The Legal 500

Allen & Overy LLP’s Filip Van Elsen and Geert Glas have a strong reputation in outsourcing, where the team ‘performs outstandingly, having in-depth know-how in this area’. The team handled multi-jurisdictional outsourcing transactions for Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis and UCB, and renegotiated current outsourcing agreements for Marsh and Pfizer. Cloud computing work for Novartis also shows an eye for future trends becoming current instructions.

Catherine Erkelens and Benoît Van Asbroeck spearhead an active practice at Bird & Bird LLP. The team can cover drafting numerous IT contracts, e-commerce matters, and has a dedicated privacy and data protection practice. Clients benefiting from contractual advice include Callataÿ & Wouters, Dun & Bradstreet and TomTom; data protection beneficiaries include Citigroup and Lazard. It also handles IT-related procurement litigation.

DLA Piper’s Kristof De Vulder is ‘highly qualified, and very dedicated’ in handling the whole gamut of IT contract issues, even in major IT disputes, where the team leverage its dedicated IT contracting knowledge during litigation. Clients include Accenture, with whom it works on projects with KBC, the European Commission and others, as well as handling a major IT project for the Belgian Post. It also facilitates IT due diligence for clients such as Newell Rubbermaid.

Stibbe’s Erik Valgaeren is praised for his ‘professionalism and excellent knowledge’; he is ‘flexible, and can work under stress’ but has the ‘expertise required to lead and manage both large and difficult deals’. IT outsourcing, data protection, domain name disputes, and complex contractual drafting are all handled. Financial sector clients, such as Dexia and Argenta, count alongside Belgian Railways as clients. The team advised Delta Lloyd Life on a five-year €75m outsourcing contract.

Altius (in co-operation with Tiberghien)’s IT team has demonstrated contractual, litigation, and general advisory competences in 2010; it drafted and negotiated IT agreements for a Belgian healthcare supplier; plus, it has successfully represented Google in multiple litigation cases; and provided assistance to Brussels Airlines on data protection issues. Gerrit Vandendriessche is recommended for the quality of his work.

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP is well versed in assisting clients in the IT industry, including software, hardware and internet ventures; clients are usually large multinationals, often advised by the firm’s competition law practice. Away from state aid, abuse of dominance, ECJ litigation and cartel settlements, (for big IT sector names Google and LG), the team’s IT work has regulatory connotations on standardisation, transactional elements (in IT-related M&A work), and advice on joint ventures. There is strong cross-over with its other EU regulatory work. Maurits Dolmans and Robert Snedders feature prominently.

Crowell & Moring’s Thomas De Meese ‘is the anchorman of the firm’s IT practice’. He is ‘bright, with excellent knowledge, but also business-minded, creative and to the point’; the team’s work is ‘accurate, creative, and solution-driven’. The team was bolstered by Bart Lieben’s arrival from Laga, given his experience on domain names, including GTLD issues. ICANN (the internet’s global registry and watchdog) is a client. IT contracting issues, on behalf of software companies and purchasers alike, are handled for clients, as are e-commerce issues.

Linklaters’ key offering to the market is a focus on IT outsourcing matters, where it advises on projects ranging from near-shoring in CEE countries as well as offshoring to India. It advised AB InBev on a second-generation outsourcing agreement, and the related termination of an existing agreement, and Mobistar on a €100m IT services contract. It assisted SWIFT on data protection issues as well as various multinationals on international data transfers. Tanguy Van Overstraeten is recommended.

‘Good value for money’ is the verdict on Lorenz, where the combination of Jan Dhont’s well-regarded data protection and privacy practice, and Steven de Schrijver’s knowledge (he is ‘tuned into the IT industry’) and client service (‘extremely responsive and accessible – gives you a true partner-led service’) is positively received. Software agreements, commercial and criminal litigation, and advice on social networking and advertising are all staple fare. Steven de Schrijver was appointed as Belgian legal counsel to Microsoft in June 2010, and also represents Genpact and SunGard.

NautaDutilh’s range of work extends to joint ventures, consortia agreements, software and technology licensing, and mixed IP/IT issues. Patrice Vanderbeeken is an ‘excellent expert, able to solve complex matters, and negotiate the best, fair and balanced clauses in related contracts’. Particularly noteworthy matters included assisting a major health fund in litigation regarding the implementation of a software system, and work for Nintendo of Europe on clearance of music rights, questions on the use of works in computer games and related license agreements.

Verhaegen Walravens offers the services of Emmanuel Szafran, who is ‘a very good communicator, provides high quality advice and is very responsive’. Such advice covers such highly complex fields such as 3D gesture recognition, where he advised Softkinetic-Optrima in relation to legal aspects of both software and hardware.

Baker & McKenzie’s Daniel Fesler is the firm’s IT and e-commerce specialist. Of late, the practice has been involved in drafting and negotiating license and rights assignment agreements for IT clients, as a cross-over to the firm’s IP practice; clients include those in the video-on-demand sector and computer manufacturers.

CMS DeBacker’s lawyers have seen IT-related cases in the Belgian appeals and Supreme Court, and significant volumes of first instance cases on domain name infringement against cyber-squatters. The team advised on a competition app for Facebook, and represented a long-standing client over an argument between two leading brewers, as to alleged infringement of an iPhone app. Tom Heremans is recommended

EU regulatory and competition-related work is the main strength of Clifford Chance’s IT practice. This includes work for the European Committee for Interoperable Systems, and it advocates ECIS positions before a variety of fora, including on the EU’s ICT standardisation initiative. Clients include Opera, Adobe and Yahoo!.

De Wolf & Partners’ Jean-Paul Triaille’s team has been selected as counsel to the European Commission as regards the legal aspects of the Commission’s communication activities, whether electronic, telecoms or mobile. It is also experienced at outsourcing contracts, particularly in the finance sector and delivers ‘prompt and to the point responses’.

Jones Day’s information technology team, headed by Bernard Amory is comprised of sixteen lawyers, who, from an EU and domestic slant across most major member states, advise principally on IT regulatory matters. Clients include Apple (in relation to the iPhone), Dell and SAP.

Laga’s IT practice is now centred on Jürgen Egger following the departure of Bart Lieben to Crowell & Moring. Egger advised on internet sales for a Belgian supermarket and on software licensing contracts.

Van Bael & Bellis’ Monica Kuschewshy is praised for her ‘very comprehensive service, both efficient and knowledgeable’. The team’s work is principally known for data protection advice, including on compliance. Data protection audits are also provided.

White & Case LLP Avocats Advocaten’s IT work is focused around Rolf Olofsson, who has a preeminent individual practice in satellite technology, but the firm also includes experience on IT-related M&A due diligence and competition law advice. Clients include OverHorizon, a Cypriot satellite operator.

Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP’s information technology practice works closely on competition law issues, where it has advised AOL and RedHat. It also assisted with the Cisco/Tandberg merger, and continues to advise on joint ventures, licensing and distribution systems to IT clients.