Zarząd pyta o legal risk przed akwizycją — i czeka na Twoją odpowiedź po angielsku

Rada dyrektorów, godzina 9:00. CEO otwiera meeting słowami: "Before we proceed, I need Legal's view on the risk profile of this acquisition." Oczekuje, że po angielsku przedstawisz legal opinion z due diligence, omówisz trzy material risks w IP portfolio targetu i wyjaśnisz różnicę między representations and warranties a indemnities w Share Purchase Agreement. Zarząd nie jest prawnikami — musisz być precyzyjny i jednocześnie zrozumiały.

Angielski prawnika in-house to język, który musi działać w dwóch kierunkach jednocześnie: być wystarczająco technicznie poprawny, żeby wytrzymać scrutiny prawnicze, i wystarczająco przystępny, żeby CFO czy COO faktycznie zrozumieli ryzyko i podjęli świadomą decyzję.

Z tego artykułu skorzystają: Radca Prawny in-house, Legal Counsel, General Counsel (GC), Deputy General Counsel, Head of Legal oraz Legal Business Partner — każdy, kto na co dzień doradza organom spółki, negocjuje umowy i zarządza ryzykiem prawnym w środowisku międzynarodowym.

28 terminów — 4 kategorie

Corporate & M&A — 8 terminów

EN Term	PL Tłumaczenie	Przykład zdania
share purchase agreement (SPA)	umowa sprzedaży udziałów / akcji	"The SPA has been negotiated over three weeks — the remaining open points are the MAC clause and the warranty basket."
due diligence	badanie due diligence; należyta staranność	"Legal due diligence covered corporate structure, material contracts, IP ownership and pending litigation."
representations and warranties	oświadczenia i zapewnienia	"The seller's representations and warranties are extensive — any breach gives the buyer a claim under the indemnity."
indemnity	odszkodowanie; klauzula indemnifikacyjna	"The tax indemnity covers any additional tax liability arising from pre-closing periods and runs for six years."
closing conditions	warunki zawieszające zamknięcie transakcji	"The closing conditions include regulatory clearance, no MAC event and delivery of the completion accounts."
material adverse change (MAC)	istotna niekorzystna zmiana	"The MAC clause allows the buyer to walk away if the target's EBITDA falls by more than 15% before closing."
escrow	rachunek powierniczy; escrow	"Ten percent of the purchase price will be held in escrow for 18 months as security for warranty claims."
earn-out	dodatkowe wynagrodzenie uzależnione od wyników	"The earn-out is based on achieving revenue targets over a 24-month post-completion period — maximum additional consideration is €5 million."

Legal advisory — 8 terminów

EN Term	PL Tłumaczenie	Przykład zdania
legal opinion	opinia prawna	"External counsel has provided a legal opinion confirming that the proposed structure is compliant with Polish and EU competition law."
legal risk	ryzyko prawne	"The legal risk associated with this clause is high — I recommend we escalate to General Counsel before signing."
legal hold	zabezpieczenie dowodów; zakaz niszczenia dokumentów	"A legal hold has been issued — all employees must preserve documents and communications relating to this matter."
litigation	postępowanie sądowe; spory sądowe	"The company is currently involved in litigation with a former distributor — estimated exposure is €2 million."
settlement	ugoda; rozstrzygnięcie polubowne	"We recommend pursuing a commercial settlement — the cost of litigation significantly outweighs the likely recovery."
outside counsel	zewnętrzna kancelaria prawna	"We've instructed outside counsel in Germany to advise on the local regulatory implications of the acquisition."
privileged communication	komunikacja objęta tajemnicą zawodową	"This advice is privileged — please do not share it outside the legal team without my approval."
conflict of interest	konflikt interesów	"Before advising on this matter, I need to flag a potential conflict of interest — I previously acted for the counterparty."

Contracts & governance — 6 terminów

EN Term	PL Tłumaczenie	Przykład zdania
corporate governance	ład korporacyjny	"The target's corporate governance framework is weak — there are no independent board members and no audit committee."
board resolution	uchwała zarządu / rady dyrektorów	"The acquisition requires a board resolution authorising the CEO to execute the SPA on behalf of the company."
power of attorney	pełnomocnictwo	"Please arrange for a notarised power of attorney authorising our external counsel to sign on the company's behalf at closing."
signatory authority	uprawnienie do podpisywania umów	"Please confirm the signatory authority for this agreement — the value exceeds the CFO's individual limit."
shareholder agreement	umowa wspólników	"The shareholder agreement contains a drag-along clause — majority shareholders can compel minority holders to sell in a trade sale."
articles of association	statut spółki; umowa spółki	"The articles of association require a 75% shareholder majority for any disposal of material assets."

