Richard A. Walawender is a principal of the firm and co-founder of the firm’s offices in Poland. He speaks Polish fluently and has extensive experience in public and private finance, commercial law, corporate governance and banking law. He is the head of the firm’s International Business Practice Group. While finishing his degree in Russian and East European Studies at the University of Michigan, Mr. Walawender attended Jagiellonian University in Kraków in 1981. When Solidarity came to power in Poland in 1989, Solidarity asked Mr. Walawender to advise the new government on establishing a bond program. He graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 1986, and received his bachelor’s and post-graduate degrees from the University of Michigan, specializing in Eastern European Studies. Mr. Walawender frequently lectures on Polish business law topics and has served as a National Director of the Polish American Congress. He is also a member of the International Bar Association, the American Bar Association and the State Bar of Michigan, as well as serving on the supervisory boards of several Polish companies.