In issue 8.9 of the CEE Legal Matters Magazine, Marek Świątkowski, Partner from the Corporate and M&A Practice, described the situation of the Polish legal market in 2021 in the context of last year's concerns related to the ongoing pandemic.

2021 turned out to be a surprise and many 2020 predictions concerning the legal market have not come true (luckily!). Despite predictions, legal advisors continue to be extremely busy. This is especially the case in M&A, real estate, and restructuring.

Let’s go back to 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic was spreading throughout Europe. Poland, like other European countries, experienced lockdowns that impacted the country’s economy, in particular in the case of leisure-related industries.

At that time there were voices saying that the legal market would be heavily hit by the pandemic’s consequences. And clear signs were visible in the second and third quarter of 2020 that those voices might be right. Many M&A and real estate deals were put on hold or slowed down, and, in some cases, the buyers decided to walk away (notably from transactions involving office buildings or those in the leisure industry). In preparation for difficult times, some law firms in Poland downsized or decreased salaries.

The article entitled „Polish lawyers keeping busy despite past worries” is available in the October issue of the CEE Legal Matters.