Regulatory & compliance — 6 terminów

EN Term	PL Tłumaczenie	Przykład zdania
regulatory risk	ryzyko regulacyjne	"The regulatory risk in this jurisdiction is elevated — the local regulator has taken an aggressive enforcement stance in the past 12 months."
legal exposure	ekspozycja prawna; potencjalna odpowiedzialność	"Our legal exposure under the legacy contracts is estimated at up to €3 million — this needs to be reflected in the purchase price adjustment."
statutory obligation	obowiązek ustawowy	"The company has a statutory obligation to notify the regulator within 30 days of any change of control."
fiduciary duty	obowiązek powierniczy; obowiązek lojalności	"As directors, they owe a fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of the company — not the individual shareholders who appointed them."
legal entity	podmiot prawny; jednostka prawna	"The transaction is structured as an asset purchase to avoid acquiring the legal entity's historical liabilities."
jurisdiction	jurysdykcja; właściwość sądu	"The agreement is governed by English law and the parties submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts."

Scenariusze komunikacji

a) Briefing zarządu o ryzyku prawnym M&A — 8 zwrotów

"The due diligence has identified three material risks in the target's IP portfolio — two pending patent disputes and one unregistered trademark in the key market."
"My recommendation is to seek a specific indemnity from the seller covering any liability arising from the IP disputes, with no cap and no time limit."
"The MAC clause as currently drafted is narrow — it would only be triggered by a material deterioration in the target's financial position, not by regulatory action."
"The representations and warranties are seller-friendly — I recommend we push for a lower basket and a higher cap before signing."
"Ten percent of the consideration should be placed in escrow for 24 months to provide security for warranty claims — this is standard market practice for a deal of this size."
"The earn-out mechanism creates a significant litigation risk — the targets are not clearly defined and the measurement methodology is ambiguous."
"Closing is conditional on merger control clearance from the Polish Office of Competition — this will take approximately 30 business days."
"My overall legal risk assessment is medium — the IP issues are manageable with appropriate protections. I recommend we proceed subject to the indemnity being agreed."

b) Legal hold notice — 6 zwrotów

"We are issuing a legal hold notice — all documents and communications related to this matter must be preserved immediately and must not be deleted, modified or destroyed."
"This legal hold applies to all employees who have been involved in or have information relating to the subject matter of the dispute."
"Please suspend all routine document destruction or data deletion processes that might affect materials covered by this hold."
"The legal hold remains in effect until further notice from the Legal team — you will be notified when it is lifted."
"If you are unsure whether a document falls within the scope of the hold, please contact the Legal team before taking any action."
"Failure to comply with a legal hold can result in serious consequences for the company in any subsequent litigation — please treat this as a matter of urgency."

c) Doradztwo dla biznesu w sprawie ryzyka kontraktowego — 6 zwrotów

"From a legal perspective, Clause 8 creates unlimited liability exposure — I recommend we push back and cap our liability at 12 months' fees."
"The indemnification scope is too broad — as drafted, we would be liable for third-party claims that are entirely outside our control."
"I'd advise against signing this agreement as it stands — the governing law is unfamiliar and the jurisdiction clause gives the counterparty a significant advantage."
"This clause is standard and unlikely to create material risk in practice — I'm comfortable for the business to proceed on this basis."
"The auto-renewal provision is a commercial risk, not just a legal one — please ensure the contract is flagged for review 90 days before expiry."
"My legal recommendation is to proceed subject to the following three amendments — if the counterparty rejects all three, we should escalate to General Counsel."

Krótki dialog — General Counsel briefuje CEO przed posiedzeniem zarządu

General Counsel: "Before the board meeting, I want to flag the three key legal risks on the acquisition. The most significant is the IP exposure — two pending patent disputes in the target's core product line. My recommendation is a specific indemnity with no cap."

CEO: "What's the worst-case scenario if we don't get the indemnity?"

General Counsel: "If both disputes go against the target, the combined exposure is approximately €4.5 million. Under the current SPA, that liability transfers to us at closing — it wouldn't be covered by the warranty basket."

CEO: "Is the seller likely to agree to an uncapped indemnity?"

General Counsel: "Unlikely for the full amount, but I think we can negotiate a specific indemnity capped at €5 million with a six-year tail. The MAC clause also needs tightening — as drafted, it only covers financial deterioration, not regulatory action, which is a significant gap given the sector."

CEO: "Your recommendation overall?"

General Counsel: "Proceed, subject to those two amendments. If the seller won't move on the IP indemnity, I'd recommend a price reduction of at least €3 million to reflect the unmitigated exposure."

