Congratulations to Marcin Sanetra on his promotion to Partner at PCS Paruch Chruściel Schiffter Stępień Kanclerz | Littler!

Marcin’s transatlantic experience and dual qualifications – in Poland and in the US – are evident in his day-to-day work at the firm, where he provides comprehensive services to US and international companies and corporate groups, while also offering and coordinating HR law support to businesses in Poland and across the CEE region. Marcin is also dedicated to fostering and deepening international collaboration between the PCS | Littler team and lawyers from other Littler offices across the United States and around the world.

Marcin has been a valued member of the PCS | Littler team since 2021, initially joining as a senior attorney. Before that, he spent two years in the US, where he graduated with honors from New York University’s LLM program, qualified to practice law in the New York State, and participated in a research project for the NYU Law’s Program on Corporate Compliance and Enforcement as a research fellow. In 2023, while still at PCS | Littler, he returned to the US for several months to work as an international attorney in Littler’s Chicago office, focusing on building connections to facilitate knowledge and experience exchange between the Polish and US teams.

What does the title of Partner at PCS Paruch Chruściel Schiffter Stępień Kanclerz | Littler mean to you?

The title of Partner is a great honor, but for me, above all, it represents new opportunities – in two key areas. Firstly, it allows me to support our clients even more effectively in my new role, and on a broader scale. The partner promotion gives me more opportunities to efficiently coordinate projects and consulting services, not only in Poland but also in other CEE countries. In my daily work, I’ve seen that this is what my American and international clients expect. They often come to us with cross-jurisdiction projects, involving, for example, Czechia, Hungary, or the Baltic countries. We already provide this type of international support effectively and efficiently, and in my new role as a partner, I’ll be able to expand and formalize our regional support network. Secondly, the promotion is also an opportunity to have a greater impact on PCS and the way it operates. Our firm is growing at a rapid pace, constantly changing and evolving basically week by week. In such circumstances, a partner promotion offers the chance to support other partners in working ‘on the firm’ rather than just ‘in the firm’. This is an exciting opportunity for me. During my stay in the US, I paid close attention to the ways of the local organizations where I worked, including New York University and Littler in Chicago, seeking solutions, principles, and practices that could be applied in Poland. A few ideas – such as the technologies used, knowledge sharing and maintenance within the company, team competencies development, more effective and employee-friendly work schedules and project management – are stored both in my head and in my notes. I’ve even discussed some of these ideas with other partners already.  My ambition for my role at PCS | Littler is to focus on implementing and maintaining innovations that will make us even better.

Best advice you have received in your professional life

At work, I have always been very fortunate to meet people who have been – or still are – mentors to me at various stages of my professional growth, and from whom I’ve learned a great deal. I’ve received a lot of excellent advice, and I try to incorporate it into my work and career development. It is probably also thanks to this approach that I was elevated to Partner at PCS | Littler. However, one of the most insightful pieces of advice I’ve received came from Ben Horowitz’s excellent book ‘What You Do Is Who You Are’. It’s about trust and emphasizes that building trust within an organization – with clients, colleagues, partners, suppliers, etc. – is essential for effective and efficient work. According to Ben Horowitz’s rule of thumb, the amount of interpersonal communication needed to resolve a problem or make a difficult decision is inversely proportional to the level of trust between the parties. If I trust someone 100%, then even in the most challenging situations, a few words, a meaningful look and a nod of the head can suffice. On the other hand, if I have absolutely no trust in someone, even hours of persuasion, multimedia presentations, arguments, and real-world examples may not convince me, as I will remain skeptical about their intentions and whether my best interest is their priority. In our line of work, where we strive to resolve complex client problems efficiently and effectively, building a trusted network is crucial.