Norton Rose poaches duo to open office in Warsaw

Norton Rose is venturing further into eastern Europe with plans to open an office in Poland by September.

The Warsaw-based team will be led by partners Nicholas Richardson and Piotr Strawa, who will join the firm from Baker & McKenzie.

The pair, who are both well-established legal practitioners in the country's capital, have considerable experience in corporate finance, banking and projects specific to Poland.

Richardson says: "I had known Norton Rose for some time and we got chatting. One thing led to another. This is a very exciting opportunity.

"Norton Rose has been active in eastern Europe for a number of years and has clients already doing business in this part of the world.

"The time had come for them to open an office here in Warsaw and we felt that we could offer work together in a mutually beneficial way."

The Warsaw office will add to Norton Rose's existing network in the region. In 1991, the firm opened its first Russian office in Moscow. Since then it has developed a practice in Romania and, most recently, in the Czech Republic, where it established a joint venture in Prague last year.

It handles major transactions in other central eastern European countries too, among them Bulgaria, Croatia and Slovenia.

Marcia Levy, head of Norton Rose's emerging and transitional market group, says: "The country has a dynamic market in which many of our clients are active. By setting up a significant presence in Warsaw, we will be able to provide a better service for our clients in Poland."

Levy is confident the firm's potential for development in these countries far outweighs the risks.

She says: "Some [countries] are well-developed in terms of legal and commercial banking in a market, not without risks but certainly with rewards to justify them.

"We will continue to grow our practice throughout the region."