An in-depth look at Bartosz Miszkurka of Solivan covering his career path, education, and top projects as a lawyer as well as a few insights about him as a manager at work and as a person outside the office.
Career:
- BTA Solivan; Founding Partner; 2012-present
- Deloitte Legal; Partner Associate; 2010-2012
- KPMG Legal; Partner Associate; 2008-2010
- GFKK B. Miszkurka and Associates; Managing Partner; 2007-2008
- Linklaters; Managing Associate; 2002-2007
- Clifford Chance; Legal Trainee; 1999-2002
Education:
- London School of Economics and Political Science; LLM; 1998
- College of Europe; MA in European Studies; 1997
- University of Warsaw; MA in Law; 1995
- University of Silesia in Katowice; Faculty of Law, BA; 1995
Favorites:
- Out of office activity: road cycling, cyclo tourism, brevets, gardening work at the farm, learning Spanish
- Quote: “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” – Albert Einstein
- Book: Les Bienveillantes by Jonathan Littell
- Movie: Everybody’s Fine (2009) by Kirk Jones
Top 5 Projects:
- Advising Meinl European Land RE Fund on the acquisition of a portfolio of seven shopping centers in Poland from Echo Investment S.A.
- Advising Catalyst Capital on the acquisition of an office building through the acquisition of shares in a very complex corporate structure and with elements of re-financing
- Advising LiuGong Machinery on the acquisition of a part of the production business in the HSW S.A.
- Advising the Orco property group on the permitting process, construction, and sale of the Zlota 44 residential tower
- Advising BGK (Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego) on the first PRS project on the Polish market and standard legal documentation
CEELM: What would you say was the most challenging project you ever worked on and why?
Miszkurka: Without a doubt, real challenges arise when you are a novice lawyer, with too little experience and someone has entrusted you with a task that attracts media attention, is pioneering, requires a great deal of practical non-legal knowledge. This was the situation I found myself in when I was at the beginning of my career fresh from passing the bar exam. The project was the design, obtaining all necessary planning and building consents, and commercialization of the Zlota 44 (Daniel Libeskind’s design) high-rise residential project – a project which won many national and international awards including at the International Property Awards London and the City of Warsaw award. In 2024, a record was set as one of the flats in the Zlota 44 building achieved the highest price on the Polish market and was sold for almost EUR 6 million. The complex nature of the project meant that it was the first of its kind in Poland and the lawyer’s role was to verify all the creative ideas that arose as a result of weekly project meetings and brainstorming. We had to defend the project against protesters and those behind them who used legitimate legal means but in fact were engaging in blackmail aimed at financial gain.
CEELM: And what was your main takeaway from it?
Miszkurka: The most valuable experience was the unique opportunity to participate in the creative process of designing, negotiating, building, and selling from a business perspective. I was deeply embedded in a process in which lawyers are not often involved from the very beginning.
CEELM: What is one thing clients likely don’t know about you?
Miszkurka: I pay great attention to good and practical architecture. I have successfully managed several private building projects and I think that my true vocation would be to set up a property development company. I like to see tangible projects come to life and how they function afterward.
CEELM: Name one mentor who played a big role in your career and how they impacted you.
Miszkurka: Right after passing the bar exam, I ended up in the real estate department of Linklaters managed by Jonathan Gimblett – an English-qualified lawyer. Working with Jonathan, I learned how to concisely and understandably define and describe legal risks in a way that is understandable to English-speaking clients. There, I was supervised by Artur Kulawski who was then a Partner at Linklaters. Artur was an example of a very efficient, experienced lawyer able to manage large transactions. From the very beginning, I enjoyed a high degree of independence in working on projects and, on the other hand, I could always count on help and support. I very much appreciated the way he managed our team and the calmness which was very important in this very tense working environment.
CEELM: Name one mentee you are particularly proud of.
Miszkurka: I always have good memories of working with Darek Zboch, with whom I had the opportunity to work for many years on very complex real estate transactions before he decided to change his specialization for which I appreciate him very much. He is a very hard-working person who was always looking for new challenges and was able to adapt to the changing legal environment (in his case, the law of new technologies and renewable sources of energy).
CEELM: What is the one piece of advice you’d give yourself fresh out of law school?
Miszkurka: Do not be uncritical toward template contracts and documents, even if they come from reputable law firms, and always try to verify and improve them.
This article was originally published in Issue 11.11 of the CEE Legal Matters Magazine. If you would like to receive a hard copy of the magazine, you can subscribe here.
