLC and major Polish renewable energy developers in relation to the obtaining of the interconnection to the national electricity grid of a 250MW group of wind farms to be located in northern Poland. Squire Patton Boggs’ assistance included the drafting of the full set of documentation covering the connection to the grid, sharing use of infrastructure and management of infrastructure, and distribution of revenue.

Dispute Resolution and Arbitration

  • Representing an insurer of one of the largest European manufacturers of certain food and beverages in a multijurisdictional claim for damage case that combines insurance and bankruptcy legal issues.
  • Representing a Germany-based company specializing in global procurement and trade of industrial raw materials and its subsidiary in an LCIA arbitration dispute against a major Polish importer and distributor of coal.
  • Representing in Polish History Museum v. Le Moyne College in the repatriation of certain artworks located in the US with the unequivocally ascertained owner.
  • Advising one of the world’s largest hearing aid manufacturers on a project regarding the liability of the administrators of one of the most considerable portals gathering information about employers. We provided complex advice and a cease and desist letter to the portal, as requested by the client.
  • Assisting the client in an international arbitration against the Polish State of Treasury as regards the performance of an offset contract related to a defense contract awarded to our client.

Education

  • University of Wroclaw, Dr. Hab., 2017
  • University of Wroclaw, Ph.D., 2002
  • University of Wroclaw, LL.M., 1998
  • Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn , 1997
  • State University of North Carolina, 1996
  • Philips Universität Marburg, 1994

Admissions

  • Warsaw Bar Association, 2002

Languages

  • English
  • German
  • Polish
  • Recommended in The Legal 500 EMEA 2024 for Dispute Resolution
  • Recommended in The Legal 500 EMEA 2015-2024 for TMT
  • Recommended in The Legal 500 EMEA 2015-2024 for Energy & Natural Resources
  • Recognized by Chambers Europe 2013-2019 for TMT
  • Warsaw office telecommunications and energy practices recommended among the leading practices in Poland according to Polityka Insight 2017

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  • Co-author, “Q&A: Poland” [in:] Chambers Sports Law 2024, Chambers and Partners, 2024.
  • Scholarly editor, “Sports Law Vol. XXIV” [in:] Great Encyclopedia of Law, Ubi societas, ibi ius, 2023.
  • Author, “Corporations and Partnerships in Poland,” International Encyclopaedia of Law, Kluwer Law International, 2021.
  • Author, “Sports Law in Poland,” International Encyclopaedia of Law, Second Edition, Kluwer Law International, 2021.
  • Author, Sports Act. Commentary, Wolters Kluwer, 2020.
  • Author, “Comments on Certain Aspects of Sports Clubs, Sports Associations and Polish Sports Associations Functioning, and on Avenues of Challenging these Decisions Pursuing Legal Action,” One Hundred Years of Polish Commercial Law, Jubilee Volume Dedicated to Professor Andrzej Kidyba, Wolters Kluwer, 2020.
  • Author, “Assault on Arbitration – Ramifications of Justice Tribunal Judgement in Slovak Republic v. Achmea B.V. (C 284/16),” Ius est ars boni et aequi, in Memoriam Volume Dedicated to Professor Józef Frąckowiak, University of Wrocław/Polish Notaries Association, 2018.
  • Author, “Sports Law of the Future,” Commemorative Volume for the Twentieth Anniversary of the Law and Administration Department “Future of the Law,” Lazarski University, 2017.
  • Author, Sports Clubs and Organizations in Polish Law Compared to Foreign Solutions, Wolters Kluwer, 2016.
  • Author, “The Court of Arbitration for Sport at the Polish Olympic Committee v. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) – Background, Powers and Authority,” Biuletyn Młody Arbitraż nr 24, 2016.
  • Author, “Certain Elements of Resolving Sports Disputes in Arbitration,” Usus Magister Est Optimus, Legal Dissertations Offered to Professor Andrzej Kubas, C.H. Beck, 2016.
  • Author, Limited Liability Partnership under German and American Law, Zakamycze Publishing, 2003.
  • Author, Limited Liability Partnership with Particular Emphasis of Attorneys-at-Law, Zakamycze Publishing, 2002.

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