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CMS appoints new leader for Dispute Resolution practice in Poland

20 April 2022

Anna Cudna-Wagner, a long-standing partner at international law firm CMS, will head the firm's Dispute Resolution practice in Poland. Effective 1 May 2022, she will lead the team in close cooperation with CMS partner Arkadiusz Korzeniewski.

Anna Cudna-Wagner is an attorney-at-law and specialises in cases from the financial sector. For banking clients, she conducts, among others, class actions and disputes concerning FX forward transactions. Anna Cudna-Wagner also deals with competition law disputes. In this area she represents clients in private enforcement proceedings (concerning liability for damages for infringement of competition law) and in appeals against decisions of the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection. Anna also has unique experience on the Polish market in representing clients in proceedings before the Court of Justice of the EU on preliminary questions concerning the interpretation of EU law.        

Arkadiusz Korzeniewski has been working at CMS since 2011 and is the leader of the White Collar Crime team in Poland and Central and Eastern Europe. He specialises in cases involving financial crime and arbitration, corporate disputes, construction contract disputes and public procurement. He also advises on conducting internal investigations, including interrogations of employees, searches of documents, analysis of electronic data and financial information. 

“CMS's strong position in dispute resolution is the result of years of work by extremely talented lawyers. I entrust Anna, with full confidence, with the management of this ambitious team”, says Andrzej Pośniak, CMS managing partner in Poland. “Anna's successful experience and excellent client relationships provide a solid foundation for the further dynamic development of the practice.”

Anna Cudna-Wagner comments: “There are many new challenges and opportunities ahead of us. Together with Arkadiusz we will strengthen CMS’s position in dispute resolution, as well as develop the team in the changing market environment. We are committed to creating a practice that, on the one hand, is universal and, on the other, will respond to the needs of clients who expect innovative solutions and require tailored, specialist knowledge. We will continue to focus on strengthening the effectiveness and quality of services provided by CMS.” 

Małgorzata Surdek-Janicka, CMS partner and non-executive member of the Board of CMS UK and, since last year, also vice-president of the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris, is leaving the firm after 25 years to embark on a new international arbitration project. She has led the firm’s Dispute Resolution practice in Poland since 2010. 

“I am very grateful to the entire team for many years of excellent cooperation,” says Małgorzata Surdek-Janicka. ”It has been an honour and a source of constant satisfaction to be able to jointly develop the Dispute Resolution practice with such extremely talented lawyers.”

Andrzej Pośniak adds: “We would like to thank Małgorzata for the opportunity to work together for such a long time and the enormous contribution she has made to the development of CMS. We are delighted with Małgorzata's position in the international arbitration community and wish her many more professional successes.”

Anna Cudna-Wagner and Arkadiusz Korzeniewski have been co-building the 20-person CMS Dispute Resolution team for years. The practice has been operating since the firm’s inception in Poland – as one of the key and largest CMS teams.

The CMS Dispute Resolution Practice has for years been ranked among the top Polish law firms advising on litigation by The Legal 500 (Tier 1) and Chambers and Partners (Band 2).