Legal500

DLA Piper

UITBREIDINGSTRAAT 2, B2600 ANTWERP, BELGIUM

Zagreb, Washington DC, Warsaw, Vienna, Tokyo, Tbilisi , and 75 more

What we say about this firm…
What the firm says…

What we say about the firm's legal practice in Belgium

Aviation

Within Aviation, DLA Piper LLP is a first tier firm,

DLA Piper’s aviation work is complemented by strong litigation experience, acting on the appellate stage of the Sabena litigation. Ilse Van de Mierop was also appointed as liquidator of Cargo B, a Belgian cargo flight carrier, in 2009; Eddy Lievens is a former general counsel of Sabena. Clients include Cathay Pacific.

Banking, finance and capital markets

Within Banking, finance and capital markets, DLA Piper LLP is a third tier firm,

DLA Piper is comfortable with public finance, with a continuing involvement on a €1.5bn PPP deal to renovate 211 schools in Flanders, but it is also active on extensive regulatory work and corporate financial restructuring. The team has a ‘strong practical and solution oriented approach’, a team ethos developed by practice head Yves Brosens. Clients include Dexia, BNP Paribas Fortis, KBC and JPMorgan.

Competition

Within Competition, tier 5

DLA Piper saw the arrival of Daniel Sharma from Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek, working alongside Bertold Bar-Bouyssière andYoichi Shibasaki. Clients say the firm’s ‘response times are very client-friendly and fast’. It advised Cathay Pacific in the now-concluded air cargo cartel investigation and Teac in a private actions for competition law damages claim.

Corporate and M&A

Within Corporate and M&A , DLA Piper LLP is a third tier firm,

DLA Piper‘s Erwin Simons acted for TiGenix, on two private placements and on its acquisition of Orthomimetics, with a total value of €29m, as well as assisting Dutch telecoms company, KPN, on the sale of Infotechnique. Caroline Dauot assisted on the MBO of Idem Papers from Arjo Wiggins, and Jean-Michel Detry is recommended for extensive corporate litigation experience.

Dispute resolution

Within Dispute resolution, DLA Piper LLP is a third tier firm,

DLA Piper’s Yves Tavernier can call on excellent resources, including universally respected Supreme Court advocate Pierre Van Ommeslaghe, who sits as arbitrator in a number of ICC cases. Cases with connections to the diamond trade, financial sector and insurance companies have all been handled, as has the long-running €2bn Sabena litigation. Christiaan Van Buggenhout is also recommended.

EU regulatory

Within EU regulatory: Environment (including WEEE and RoHS), DLA Piper LLP is a first tier firm,

DLA Piper delivers ‘practical, fast and relevant advice’, with feedback praising counsel Geert Van Calster. In addition to experience on waste litigation cases, it advised PVCycle in complex negotiations over an EU-wide voluntary agreement on photovoltaic modules waste. Clients include the Flemish regional government.

Environment

Within Environment, DLA Piper LLP is a first tier firm,

DLA Piper handled numerous cases ranging from brownfield covenants to environmental permits, with real assets in the combination of managing partner Bob Martens and Dominique Devos. Martens is seen as a public lawyer ‘par excellence’, and Devos is hailed for ‘his knowledge, empathy and understanding’. Clients include Hostmann Steinberg and Eurowaste, and the Flemish Government.

Fraud and white-collar crime

Within Fraud and white-collar crime, DLA Piper LLP is a first tier firm,

DLA Piper’s fraud team is defined by both experienced advocacy, and detailed forensic skill. Pierre Van Ommeslaghe’s skill as an advocate at all tribunals, including the Supreme Court, comes with an impressive track record in acting for financial sector clients, including insurance companies, on corporate fraud matters; Christine Van Buggenhout’s ability is noted by her peers.

Information technology

Within Information technology, DLA Piper LLP is a first tier firm,

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.

Intellectual property

Within Intellectual property, DLA Piper LLP is a third tier firm,

DLA Piper’s practice head Alois Puts’s team numbers eight lawyers, covering a range of industries. He has steered several “saisie-contrefaçon” proceedings against various food companies, seeking judicial relief for patent infringement of a spreadable product for a bakery client. The team also assists leading trainer manufacturers with anti-counterfeiting proceedings.

