Aleksander Galos & Wojciech Wrochna join Kochanski Zieba & Partners (Kochanski & Partners)

Kochanski Zieba & Partners (Kochanski & Partners) hire Aleksander Galos as Partner to head their Energy, Natural Resources & Chemicals sector practice as well as Wojciech Wrochna as Counsel and Head of the European Law and European Business Regulations practice.

With these hires Kochanski Zieba & Partners have materially strengthened and expanded their expertise and practice in both fields of legal services.

Galos was Managing Partner of the Warsaw office of international law firm Hogan & Hartson LLP (currently known as Hogan Lovells) where he spent almost 17 years of his career, focused on PPP, project finance, infrastructure, energy, corporate, administrative and civil law, with a particular emphasis on contract law, public finance, public procurement, regulatory, offset, and anti-dumping matters.

Galos’ experience includes, among other things, projects involving the issuance of bonds and commercial paper in Poland, as well as project financing ventures in which he served as counsel to several of the largest multi-lateral financing institutions including IFC, World Bank, and EBRD. These projects were focused on local infrastructure in a number of Poland’s largest cities, including Krakow, Bydgoszcz, Szczecin, Wroclaw, Katowice and Poznan.

In addition he has also advised international military equipment producers and offset suppliers as well as one of the largest European motorway operators.

Galos is highly experienced in dealings with the European Commission and governmental agencies.

In the past, he was Director of the Office of the Head of the Council of Ministers. He also represented the Ministry of State Treasury in a dispute against investors in PZU S.A., Poland’s largest insurance company, and for several years was a member of the Management Board of Eko-Park S.A., a renowned real estate development company, and a member of many supervisory boards including Polish and international banks.

Before joining Kochanski & Partners, Galos held the important position of General Counsel at the Polish energy company PGE EJ1 Sp. z o.o., where he held ultimate responsibility for all legal aspects of the construction of the first Polish nuclear power plant.

Wojciech Wrochna specializes in European law with a particular emphasis on competition law, state aid and sector regulation issues as well as in investments, transactions and advice to entities operating on the regulated markets.

He has worked in European institutions (including the European Court of Justice, and European Parliament) and government institutions (e.g. as an advisor to the Minister of Science and Higher Education).

Wrochna has repeatedly represented the Government of Poland before the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg and the European Commission in matters concerning the violation of Poland’s obligations under EU law. He has also conducted proceedings for the European Commission regarding e.g. notification of aid projects, including projects co-financed by EU funds, and M&A transactions.

His experience in the regulated markets covers comprehensive advice to clients in the field of investments and transactions, obtaining financing (EU funds) and among others advice on LNG Terminal investment, cogeneration projects, RES, including wind farms, and broadband networks.

He has also advised Polish energy company PGE EJ1 (PGE Group), concerning regulation of the energy sector, the power market, contracts for difference, EU law including public assistance issues. Currently, Wrochna also works as an expert for PSE S.A.

Wrochna is an academic lecturer and the author of articles on EU and energy law, and the co-author of commentary to the Treaty establishing the European Community.

Piotr Kochanski, Managing Partner of Kochanski Zieba & Partners advised, “We are very pleased to welcome both Aleksander and Wojciech to the Kochanski Zieba & Partners team. They are leading experts in terms of Energy, Natural Resources, Mining and Chemicals on the Polish legal market. They join with wide and in-depth experience.

We believe that with Aleksander Galos as Partner and Head of that Sector Practice, and Wojciech Wrochna, in combining with Michał Będkowski-Kozioł (Partner and Head of Antimonopoly Law Practice), Kochanski & Partners caters for every aspect of the Energy, Natural Resources and Mining industry, including transactional or regulatory support. Moreover, Wojciech’s unique experience of EC institutions will be of huge value to Polish companies in their dealings with the different EC bodies.

“With their extensive and specialist backgrounds Aleksander and Wojciech also reinforce other sector practices such as Financial Services, Infrastructure & Construction, Real Estate, New Technologies & Telecommunications, and Defense & Aviation”, Piotr Kochański concluded.

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