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Antoni Libiszowski focuses his practice on litigation (including, specifically, representation of clients in international and domestic arbitration proceedings, disputes before common and administrative courts), bankruptcy and restructuring proceedings, as well as matters related to individual and collective labor law regulations and criminal law.

Concentrations

  • Arbitration
  • Corporate litigation
  • Administrative and court/administrative proceedings
  • Bankruptcy and restructuring
  • Individual and collective labor law & employment
  • Criminal law – white-collar crime

Capabilities

Experience

  • Represented Polski Koncern Naftowy ORLEN S.A. in proceedings before the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) pending in London against Yukos International UK B.V. The dispute, valued at USD 1.5 billion, related to the largest Polish investment abroad at that time: the acquisition of AB Mazeikiu Nafta, the only refinery in the Baltic states. In addition, he advised on selected aspects of related disputes, i.e. arbitration concerning the general contractor agreement before the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) and insurance ad hoc arbitration in Vilnius
  • Represented one of the Fortune 500 companies in ad hoc arbitration against one of the largest petrochemical companies in the world, held in London under the Arbitration Rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). The dispute related to the pricing of polyethylene and polypropylene products manufactured by one of the largest plastics manufacturing plants in Central and Eastern Europe.
  • Represented one of the largest Polish financial institutions in a post-M&A dispute with a large European financial institution concerning a cross-border acquisition, conducted in Geneva under the Arbitration Rules of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). The dispute ended in settlement.
  • Represented US retail investors David Minnotte and Robert Lewis at various stages of international investment arbitration against the Republic of Poland, administered by the International Center for the Settlement of Commercial Disputes (ICSID) in Washington. The dispute was conducted on the basis of the bilateral investment treaty between Poland and the USA, in the context of the development project of Laboratorium Frakcjonowania Osocza sp. z o.o. to build the first Polish plasma fractionation plant.
  • Advised one of the largest European banking institutions on a potential post-M&A dispute with a banking institution operating in Central and Eastern Europe in connection with a breach of the representations and warranties concerning the acquisition of banking activities in Poland, resolved in Geneva under the Swiss Rules of International Arbitration of the Swiss Chambers' Arbitration Institution.
  • Represents a Polish daughter company of one of the largest global investment funds in ad hoc arbitration proceedings, held in Warsaw under the Arbitration Rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) concerning the settlement of a real estate sale in terms of capital gain tax clearance. As part of these proceedings, he successfully represented the client in incidental proceedings concerning the exclusion of an arbitrator by the other party (the arbitrator was not excluded).
  • Represented a retail chain in international arbitration proceedings related to a post-M&A dispute before the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris, concerning a breach of the representations and warranties set forth in large-format retail enterprise purchase agreements.
  • Represented individual clients in arbitration proceedings pending before the Court of Arbitration at the Polish Chamber of Commerce in Warsaw, concerning the international acquisition of a holding structure from a capital group investing in real property and the development of commercial real estate.
  • Advised a Reinhold Polska AB subsidiary on commercial arbitration held in Warsaw pursuant to the UNCITRAL rules, initiated by Union Investment Real Estate GmbH, concerning a dispute related to the agreement for refurbishment and lease of the Lipiński office building, a historic A-class office complex in downtown Warsaw. The dispute ended settlement.˚
  • Appointed as the sole arbitrator in a dispute before the Court of Arbitration at the Confederation of Lewiatan.
  • Appointed as one of three arbitrators in a dispute before the Court of Arbitration at the Confederation of Lewiatan.
  • Represents PZU S.A. in (i) court proceedings initiated by shareholders to challenge resolutions of the General Meeting on retaining the 2006 dividends; and (ii) court proceedings initiated by shareholders for the payment of compensation for so-called overdue dividends for 2006. The total value in dispute exceeds PLN 200 million.
  • Represents Bank Pekao S.A. in court proceedings related to claims against the State Treasury – the General Director for National Roads and Motorways concerning the construction of the A-4 motorway by the consortium of SIAC Construction Ltd., Aprivia S.A., Hydrobudowa Polska S.A. and PBG S.A. The value of claims exceeds PLN 400 million.
  • Represents investment funds with their registered office in the British Virgin Islands in court proceedings against Polish entities concerning a breach of the share purchase agreement (the value of the claim awarded by the court of first instance amounts to approx. PLN 100 million).
  • Represents one of the world's largest manufacturers of locks and doors in court proceedings against former employees of the subsidiary in Poland for acts of unfair competition and actions to the detriment of the company.
  • Represented one of the largest SAP providers in a dispute and negotiations concerning the settlement of a contract for implementation of an IT system in a public company. The dispute ended in settlement.
  • Represents a shareholder in court proceedings (including registration proceedings) concerning the invalidation of a resolution of the Management Board of a public company and declaration of the non-existence of the subscription rules adopted pursuant to this resolution for shares issued under the share capital increase procedure.
  • Represented a client in court proceedings concerning a hostile takeover of assets resulting in the loss of control by the client over the international structure of a real estate holding company in Poland and Cyprus.
  • Represents one of the largest MRO players in the aviation sector in Poland in a dispute with an airport concerning the termination of hangar lease agreements. Potential losses of the client related to the termination of these agreements exceed PLN 100 million.
  • Represented a client in court proceedings related to a dispute concerning ownership of shares in one of the mobile phone companies.˚
  • Represented companies in court proceedings over ownership issues, including the squeeze-out of a minority shareholder from a limited liability company in one of the largest shopping centers in Warsaw.°
  • Represents various entities in proceedings before the Polish Financial Supervision Authority and Polish administrative courts pertaining to alleged violations of the disclosure obligations of public companies.
  • Represented one of Poland’s largest arms trading companies in a series of administrative proceedings before the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as well as court/administrative proceedings concerning the revocation of the license to trade in arms and ammunition.
  • Represented a mobile phone operator in administrative proceedings before the Polish Office of Electronic Communications and in court and administrative proceedings concerning GSM frequency reservation.°
  • Represented clients in court and administrative proceedings before the Polish Office for Competition and Consumer Protection and the Polish Antimonopoly Court.°
  • Since 2012, has represented Bank Pekao S.A., one of the largest creditors of PBG S.A. in the restructuring of the PBG Group, the largest such procedure in Poland’s history. The aggregate value of the receivables of PBG’s creditors exceeds PLN 3.2 billion.
  • Represents various clients in bankruptcy and restructuring proceedings, both as creditors and debtors.
  • Advises clients on their current legal and individual labor law matters (such as management contracts, employment agreements with management board members).
  • Advised various clients on issues related to the transfer of employment establishments, group redundancies and collective disputes.
  • Represented the world's largest lock manufacturer in various criminal proceedings against former employees of its subsidiary in Poland who carried out acts of unfair competition to the detriment of the client.
  • Represented one of the biggest slaughterhouse companies in Poland (purchased by the client) in multi-thread, complicated criminal and tax proceedings relating to the criminal activities of the former owner and a former management board of the company, such as alleged VAT carousel and money laundering.
  • Advised in extradition proceedings from France to Russia. The alleged offence is bank fraud.
  • Advised in proceedings regarding a Red Notice issued by Interpol.
  • Represents an FX trader in criminal proceedings regarding fraud scam involving several hundred individuals.
  • Represents an individual investor and a Swiss Company in fraud proceedings relating to the sale of military equipment and fraudulent agency agreements. The value of the loss exceeds hundreds of millions of USD.
  • Advised individuals and Cypriot companies in criminal proceedings relating to an alleged abuse of corporate powers and fraudulent sale of shares.
  • Represents one of the biggest multinational finance and insurance corporations in criminal proceedings relating to a fraudulent scam.
  • Represents a member of the management board of a sports company in a potential case of corruption to the detriment of the Polish State Treasury.
  • Consultant for a private company in the context of liability of collective entities for punishable offences in connection with crimes committed by its representatives in the past.

