Michal is a trusted and strategic advisor, driven to understand his clients and help achieve their goals.
He is aware of what clients value because he’s been in their shoes. He was an in-house counsel for almost six years, receiving legal service from external counsel and providing advice to his internal clients. He knows the value of responsiveness and efficiency, and providing clear, actionable advice on schedule and on budget.
Work Highlights
The University of British Columbia
- Managed and negotiated complex long-term relationships with community partners such as the Vancouver Whitecaps and Corix Utilities, and various international IT entities such as Workday, Salesforce and Oracle.
- Led the review and development of several major policies, including: Conflict of Interest and Conflict of Commitment, and Capital Projects, Capital Purchases & Internal Loans.
- Worked extensively with national and institutional counsel on the development of Copyright aware policies and procedures.
- Coordinated a series of working groups with counsel and copyright officers from across Canada to research and draft policy positions on Copyright Act reform.
- Negotiated several major land lease and related agreements for major capital projects, including the AMS Nest and the UBC Alumni Centre.
- Worked extensively with UBC Campus and Community Planning, the UBC executive and UBC Properties Trust, on governance, land development and regulation, and strategic initiatives regarding on-campus housing.
- Worked with the Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills and Training and the Attorney General to secure ministerial orders for various specific disposals of land, and unique arrangements to facilitate large scale development of the University’s lands.
UBC Properties Trust
- Completed numerous long-term lease transactions for neighbourhood and academic developments on UBC’s Vancouver Campus.
- Negotiated commercial leases for office and retail properties in Wesbrook Place.
- As in-house counsel at UBC, worked to secure Board and Ministerial Approvals, and established clear and practical protocols and governance arrangements between UBC and the Trust.
Great Northern Way Campus Trust
- Completed the sale of two ancillary properties on the Great Northern Way campus lands.
- As in-house counsel and external counsel, assisted in navigating various institutional approval and Ministerial requirements.
Michal employs this in projects large and small. In a recent complex project under a tight deadline, he faced the standard time-consuming process of trading drafts, which can involve many hoops and hurdles. Michal was determined to expedite this process without sacrificing the quality of work. Proactively, he identified self-contained issues and engaged with the subject matter specialists (IT, tax, privacy) of both parties to resolve those, without impeding ongoing negotiations. As a result, a process that can take weeks or months was done in a fraction of the time, and the transaction closed on the parties’ preferred date.
Services
| Negotiating large, multi-faceted projects including IT outsourcing and long-term partnerships | Advising on Board governance including policy development and advice regarding bicameral governance |
| Drafting and negotiating various commercial agreements | Research commercialization |
| Copyright and trademark matters | Public sector procurement |
| Property development and leasing | Privacy, including policies, contract and compliance issues, and Freedom of Information requests |
Michal has developed many relationships through his deep interest in seeing the higher learning sector thrive. He serves on the Board of the UBC Staff Pension Plan and previously served on the Langara College Board. Michal has also taught students as an adjunct professor at the UBC Allard School of Law and Sauder School of Business. These experiences have provided him with an awareness of the challenges faced by boards, executives, faculty and staff, and how to best advise them.
Unafraid to embark into unchartered terrain with clients, Michal is passionate about presenting legal advice in a way that’s easily understood and put into action. He sifts through the “legalese”, learning the background and context so as to help his clients find creative solutions and hidden opportunities.
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