Our experience

Commercial advisory & contracts

Our commercial advisory & contracts department is particularly specialised in distribution, complex agreements, and creation & growth of (new) businesses. Members of our team have a strong reputation in the field of distribution. They have created and improved many franchise, commercial agency, sales and other distribution networks throughout numerous sectors. Our team is also known for the ability to deal with the most complex matters. The team applies an interest-driven approach and is familiar with complex contractual techniques that are often used to manage commercial & political risks, insurance issues, monetary risks, financial risks, payment risks, exogenous risks, ownership status, etc. Members of our team are frequently involved in the creation of new undertakings or the improvement of existing business initiatives, be it through corporate restructuring processes, investment opportunities, guided negotiations or in other ways.

To know more about our experience in this field, please read the brochure.

Conflict (re)solution

Our team has been continuously entrusted with the design of arbitration proceedings and is regularly instructed to act as counsel in arbitration and various review proceedings (annulment and recognition and enforcement proceedings). We possess solid experience with a variety of well-known arbitration rules (UNICTRAL, LCIA, ICC, CEPANI, etc.). Recently, our team represented various states in arbitration related proceedings amounting to a total financial stake exceeding 5 billion EUR. Another recent experience involved acting on behalf of a multinational company in CEPANI and WIPO domain name dispute resolution procedures. Members of our firm have extensively published and presented on issues relating to international commercial and investment dispute resolution. Numerous arbitration prizes and awards which our firm has received demonstrate our commitment to balancing price and quality.

Our firm is a market leader in commercial mediation. Our lawyers frequently act as accredited mediators and give lectures on this subject matter in different trainings. They are always up to date as to mediation policies and the development of new regulations concerning mediation. We mediate in a big range of sectors including transport, real estate, energy, construction, distribution, and telecommunications sectors.

Apart from alternative dispute resolution means, litigation has always been a major specialisation for our law firm. All our lawyers have expertise in litigation within their own areas of specialisation, such as intellectual property law, company law, franchise and distribution law, as well as property law. Our lawyers act before the courts at all levels in civil and commercial matters, as well as in proceedings pertaining to administrative matters.

Our team can readily assist in litigation and arbitration proceedings in a range of languages such as English, Dutch, French, Russian, German, Spanish, Greek, Ukrainian, and Romanian.

To know more about our experience in this field, please read the brochure.

Diplomatic Desk

Our firm advices and represents States, International Organizations and their diplomatic missions in Brussels - as well as the members of their staff, international civil servants, government officials, leading multinational corporations and non-governmental organizations. Our team is familiar with your specific legal needs and understands that you require unique and sensitive services.

The members of our team have wide experience in legal issues surrounding seat agreements, the rights and obligations of guest missions in its hosting state, investor-state disputes, inter-state disputes and all kinds of legal questions involving international organizations. We represent our clients before national courts, international courts and arbitral tribunals.

Our diplomatic desk is headed by Philippe Billiet, who lectures at the Brussels Diplomatic Academy and is a co-founder and director of the Diplomatic World Institute.

Our team has given shape to jurisprudence in relation to diplomatic Missions and is regarded as the specialist go-to law firm in this field of law.

To know more about our experience in this field, please read the brochure.

EU regulatory & competition law

Our firm specialises in the following areas of the EU law: antitrust, dominance abuses and compliance, state aid, merger control, EU-level litigation, and trade remedies.

Members of our team have extensive experience in the EU and national antitrust laws regarding cartels and abuses of a dominant position. Energy, media, telecommunications, air transport, and pharmaceuticals are among the sectors that we specialise in. Our lawyers have advised governments and corporations on state aid matters for over 30 years and have participated in several landmark cases at the CJEU. We follow up and assist our clients during recovery proceedings and litigation at the national level. We also negotiate with regulators to approve conditions for mergers and acquisitions. We have a network of experienced economists and monitoring trustees to ensure compliance with the agreed commitments. In addition, we regularly litigate before the EU and national courts in cases relating to all four fundamental freedoms of the EU (free movement of goods, services, capital and persons) as well as trade remedies relating to anti-dumping, anti-subsidy, and safeguard investigations.

To know more about our experience in this field, please read the brochure.

Asset recovery, insolvency & (re)structuring

Our firm regularly advises on large and complex restructurings, provides first class solutions, and ensures commercially sensible results. Members of our team routinely act as bankruptcy liquidators in sectors like telecommunication operations, construction, transport, publicity agencies and media. We advise lenders and investors at all levels of the capital structure as well as business executives, shareholders and directors from a range of fields, such as automobile, medical and retail. Our team also provides tailored assistance to enterprises under the Continuity of Enterprises Act, using the full range of options of restructuring procedures and judicial reorganisation.

To know more about our experience in this field, please read the brochure.