Krzysztof Kycia

Co-Managing Partner, Poland

Head of Litigation and Regulatory, Poland

Krzysztof Kycia is a smart strategist and brilliant tactician, one of the very best on the Polish market. His expertise in litigation and arbitration in construction/infrastructure, energy, and property sectors is hard to match.
Client, The Legal 500 EMEA 2022
About

Krzysztof Kycia has over 20 years’ experience of helping clients to resolve civil and commercial disputes. He focuses on resolution through court proceedings and alternative methods, including arbitration and other non-standard methods that enable resolution at an early stage.

Krzysztof and his team pride themselves on being able to deliver solutions that result in matters being resolved before progressing to litigation.

He works with clients in a range of industries including construction, renewable energy, corporate, real estate, industrials, aviation and technology.

Krzysztof has proven very successful in obtaining positive decisions when seeking claims for damages in cases against state entities.

He helps clients with contractual and tortious liability issues and matters related to bad debt collection. He also has broad experience in commercial matters, including disputes between shareholders, the protection of personal interests and unfair competition.

Additionally, he represents clients in the course of bankruptcy and restructuring proceedings, and advises on internal audits and the development of internal compliance procedures.

Krzysztof and his team recently represented Polnord, a company listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange and one of the largest property developers in Poland, in four court proceedings connected with its EUR31.7 million public offering of shares. The team successfully defended the client against interim injunction motions and obtained a final decision to enter the increase of share capital into the National Court Register. Our engagement in this case was crucial for Polnord because the business would have faced insolvency if the increase in share capital had been prevented.

Krzysztof and his team have also represented Trakcja, a leading Polish construction company listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange and part of the COMSA group, in a number of disputes against employers regarding the design and build of national roads and motorways in Poland. One such matter, with mutual claims amounting to more than EUR6.5 million, was settled by the parties during the course of arbitration proceedings in March 2022, under which a significant part of the client’s claims were satisfied, and the opponent waived its counterclaims.

Professional QualificationsAttorney-at-law (Radca prawny) registered with the Kielce Bar Association of Attorneys-at-Law (Okręgowa Izba Radców Prawnych w Kielcach)

Highlights

EXPERIENCE

  • Represented Trakcja, a leading Polish construction company listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, and part of the COMSA group, in a number of disputes against employers regarding the design and build of national roads and motorways in Poland
  • Advised EasyJet Group companies, EasyJet UK and EasyJet Switzerland, on contentious administrative proceedings, lobbying and the legislative process, and provided strategic advice relating to breaches of obligations to transfer Passenger Name Records (PNR) to public authorities between 2018 and 2020
  • Represented Polnord, a company listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange and one of the largest property developers in Poland, in four court proceedings connected with its EUR31.7 million public offering of shares, successfully defending the client against interim injunction motions and obtaining a final decision to enter the increase of share capital into the National Court Register
  • Represented Herkules against Nokia Solutions and Networks (represented by SKS) in a EUR10 million dispute arising from a consortium agreement for the design and construction of a GSM-R/ERMTS network across the Polish railway network for PKP PLK
  • Represented energy sector companies in Poland (including PKP Energetyka, the largest non-state-controlled company) in multimillion-EUR disputes over compensation for damage caused by the state regulation of electricity prices supplied to end users in 2019
  • Represented SIBS, a Portuguese capital group in the payments sector, in cases concerning the acquisition from Comp (a capital group operating in the IT services market) of a controlling stake in PayTel (one of the leaders in electronic payment services in Poland)
  • Represented an individual investor in a dispute with a company from the Glencore group in set-aside proceedings before a Polish court resulting from arbitration in a post-M&A dispute
  • Represented Mota-Engil Central Europe S.A. in a dispute related to the construction of a research and development centre for innovative medicines, which was carried out on the basis of a construction contract based on the contractual model of the so-called FIDIC Red Book of 1999
  • Represented Qubus Hotel Management, an independent operator of a chain of 4- and 5-star business hotels, in a precedential case before the Supreme Court regarding liability for the unlawful refusal to grant a building permit for a commercial project
  • Represented Cenzin in court proceedings concerning claims by Grupa Azoty for payment of PLN79,820,871 for non-performance of the contract for the supply and construction of a comprehensive wet magnesium flue gas desulphurisation and dedusting system on its premises
  • Advised a significant player in the European energy market in a series of court proceedings aimed at the enforcement of an award granted before an arbitration tribunal in Stockholm
  • Represented a company forming part of a group of companies that markets consumer and commercial products on a global basis in a dispute regarding unfair competition
  • Represented a client in a dispute with its subcontractor in the course of performing an infrastructure project, including the renewal of contracts, the settlement of accounts, the set-off of mutual claims, representation during bankruptcy negotiations (including filing claims in the bankruptcy proceedings and involvement in the creation of the board of creditors), and advice related to criminal proceedings
Languages
  • Polish
  • English
Education
  • Marie Curie-Sklodowska University, Master of Laws

Awards and recognitions

  • Notable Practitioner, Dispute Resolution, Poland, Chambers Global 2022
  • Recommended lawyer, Construction, Dispute Resolution, Private Clients, Public Procurement, and Investment Funds, The Legal 500 EMEA 2022
  • DLA Piper Poland awarded Forbes Diamond Award 2020 and 2022

Pro Bono

One of the main pillars of DLA Piper Poland’s strategic goals for the next 15 years is to dedicate time and expertise to pro bono activities. Krzysztof has provided leadership and support to all lawyers involved in pro bono work, including the formation of a team called ‘DLAGranicy’ (meaning ‘For the Border’). Since its inception, this team has:

  • assisted an Afghan family of 12, who had escaped from Afghanistan and settled in Poland, providing them with legal and practical assistance including financing their flat and providing essential household items
  • provided legal aid for people escaping Ukraine and
  • participated in the organisation and coordination of help for refugees at all stages: from assistance at the Polish/Ukrainian border and in reception centres, to finding accommodation and helping to legalise their stay (including international protection), raising funds, and collecting clothes, food and medicine.

DLA Piper Poland, as a firm and under the leadership of Krzysztof Kycia and Jacek Giziński, recently donated PLN100,000 (approximately EUR20,000) to Polish Humanitarian Action (PAH). We chose this organisation because of their ability to provide aid effectively and without delay. PAH has been present in Ukraine since 2014.

Krzysztof is also part of a team providing ongoing support to lawyers from Kinstellar (formerly DLA Piper Kyiv) and their families with matters such as accommodation, healthcare (including professional appointments for oncology treatments), translation, relocation within Poland and other EU states as well as other day-to-day needs.

Memberships And Affiliations

  • Kielce Bar Association of Attorneys-at-Law (Okręgowa Izba Radców Prawnych w Kielcach)

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