Baker & McKenzie Warsaw Scoops Five Tax Awards
Awards
February 22, 2010
Warsaw, February 22, 2010 – Tax advisors in Baker & McKenzie’s Warsaw office won five awards in the 4th Ranking of Tax Firms and Tax Advisors organized by Gazeta Prawna, a leading Polish newspaper. Baker & McKenzie was named the “most successful firm” in terms of cases won and ranked second among the best tax advisory firms in 2009 in the category of medium-sized firms. Partners Jerzy Martini was named the best tax advisor in the VAT and Litigation categories while Piotr Wysocki ranked second in the Mergers and Acquisitions category.
The ranking identified the best and the most effective firms as well as the best tax advisors in 2009. The awards were granted in four categories: the Big Four firms, large firms (10 and more tax advisors), medium firms (three to nine tax advisors), and small firms (up to two tax advisors), and the main selection criteria were, among other things, the number of tax advisors, revenue, the number of clients, and the number of court cases won.
“Our high rankings confirm the quality of our work and reflect our position on the Polish market,” said Sławomir Boruc, Partner and head of the tax practice group at Baker & McKenzie in Poland. “At the same time they motivate us to continue our development and improve our performance. I wish to thank the whole team that has worked so hard for these awards.”
Jerzy Martini was named the best tax advisor specializing in VAT and the most successful client representative in trials before court. The win in the latter category was decided by the fact that Martini won 26 out of 27 court cases in which he represented clients. Mr. Martini was also involved in one of the most significant tax decisions in 2009, the precedent-setting decision of the Provincial Administrative Court in Krakow in the Magoora case regarding the deductibility of input VAT on cars used for business purposes and on fuel for such cars.
Piotr Wysocki ranked second in Mergers and Acquisitions. In 2009, he advised on numerous noteworthy capital market and M&A transactions. Wysocki was responsible for the international structuring of an investment in a closed-end investment fund in Poland by a private equity fund and for providing tax advice on a pioneering securitization transaction.
This included representing the taxpayer, together with Przemysław Skorupa, before the Provincial Administrative Court in Wrocław in a leading case concerning the classification of securitization services from the VAT perspective. He also advised on, among other things, the restructuring of a leading FMCG group with a value of more than US$1 billion, and on two issuances of Eurobonds with a value of several hundred million euros each.
“This award is of particular importance to me, especially now when the requirements of the Clients are constantly growing and advisory services are becoming more and more professional,” says Piotr Wysocki, Partner at Baker & McKenzie.