Legal consultancy

Usually, we seek out legal counsel when a legal issue arises. Most often it is a legal dispute with a contractor (e.g. over payment or unexecuted services), an emerging risk of liability of a board member of the company for its obligations, a tax audit, civil litigation, looming specter of insolvency or bankruptcy or so-called business divorce. During times when the business is prospering, no one usually considers hiring a lawyer or a tax advisor.

Meanwhile, an entrepreneur should surround himself with professionals specializing in areas he doesn’t necessarily have to possess any knowledge of, but which he can’t neglect while running a company. Whether he runs a sole proprietorship, partnership or corporation, small business, mid – size enterprise or a major company. Corporate lawyer today is not only a legal or tax advisor or an advocate but also attorney-at-law combining those functions, specializing and offering support for businesses in narrow fields of law such as for example “real estate attorney”.

In 2021 more than 1,4 mln cases of an economic nature have been brought before the court. By the end of second quarter of 2022 168 companies have declared bankruptcy, of which 145 were companies of various type. Only in the first half of 2022, KAS, US and UCS have initiated in total 8 500 tax and customs audits. In 2021, 224 775 economic crimes were found to have been committed, of those 74,5% of the perpetrators were detected. During 2020, tax administration have frozen 1 216 bank accounts. In 2021 there was 678 people convicted of Missing trader fraud and so called VAT crimes.

As the above statistics show, using the services of an attorney-at-law, a lawyer tax advisor or handing bookkeeping to a competent accounting office is a must. It is best, when legal and accounting support is provided by counsellors who are also practitioners – just as entrepreneurs run their own businesses and face the same problems on a daily basis. Then many of these incidents can be avoided or effectively protected against.

Member of the board of directors will not always be liable for the company’s obligations. Criminal charges are often brought up on the basis of tenuous circumstantial evidence. Bank account blocks are often purely repressive in nature. Tax authorities almost always act pro-fiscally, counting on the incompetence of those being under audit.

Skarbiec Law Firm is made up of legal advisors, attorneys, tax and financial advisors with many years of experience and success in handling business, civil, criminal and fiscal cases and disputes. Thus, the legal services we provide for companies are characterized by comprehensiveness and the ability to respond quickly to almost any threat that arises in the company’s operations.

More on this topic:

•  Liability of board members for the company’s obligations. When is the right time to file for bankruptcy?
• Real estate trading is not always an economic activity – verdict of the Constitutional Court.
• Apparent bankruptcy, concealment of assets and mismanagement to the detriment of creditors
•  New corporate groups law. The government creates rules for holding companies operation and c corporate groups

Ongoing or ad hoc legal consulting

Correctly assessing the risks of entering into a contract and the potential consequences of various practical situations in legal and tax terms allows an entrepreneur to make an informed decision on whether it is worthwhile to engage in a particular venture. Professional legal services should make it easier for him to do so.

Clients of Skarbiec Law Firm, as part of legal advice, receive ongoing support in the area of:

•  legal risk assessment of business events such as contract conclusion, submission or selection of collaboration offers, filing or defense against litigation,
•  legal audits and comprehensive due diligence activities consisting of company’s legal status verification, risk assessment related to signed agreements and pending disputes, legal verification of assets, legitimacy of claims against the entrepreneur assessment,
•  contract, agreements and settlements negotiations, negotiations with debtors and creditors, amicable settlement of disputes,
•  legal and tax verification of business transactions,
•  selecting the appropriate form of business to optimize business risks,
•  assistance in structuring private assets as a means to protect against the consequences of wrong business decisions.

Legal aid and representation
Litigation can involve many aspects of business operations. Overdue debts requiring collection, improperly executed contracts, the need to rectify following an unreliable contractor, on the other hand, invoices issued for incorrect amounts, demands for payment for services not performed, wrongly charged contractual penalties, are the everyday functioning of the entrepreneur.

As part of the services provided by Skarbiec Law Firm, we focus mainly on:

• Representation before state administrative bodies and courts of all instances, e.g., as a result of issuance of administrative decisions related to real estate belonging to the entrepreneur, bank account freeze, searches at the premises of the entity, inspections of all institutions, e.g., ZUS or UODO,
•  Representation before private entities, such as suppliers, customers, contractors of other types, e.g. energy suppliers, housing communities and cooperatives, landlords or tenants,
•  Civil and commercial litigation conduct at every stage of its development and on each side of the dispute, from a request for a settlement attempt, through filing and supporting a claim, filing an objection or charge against a payment order, to the preparation of pleadings in interlocutory cases, such as the formulation of complaints or grievances, as well as in appeal proceedings by drawing up an appeal or defending against an appeal,
•  Debt collection from the early stage of calling for payment, through negotiations with the debtor to the conduct of comprehensive judicial and bailiff collection, including representation before enforcement authorities,
•  Performing legal transactions on behalf of principals, such as acquiring and disposal of real estate, entering into company contracts, etc., as well as representation at shareholders’ meetings or general meetings of companies.

Corporate legal services, Company legal services

Depending on the form of business, an entrepreneur may be affected by the need to prepare and maintain corporate records. The Commercial Companies Code also provides for various situations that require that all or some of the shareholders or any of the company’s bodies give their consent to a given action. Sometimes compliance with these formalities can affect the validity of the action that is to be taken.

Clients of Skarbiec Law Firm gain support in the field of:

•  Establishing and registration of business entities,
•  Drafting of Articles of incorporation and other partnership contracts, drafting internal document regulating the relationship between the representative or supervisory body and the company and themselves, keeping minutes of meetings of shareholder or the company’s bodies, share capital changes, members of company bodies appointment and shares or stocks transactions,
• Proper maintenance of the legal documentation required by the provisions of the Commercial Companies Code, such as shares ledger, powers of attorney book, etc., determining the formal requirements for transactions and their preparation,
• comprehensive execution of procedures for the transformation, merger or division of companies,
• representation before the registry courts,
• bankruptcy petitions filing for the debtor and the creditor, representation of creditors in bankruptcy and restructuring proceedings,
• Suspension and liquidation of business entities, as well as their closure without liquidation.

Company Legal Services Warsaw, Attorney-at-law Warsaw

Thus, corporate services of the Warsaw Law Firm Skarbiec include not only legal audit and standard legal services for companies. As a law and tax firm, legal counsel, attorney, financial advisor, business advisor and accountant in one, we can offer expert legal assistance to companies in every aspect and at every stage – from the issue of “how to set up a sole proprietorship” to “liquidation of a business”.

According to the provisions introduced from January 1, 2019 in Article 119a par. 1 of the Tax Ordinance, an action does not result in the achievement of a tax benefit if the achievement of this benefit, contrary under the circumstances to the object or purpose of the tax law or its provision, was the main or one of the main purposes of its performance, and the manner of action was artificial. Therefore, the available legal solutions must be tailored to individual business needs in each case, so as not to expose oneself to the charge of acting artificially, contrary under the circumstances to the object and purpose of a provision of the Tax Law. The exact meaning of these normative indications is worth consulting with a legal advisor, lawyer or tax advisor in each case.