A Proud Polish-American Consul (and Counsel)
Sticky Lawyers
Chapters
2:10
Rick tells how his parent emigrated to the United States.
6:54
He grew up embracing his Polish heritage with a deep interest in Polish history.
7:50
Entering politics at 18 and his involvement with the Polish Solidarity Trade Union in Krakow.
10:04
The beginning of Rick’s legal career.
12:42
Reengaging with Polish Solidarity as a U.S. lawyer (and third-year associate).
14:02
Establishing his law firm’s presence in Poland, helping Fortune 500 companies invest in the region, and setting up the first private commercial bank in Eastern. Europe.
22:12
Why Polish lawyers lacked experience in mergers and acquisitions and negotiating asset purchasing agreements.
24:43
Polish law schools didn’t teach commercial law classes for several years because professors lacked the knowledge.
26:47
Rick’s path to becoming honoree consul in Detroit.
32:33
Rick explains the long difficult history between Poland and Ukraine.
36:10
Polish and Ukraine governments started working together in 2014 to avoid Russian invasions when Russia invaded Eastern Ukraine and Crimea.
37:24
In February 2022, Polish citizens took in Ukrainian mothers and children.
38:25
An associate in Miller Canfield’s Warsaw office met a displaced Ukrainian lawyer at kindergarten drop-off, creating new opportunities for the firm in Kyiv.
40:52
How to network during an industry conference in a Kyiv bomb shelter.
Sticky Lawyers
A Proud Polish-American Consul (and Counsel)
Jun 22, 2023 Episode 24
John Reed

For an attorney who once had political aspirations and started his career in public finance law, Richard Walawender’s deep Polish roots and serendipitous timing helped him create a fascinating law career that started in the 1980s Solidarity movement and continues today in his role as Honorary Consul for the Consulate of the Republic of Poland in Detroit.

A senior partner at Miller Canfield in Detroit, Rick leads its Autonomous and Connected Vehicles Group and has played a substantial role in developing the firm’s international practice. But as the son of Polish immigrants, his interest in Polish history led him to a college experience with the burgeoning Polish Solidarity movement and a call to help the Solidarity government attract investors and create the first private commercial bank in Eastern Europe.

Listen as Rick paints a vivid picture of evolving post-communist Poland, his work as a local honorary consul, and the warming relationship between Poles and Ukrainians in the U.S. and abroad.