°The above representations were handled by Mr. Libiszowski prior to his joining GREENBERG TRAURIG Nowakowska-Zimoch Wysokiński sp.k.

Recognition & Leadership

  • EMEA Legal 500: Recommended in Dispute Resolution (2021-2024), White-Collar Crime (2021-2024), and Restructuring and Insolvency (2024)
  • Member, Warsaw Bar Association
  • Member, Disciplinary Commission of Ekstraklasa S.A. (from 2010 to date)
  • Arbitrator, Court of Arbitration at the Confederation of Lewiatan
  • Member of the Arbitration Committee of the Court of Arbitration at the Confederation of Lewiatan since 2020
  • Juror in arbitration competitions organized by Lewiatan
  • Juror, Court of Arbitration at the Confederation of Lewiatan – Nationwide Commercial Arbitration Moot Court Competition

Credentials

Education
  • Advocate, 2007
  • Ph.D. studies, Faculty of Law and Administration, Łódź University, Department of Economic & Commercial Law, 2002-2006
  • J.D., Seton Hall Law School, 2002
  • Master of Law, Łódź University, 2001
Admissions
  • Poland
Languages
  • Polish, Native
  • English, Fluent

Related Capabilities

Litigation International Arbitration & Litigation Labor & Employment International Employment, Immigration & Workforce Strategies Restructuring & Bankruptcy