Dorota Podsiedzik-Malec and Grzegorz Materna, designed and presented workshops for employees of the Polish Ombudsman's Office. The workshops included, among other things consumer protection law issues.

Mec. Grzegorz Materna participated in a workshop oneffective cartel prosecution organized for the Belarussian Ministry of Anti-monopoly Regulation and Trade by OECD and UOKiK. Mec. Materna presented on Polishexperience as regards fighting bid-rigging, including advocacy the role of co-operation between competition authority and other enforcement bodies.

Grzegorz Materna attended a seminar organized by the Institute of Law Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences named “Standards for the protection of rights in antitrust procedure – known issues, new questions”. During the seminar Mr. Materna presented on the concerns as regards business secrets protection in antitrust proceedings before the President of UOKiK.

Seminar agenda

A representative of our law firm, Grzegorz Materna, attended a conference organized by the Institute of Law Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Mercatus et Civis foundation entitled “II Energy Forum of Science and Economy. Opportunities and threats for energy market participants”. The conference was held under the honorary patronage of the Minister of Energy and the President of the Energy Regulatory Office. Mec. Materna was a member of the conference’s scientific committee and chaired one of the discussion panels.

„Europejski Przeglad Sadowy” (English translation: “European Judicial Review”) was published (No. 10/2019). It is devoted to the problems of the effective application of EU competition law and guarantees of rights of undertakings. The editor of EPS volume No. 10/2019 is Grzegorz Materna, a senior lawyer in Hansberry Tomkiel, whose article is also contained in this issue of EPS: “Guarantees of the independence of the national competition authority in the light of Directive ECN+ and the Polish competition authority”.

New issue of „internetowy Kwartalnik Antymonopolowy i Regulacyjny” (English translation: “Internet Antitrust and Regulatory Quarterly”) was published (No. 6/2019). It contains the following article by Grzegorz Materna: “The introduction of the compliance programme as a mitigating circumstance in the light of the guidelines of the Italian competition authority (Autorita’ Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato)”. PDF

Hansberry Tomkiel law firm is pleased to announce that Anna Dabrowska-Hanas joined our team. Mrs Dabrowska-Hanas, an attorney-at-law, is a litigator with over fifteen years of experience in the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (“UOKiK”) and in private practice. She has many years of experience in representing clients before courts of all instances.

We are pleased to announce that on May 31, 2019, US Ambassador Georgette Mosbacher appointed Ms Hansberry-Bieguńska to join the Board of Directors of the Polish-U.S. Fulbright Commission. The Polish-U.S. Fulbright Commission is a prestigious and respected program for the educational and cultural exchange between the United States and Poland. Through its exchange programs the Commission supports research, instruction and other educational activities of American and Polish students, scholars and institutions. In 2019, the Fulbright Program celebrates its 60th year in Poland.

In her appointment letter, the Ambassador wrote, ”With your background in U.S. and Polish legal issues, your interest in U.S.-Polish educational exchange, and your extensive experience living in Poland, I believe you are well positioned to help the Commission continue to grow strategically as one of the premier Fullbright programs in the world.”

In the 2019 rankings ofLegal 500: Ms Hansberry-Bieguńska and Ms Krasnodebska-Tomkiel were selected as being among the leading individual competition lawyers in Poland.

Grzegorz Materna attended a seminar organized by the Institute of Law Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences named “Facilitation to a cartel as a special form of participation in anti-competitive agreements – in the light of EU and Polish law”. During the seminar Mr. Materna presented on the concerns as to the application of the EU concept of the liability of cartel facilitators in proceedings before the President of UOKiK.

Malgorzata Krasnodebska-Tomkiel attended the 10th Jubilee Conference named “Enterprises in the Global Economy,” a series organized by the Institute of Markets and Competition of Collegium of Business Administration at the Warsaw School of Economics. Ms Krasnodebska presented onTechnological development and digitization’s impact on competition policy – challenges for undertakings.

Grzegorz Materna attended a seminar organized by the Institute of Law Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences named “Compliance programs vs. sanctions used by competition protection authorities. Main findings for UOKiK”. Mr Materna presented on theguidelines of the Italian Antitrust Authority (Autoritŕ Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato) on compliance, specifying the conditions for the recognition of the implementation of a compliance program as a mitigating factor regarding of the level of fines imposed.

„Internetowy Kwartalnik Antymonopolowy i Regulacyjny” (English translation: “Internet Antitrust and Regulatory Quarterly”) was published (No. 8/2018). It is devoted to the problems of applying competition law in the era of the digital economy. The editor of iKAR volume No. 8/2018 is Grzegorz Materna, a senior lawyer in Hansberry Tomkiel.
The issue also contains the following articles by Grzegorz Materna:

• New technologies, Big Data and the digital economy: current challenges for competition law (from the Editor);
• Non-compete clauses as barriers to the development of alternative taxi reservation channels in the light of the decision of the Autoritŕ Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato of 27 June 2018 (case I801B, Taxi – Milano).
• Report on the XIII Antitrust Conference ‘Antitrust between EU Law and National Law’, Treviso (Italy), 24–25.05.2018

Searching for better effectiveness – main challenges for antitrust regulations in the era of globalization and new technologies development, published in: Monitor Prawniczy 2/2019 (Malgorzata Krasnodebska-Tomkiel).