Labour and employment

Within Labour and employment, DLA Piper LLP is a third tier firm,

DLA Piper’s Eddy Lievens highlights included assisting a leading European communications manufacturer in a significant restructuring, done in two months, including union consultations, collective bargaining, and necessary redundancies. The team also assisted on the closure of a chemical production plant. Damien Stas de Richelle made partner.

Media and entertainment

Within Media and entertainment, DLA Piper LLP is a second tier firm,

DLA Piper’s two key advisors remain Patrick Van Eecke and Louis Puts, whose regulatory-focused work has remained closely followed in 2010, in advising clients such as Amazon. The team’s online ecommerce work is growing, plus expanding social media client Netlog is a client. Other new clients include Discovery Channel, Kinepolis and Lucasfilms.

Real estate

Within Real estate, DLA Piper LLP is a first tier firm,

DLA Piper’s property lawyers assist corporate, public sector and developer/investor clients in high value matters, with dispatch and confidence. Highlights included advising ING Real Estate on developments in Asse and Halle; plus the acquisition of an office building in Brussels, for a German investment fund, in a €15m purchase. It also acts for the European Commission, the City of Antwerp, and a host of Belgian real estate corporates. Dirk Caestecker is the well respected practice head, alongside Els Empereur and François de Montpellier.

Shipping and transport

Within Shipping and transport, DLA Piper LLP is a second tier firm,

DLA Piper’s transport team is an example of a good multi-modal legal practice. It advises several major shipping lines on ship agency contracts across European jurisdictions, and on warehousing and distribution agreements for logistics services providers and their clients. Koen de Maeyer remains its best-known lawyer.

Tax

Within Tax, DLA Piper LLP is a third tier firm,

DLA Piper handles both local and cross-border mandates, where Jeroen Gobbin and Marc de Munter can assist on transfer pricing, post-acquisition restructuring, and international VAT optimisation questions. It has acted on the tax aspects of corporate restructurings, and advised a developer client on the application of reduced VAT rates for the demolition and rebuilding of new private dwellings. Clients include a major EU institution, real estate companies and REITs, and social care service providers.

What we say worldwide

Please choose another DLA Piper LLP office to view full details of what we say in that region, or choose from this list to view a specific editorial reference in context.

United Arab Emirates

Offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi

Australia

Austria

Offices in Vienna

Belgium

Offices in Antwerp and Brussels

Bahrain

Offices in Manama

Legal market overview : Legal market overview

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Offices in Sarajevo

China

Offices in Beijing and Shanghai

Czech Republic

Offices in Prague

Germany

Offices in Cologne, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Munich, and Berlin

Egypt

Offices in Cairo

Spain

Offices in Madrid

France

Offices in Paris

Georgia

Offices in Tbilisi

Legal market overview : Legal market overview

Hong Kong

Offices in Hong Kong

Hungary

Offices in Budapest

Indonesia

Foreign firms : Foreign firms

India

Foreign firms : Foreign firms

Italy

Offices in Milan and Rome

Japan

Offices in Tokyo

Kuwait

Offices in Safat

London

Offices in London

Netherlands

Offices in Amsterdam

Norway

Offices in Oslo

North West

Offices in Liverpool and Manchester

Oman

Offices in Muscat

Poland

Offices in Warsaw

Qatar

Offices in Doha and Doha

Foreign firms : Foreign firms

Romania

Offices in Bucharest

Russia

Offices in Moscow and St Petersburg

Scotland

Offices in Glasgow and Edinburgh

Sweden

Offices in Stockholm

Singapore

Offices in Singapore

South Korea

Foreign firms : Foreign firms

Slovakia

Offices in Bratislava

Saudi Arabia

Offices in Riyadh

Corporate and M&A : Corporate and M&A

Thailand

Offices in Bangkok

Turkey

Offices in Istanbul

Ukraine

Offices in Kiev

United States

Offices in San Francisco, Seattle, Palo Alto, San Diego (Downtown), Boston, Los Angeles, Tampa, Chicago, Baltimore, Washington DC, New York, Philadelphia, Dallas, Las Vegas, North Carolina, Austin,Texas, Houston, Texas, Reston, Virginia, Minneapolis, Atlanta, La Jolla, Phoenix, Sacramento, San Diego (Golden Triangl, Los Angeles, Silicon Valley, Orlando, New Jersey, and Maryland

