Hogan Lovells Attorney Honored by Polish Government

 WASHINGTON, D.C., 20 May 2015 – Hogan Lovells is proud to announce that Of Counsel Joseph Bell was awarded the Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit for "extraordinary efforts in furthering Poland's systemic and economic transformation."
 
It was bestowed by the President of the Republic of Poland, Bronislaw Komorowski.  In the presentation of the award Bell was thanked especially for his “involvement in shaping our country, Poland, at the initial and most difficult stage of its transformation.”
 
The Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland is given to foreigners and Polish citizens permanently living abroad, who by their activities have made outstanding contributions to international cooperation and to bonds between the Republic of Poland and other nations and countries.
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The commendation covers 25 years of activity in Poland beginning with his assistance as a Hogan & Hartson volunteer to the Ministry of Finance under Leszek Balcerowicz, who was appointed in 1989 as Deputy Prime Minister of Poland and Minister of Finance in the country's first non-communist government after the Second World War.  It extends to Bell’s work as a Founding Director of the American Polish Freedom Foundation.
 
The American Polish Freedom Foundation, which is dedicated to strengthening civil society in Poland by supporting economic reforms, educational advancement programs for social and economic leaders, the development of non-governmental organizations, and assisting local government to foster the development of local private enterprise.
 
Bell oversaw the opening of the Hogan Lovells Warsaw office in 1991.
 
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