Słownictwo do legal opinion — 6 zwrotów

"This opinion is given solely in respect of Polish law as at the date hereof and is subject to the qualifications set out below."
"We have assumed, without independent verification, that all documents provided to us are authentic, complete and accurate."
"Based on the documents reviewed and the information provided, it is our opinion that the proposed transaction does not require prior regulatory approval."
"This opinion is addressed to and may be relied upon only by the addressees — it may not be disclosed to or relied upon by any third party without our prior written consent."
"We express no opinion on matters of fact, on the commercial merits of the transaction, or on any law other than Polish law."
"This opinion is limited to the matters expressly stated herein and is not to be read as extending, by implication or otherwise, to any other matter."

Najczęstsze błędy Polaków

1. „legal" jako rzeczownik — potoczne, nie formalne. "Our legal says..." to slang korporacyjny. ❌ "I've checked with legal" → ✅ "I've checked with our Legal team" / "I've spoken with Legal Counsel". W tytułach stanowisk: Legal Counsel, General Counsel, Head of Legal — nigdy samo "Legal" jako rzeczownik.

2. „lawsuit" vs „litigation". Lawsuit to konkretna sprawa sądowa wytoczona przez określoną stronę. Litigation to postępowanie sądowe jako zjawisko — szersze pojęcie obejmujące cały spór. ❌ "We are facing a litigation from the distributor" → ✅ "We are facing a lawsuit from the distributor" lub "We are involved in litigation with the distributor."

3. „SPA" — wymowa. Wymawiamy litery osobno: S-P-A /ˌes piː ˈeɪ/, nie jako słowo. Tak samo: NDA = N-D-A, MAC = M-A-C lub /mæk/. ✅ "The SPA [/ˌes piː ˈeɪ/] was executed yesterday."

4. „warranty" vs „guarantee" — różnica prawna. Warranty to gwarancja kontraktowa — oświadczenie o stanie faktycznym lub zobowiązanie do określonego standardu. Guarantee to zobowiązanie osoby trzeciej do wykonania cudzego zobowiązania. ❌ "The seller provided a guarantee about the IP ownership" → ✅ "The seller gave a warranty as to IP ownership."

5. „privileged" w kontekście prawnym. Privileged oznacza objęty tajemnicą zawodową (legal professional privilege) — nie "uprzywilejowany". Komunikacja prawnik–klient, której nie można wymagać ujawnienia w sądzie. ✅ "This advice is privileged — it cannot be disclosed in proceedings."

Quick Reference Table — 28 terminów

EN Term	PL Tłumaczenie	Kategoria
share purchase agreement (SPA)	umowa sprzedaży udziałów	Corporate & M&A
due diligence	badanie due diligence	Corporate & M&A
representations and warranties	oświadczenia i zapewnienia	Corporate & M&A
indemnity	odszkodowanie; klauzula indemnifikacyjna	Corporate & M&A
closing conditions	warunki zawieszające zamknięcie	Corporate & M&A
material adverse change (MAC)	istotna niekorzystna zmiana	Corporate & M&A
escrow	rachunek powierniczy	Corporate & M&A
earn-out	wynagrodzenie uzależnione od wyników	Corporate & M&A
legal opinion	opinia prawna	Legal advisory
legal risk	ryzyko prawne	Legal advisory
legal hold	zabezpieczenie dowodów	Legal advisory
litigation	postępowanie sądowe	Legal advisory
settlement	ugoda	Legal advisory
outside counsel	zewnętrzna kancelaria	Legal advisory
privileged communication	komunikacja objęta tajemnicą	Legal advisory
conflict of interest	konflikt interesów	Legal advisory
corporate governance	ład korporacyjny	Governance
board resolution	uchwała zarządu	Governance
power of attorney	pełnomocnictwo	Governance
signatory authority	uprawnienie do podpisywania	Governance
shareholder agreement	umowa wspólników	Governance
articles of association	statut spółki	Governance
regulatory risk	ryzyko regulacyjne	Regulatory
legal exposure	ekspozycja prawna	Regulatory
statutory obligation	obowiązek ustawowy	Regulatory
fiduciary duty	obowiązek powierniczy	Regulatory
legal entity	podmiot prawny	Regulatory
jurisdiction	jurysdykcja	Regulatory

Podsumowanie

Angielski prawnika in-house to język precyzji i odpowiedzialności decyzyjnej. Różnica między warranty a guarantee, między litigation a lawsuit, między komunikacją privileged a niepodlegającą ochronie — to terminy, które w razie sporu mogą decydować o wyniku sprawy.

Terminologię z tego artykułu znajdziesz w fiszkach Prawo & Compliance — kategoria Legal Counsel. Powiązane artykuły: angielski prawniczy, angielski dla Contract Managera oraz angielski dla Compliance Specialisty.

Angielski dla Prawnika In-house — legal counsel, umowy i doradztwo korporacyjne po angielsku