Vietnam

Legal market overview : Legal market overview

West Midlands

Offices in Birmingham

Yorkshire and the Humber

Offices in Leeds and Sheffield

Serbia

Offices in Belgrade

Search News and Articles

Legal Developments by:
DLA Piper LLP

Sentencing guidelines for corporate manslaughter

In February 2010 the Sentencing Guidelines Council (the SGC) issued definitive guidelines to courts on imposing appropriate sentences for corporate manslaughter and health and safety offences causing death. The SGC states that fines imposed on companies found guilty of corporate manslaughter should not fall below £500,000, while fines in respect of health and safety offences that are a significant cause of death should be at least £100,000. Crucially, the SGC declined to provide for a fixed link between the imposed fine and the turnover or profitability of the offending company. 

- DLA Piper UK LLP

Legal Developments in Belgium

Legal Developments and updates from the leading lawyers in each jurisdiction. To contribute, send an email request to

Employment in more than one country - place where the employee habitually carries out his work

place of business through which the employee was engaged

- Claeys & Engels, member of Ius Laboris
No social security contributions due on a 'premium for drinks'

A 'premium for drinks' that is paid by the employer to comply with its obligation to put the appropriate drinks at the disposal of its employees is not subjected to social security contributions.

- Claeys & Engels, member of Ius Laboris
Gaming & Gambling Law Newsletter January 2012

Judgment in the Rank Group plc cases (C-259/10 and C-260/10): interpretation of the principle of fiscal neutrality applied to gambling

- ALTIUS (in cooperation with Tiberghien)
FSMA MiFID Action Plan announced

Like in many of our neighboring countries, the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) is taking a more persistent approach in pursuing compliance with MiFID conduct of business. In that regard it has announced a “MiFID Action Plan”.

- Liedekerke Wolters Waelbroeck Kirkpatrick
International mobility - limited access to the Belgian labour market

Bulgarian and Romanian workers still need a work permit until 31 December 2013.

- Claeys & Engels, member of Ius Laboris
Modification of the dismissal rules as from 1 January!

Claeys & Engels has updated the calculation modules on www.formuleclaeys.be. Higher level white-collar employees who enter into service after 1 January 2012 will, in the event they are dismissed, be entitled to a notice period, calculated on the basis of the IPA Act. The new notice period amounts to 30 days per started year in service, with a minimum of 91 days.

- Claeys & Engels, member of Ius Laboris
Social elections 2012: Day X-35 (between 3 and 16 January)

On day X-35 at the latest, the employer must announce several decisions. The latter may be subject to appeal before the labour tribunal at the latest on day X-28.

- Claeys & Engels, member of Ius Laboris
Enantiomers and race-mates: the same product?

On October 3 2011 the Brussels Commercial Court invalidated Lundbeck's supplementary protection certificate (SPC) for escitalopram, the 'S' enantiomer of its racemate citalopram. The court held that escitalopram is the same product as citalopram, and that the former's SPC did not comply with Articles 3(c) and (d) of EU Regulation 469/2009. The court held that it was in the interests of patients to declare the decision provisionally enforceable.

- ALTIUS (in cooperation with Tiberghien)
Employment Law News Flash

Another year draws to its close. At the eleventh hour, a government was formed, a budget was agreed and political pledges were made to tackle the current adverse economic and financial climate. The year-end - traditionally a busy period with the issuing of hefty Programme Statutes - marks the beginning of intensified law-making under the reign of Di Rupo I.

- ALTIUS (in cooperation with Tiberghien)
Towards a new dismissal regime

The new regime of dismissal compensation must be simple and should in no way lead to a cost increase for employers. Unnecessary procedures before the courts must be avoided. The purchasing power of the dismissed individuals must be maintained.

- Claeys & Engels, member of Ius Laboris