Industry focus: IT and telecoms in Belgium

The technology and communications team at Bird & Bird has a strong bench of talent and breadth of expertise that ensures a regular flow of instructions from various high-profile tech and telecoms players. The practice is adept in a range of commercial and contentious matters, including consortium agreements, joint ventures, and public procurement contracts. Working closely with the firm's competition law team, Hein Hobbelen regularly advises major telecoms companies on state aid, and in proceedings before the European and Belgian courts. Benoit Van Asbroeck's experience encompasses CJEU procedures and landmark legislative processes. Pierre Hechtermans and Simon Mortier are also noted.

CMS is well regarded by clients for its ‘dedicated, broad expertise‘. An impressive roster of blue-chip digital economy companies turn to the team for assistance with contentious and non-contentious matters, including cybersecurity issues, privacy infringement cases and regulatory questions. Dirk Van Liedekerke focuses on EU and Belgian competition law and communications law, working with various operators and platform providers across the board. Tom De Cordier is praised for his ‘truly supportive‘ approach in a range of TMC, data privacy and life sciences-based instructions.

DLA Piper fields one of the largest practices in the market. The group handles the full gamut of IT, media, telecoms and data protection mandates for a diverse roster of high-profile clients. The team’s reputation in public sector mandates is underpinned by its close ties with the firm’s public procurement team, working seamlessly on procurement and outsourcing projects for various government departments. The ‘proactive and client-oriented‘ practice head Kristof De Vulder has a wealth of experience in international procurement, as well as an array of contract, cloud computing and transactional matters. Raf Schoefs is noted for his capabilities in IT outsourcing and e-commerce issues. New data protection head Heidi Waem joins the firm from Crowell & Moring.

Stibbe has handled a growing number of projects in cloud computing, big data, AI and 5G usage rights for a litany of leading Belgian and multinational clients. The team has an especially strong public sector offering, working closely with the firm's public procurement desk on a range of contract and outsourcing issues for both domestic and foreign governmental bodies. Widely praised by clients for his 'impressive' technical expertise in IT and data protection, practice head Erik Valgaeren handles an array of high-value work for clients in the internet, e-commerce and electronic communications sectors, including disputes before the Belgian courts and arbitral tribunals. Carolien Michielsen and Sarah De Wulf are also noted.

ALTIUS handles the full gamut of transactional, advisory, and disputes-based work for a multitude of key international and Belgian market players. In recent months, the team has represented some of the world’s largest tech companies in proceedings before the Belgian Courts and the Belgian data protection authority. The practice is jointly led by two partners: Gerrit Vandendriessche, an experienced computer law and commercial law specialist; and Jérôme Vermeylen, who works with various IT clients on a range of corporate transactions. Louis-Dorsan Jolly and Jan Clinck are noted for their capabilities in data protection litigation.

Working collaboratively across the technology, outsourcing and privacy, and IP departments, Fieldfisher‘s ‘expert, business-oriented’ team is noted for its far-reaching capabilities in outsourcing, procurement, cloud computing, e-commerce and IT-sector disputes. Contractual reviews and e-privacy issues are further core competencies. Practice co-head Tim Van Canneyt is a specialist in data protection and e-commerce, with considerable experience advising clients from the TMT, pharmaceutical, and financial services sectors. Fellow practice head Stijn Debaene is an intellectual property lawyer who focuses his practice on the media and telecoms industries. Olivier Proust‘s expertise encompasses cybersecurity law, global privacy compliance and associated regulatory investigations.

time.lex's boutique practice has a stellar reputation among a number of public sector clients on account of the depth of its capabilities in IT and data protection regulatory matters. The team is routinely sought out by a litany of national, European, and foreign governments for assistance in pre-legislation studies, e-government projects, proposals and drafting tasks. The group also represents various public bodies in high-profile IT litigation before both domestic and European courts. Jos Dumortier is noted for his deep academic and legislative acumen in the IT and data protection fields. Hans Graux regularly works with the European Commission on its future IT policy and legislation, including artificial intelligence liability issues.

Jones Day's sizeable, multi-disciplinary practice works with a high-profile global client base, including various leading telecoms companies and tech-sector VC funds. The practice is jointly led by: Bernard Amory, who has considerable experience in the IT space; Alexandre Verheyden, a telecoms regulatory expert; Jörg Hladjk, a cybersecurity and data protection specialist, and Thomas De Muynck, who also heads up the M&A team. Yvan Desmedt - who splits his time between Brussels and Amsterdam - is also noted.

Lydian is a popular referral partner for a number of international firms who require Belgian market assistance with a range of regulatory and contentious telecoms sector matters. Practice head Bastiaan Bruyndonckx is routinely called upon by some of the biggest tech and telecom players in the market for his broad expertise, which encompasses information governance cybersecurity and data protection.

AKD works with various telecoms operators, cloud services providers and IT companies – including AI – on a range of transactional and contentious mandates. Practice head Paul van den Bulck is a highly experienced Belgian and French-qualified adviser with specific expertise in cloud contracts, domain name arbitration proceedings and data protection issues, in Belgium and abroad.

DALDEWOLF works with a diverse roster of high-profile corporate clients who operate across the worlds of IT and telecoms, both domestically and internationally. Recent engagements for the team include a host of litigious proceedings and pre-litigation advisory mandates for major European mobile operators and multinational consultancies, as well as licensing, GDPR, and personal data advisory issues. Olivier Bertin and Dominique Bogaert are two of the key names to note within the practice, with Bogaert focusing chiefly on commercial contract matters and cross-border work with a strong Italian aspect. Bertin, meanwhile, is noted for his broad knowledge of tax law.

Deloitte Legal is routinely engaged by clients active in the areas of textiles, data, streaming, energy and blockchain. The team also regularly advises on strategic alliances and joint ventures, and represents clients in investigations. Antwerp-based Jürgen Egger  focuses on a range of commercial IT law issues, while Matthias Vierstraete - who splits his time between Ghent and Brussels - is noted for his capabilities in software development, e-commerce, domain name disputes and media law.

The Hasselt-based Monard Law routinely assists a diverse roster of Belgian and foreign corporates with the full gamut of IT sector work, including transfer agreement issues, public procurement software contracts, transactions, and disputes. The 'very skilled' Kristof Zadora is recommended for his broad experience of commercial IT matters, encompassing cloud computing, big data and IoT. Maxime Monard handles transactions for venture-backed IT companies.

The team at Osborne Clarke leverages the firm’s strong reputation in tech sector litigation to advise Belgian and international entities on a full spectrum of instructions, ranging from contentious to transactional. Contractual reviews and advisory mandates with a distinct IP aspect are further key workflows for the practice. Noted for his capabilities in both IT and IP, Benjamin Docquir frequently works with various tech, financial services, and life sciences clients on digital transformation projects, outsourcing issues, and cloud computing agreements. Laurens Dauwe is another key contact.