Maria Szczepańska

Maria Szczepańska is an advocate admitted to practice in Poland, partner in the dispute resolution department of Rymarz Zdort Maruta and the head of the White-Collar Crime practice.

Experience and education:

Maria Szczepańska specialises in litigation, with a particular focus on white-collar crime. She has broad experience in representing clients at both the pre-trial and litigation stages of proceedings.

Maria is also an expert in the field of criminal proceedings, which includes advising in connection with high-profile criminal matters, in which she has represented both the injured parties and defended those suspected of as well as already charged with wrongdoing (including management board members). She represents clients in cases connected with money laundering, bribery and corruption, fraud, breaches of fiduciary duties, insider trading, and violations of personal rights.

Additionally, Maria has experience with the implementation of preventative measures and the introduction of internal compliance procedures aimed at identifying instances of bribery, corruption and money laundering to reduce the risk of criminal liability.

Maria Szczepańska is also experienced in handling cross-border criminal cases, in particular cases involving the European Arrest Warrant (EAW). She is fluent in French and English. She is one of around a dozen lawyers in Poland who are members of the European Criminal Bar Association (ECBA) and its sub-association, the European Fraud and Compliance Lawyers (EFCL). Since 2021, she has also been a member of the Commission for International Cooperation of the Warsaw Bar Association. Maria is also one of the founders and chairpersons of the Polish chapter of the Women’s White Collar Defence Association (WWCDA).

She graduated from the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Warsaw in 2011, having also completed a course in European and French law at the Centre for French Law Studies co-organised by the University of Warsaw and Université de Poitiers in the same year. In 2016, she completed postgraduate studies in white-collar defence & investigations at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. She qualified as an advocate in 2015.

Additionally, Maria provides consulting services for private clients, including comprehensive services for private investors and entrepreneurs. Since the introduction of regulations on family foundations, she has been advising private clients on the establishment and operation of family foundations, with a particular focus on succession planning.

Awards and rankings:

Since 2020 she has been among the recommended lawyers for White-Collar Crime in the prestigious legal ranking, The Legal 500, and has been recognised in the 2025 “Leading Associates” category. In 2022, she was among the winners of the 11th edition of the “Rising Stars Lawyers – Leaders of Tomorrow” competition, organised by Wolters Kluwer Polska. According to recent reports:

‘Maria Szczepańska, as our defence attorney, stands out for her swift actions and comprehensive responses to the court, highlighting the prosecution’s weaknesses.’ (The Legal 500, 2025)

‘Maria Szczepańska acts in a non-standard way, while making sure the client feels secure. She provides excellent client care and has repeatedly demonstrated her experience and specialist knowledge at the highest level.’ (The Legal 500, 2023)

‘A senior associate to notice is Maria Szczepańska. She has out-of-the-box thinking, making her approach to handling legal problems unique. Often, her way of thinking enables her to efficiently tackle such obstacles which other lawyers consider insurmountable.’ (The Legal 500, 2022)

‘Maria Szczepańska is hardworking, highly responsible, knowledgeable, and very good at finding innovative solutions. She was fully committed to every project she was working on for my company.’ (The Legal 500, 2022)

‘The team is highly specialized in multiple areas of law, hence offering clients a comprehensive, holistic approach to legal advice – including but not limited to criminal matters. Their expertise is not limited to white collar crime, but encompasses other areas of law, such as corporate law or corporate governance, relevant to the effective case management in criminal cases. All lawyers are emphatic and work well under pressure, which is of utmost importance from criminal clients’ standpoint. The team is also unique because of its mostly female composition, providing a fresh perspective and definitely standing out from the still male-dominated legal industry.’ (The Legal 500, 2022)