Firm Profile > Liedekerke Wolters Waelbroeck Kirkpatrick > Brussels, Belgium

Environment Tier 1

With François Tulkens and Dominique Devos at the helm, Liedekerke Wolters Waelbroeck Kirkpatrick's team consistently handles many of the most complex environmental law projects in Belgium. Offering coverage across all three Belgian regions and at a European level, the group advises on matters such as waste management, nuclear regulations, noise nuisance and waste, among others. Counsel Filip De Preter primarily focuses on planning and permitting-related mandates. Tulkens is leading the advice to Brussels Capital Region on a number of high-profile noise limitation cases. Devos is acting for Renewi on the management of an industrial waste stream. Another name to note in the group is senior attorney Charles Poncelet, who combines expertise in environmental law with knowledge of urban planning law and real estate law. Vincent Ost is another name to note.

Industry focus: energy Tier 1

Liedekerke Wolters Waelbroeck Kirkpatrick's practitioners are singled out as 'absolute leaders in energy law', and the group is particularly active in regulatory matters including renewable energy support schemes, capacity remuneration mechanisms and grid tariffs; it recently acted for Elia in its challenge to the Belgian regulatory authority’s tariff methodology penalizing non-regulated foreign investments. The practice also frequently handles power project developments and acquisitions, and contentious work relating to regulatory, tax, contractual, liability and competition issues. Regulatory expert Damien Verhoeven heads up the practice, which includes François Tulkens and Olivier Vanden Berghe, who focus on public law and commercial contracts respectively.

Industry focus: Retail Tier 1

Liedekerke Wolters Waelbroeck Kirkpatrick fields a cross-practice team with particular experience advising companies in the retail and consumer goods sectors on contentious and transactional matters. The group recently added Louis Vuitton Services Europe, Marcolini and Karl Lagerfeld to its impressive client roster, which includes long-standing clients Ikea Belgium and L’Oréal. Key practitioners include real estate professional Yves Delacroix, Olivier Vanden Berghe, who focuses on commercial contracts and litigation; commercial law specialist Etienne Kairis, who has particular expertise in distribution law, fair trade practices and IP and IT law; and environmental expert Dominique Devos.

Real estate and construction Tier 1

At Liedekerke Wolters Waelbroeck Kirkpatrick, the 'very professional' team is well known for its 'very strong knowledge in real estate matters', with transactional mandates prominent in the group's workload. The client base includes widely recognised retail, hotel and financial services entities. Yves Delacroix leads the 'pragmatic' team; Alexandre Emond ('intelligent and a pleasure to work with'), 'dedicated' counsel Julie De Bonnet and Pierre Desenfans, who stands out for his expertise in tax matters, are key names.

Commercial, corporate and M&A Tier 2

The corporate and finance team at Liedekerke Wolters Waelbroeck Kirkpatrick 'combines excellent local expertise and a full-service practice with a client-first mentality'.  It is particularly recognised for its experience in infrastructure projects and has been active in corporate transactions in the energy, telecoms and technology sectors. Christel Van den Eynden heads up the practice, which includes Damien Conem who has 'a combination of strong technical knowledge, interpersonal skills and client focus'. Other names of note include counsel Wim Dedecker, who handles a range of corporate and capital market transactions.

Dispute resolution Tier 2

Liedekerke Wolters Waelbroeck Kirkpatrick's practice houses a 'very strong' team of 'very thorough lawyers'. The group 'really knows the fine details and advantages of international arbitration procedures', and also counts commercial, insolvency and financial disputes as core areas of expertise.  The 'very seasoned practitioner' Arnaud Nuyts, who is the key name for international arbitration and multi-jurisdictional litigation, demonstrates 'extremely sound judgement'; Olivier Vanden Berghe is the main name for commercial contracts disputes. Aimery De Schoutheete and associate Bruno Hardy are also key practitioners.

Employment Tier 2

Liedekerke Wolters Waelbroeck Kirkpatrick's team garners praise for its 'extensive knowledge in employment law', and offers 'thorough, practical, no nonsense and tailor-made advice' on collective dismissals, restructurings, dismissal-related disputes, discrimination claims and contentious matters, to name a few areas. Practice head Paul Geerebaert is 'a dedicated lawyer, very knowledgeable and responsive'. Managing partner Vincent Busschaert is also a key figure in the team.

EU regulatory: Financial services Tier 2

Fraud and white-collar crime Tier 2

The fraud and compliance team at Liedekerke Wolters Waelbroeck Kirkpatrick assists with a range of criminal litigation and compliance issues, with particular experience in tax fraud, environmental infringements and anti-money laundering matters. Practice head Magda Vandebotermet handles white-collar crime matters, and criminal issues relating to labour law, social security work, environmental law and construction law, while senior attorney Kay Goyens specialises in social crimes and employment fraud matters.

Insolvency and restructuring Tier 2

Liedekerke Wolters Waelbroeck Kirkpatrick's restructuring and insolvency practice benefits from 'solid and experienced legal advisers' with experience across the full range of advisory matters, restructuring transactions and banking and finance litigation. The group has been particularly active advising debtors on bankruptcies and handling directors liability issues. Roel Fransis, who focuses primarily on international insolvency law and finance litigation, heads up the team with Paul Vandepitte, who handles a range of mandates from litigation to informal restructuring matters and judicial reorganisations.

Intellectual property Tier 2

Liedekerke Wolters Waelbroeck Kirkpatrick's IP team provides 'hands-on pragmatic advice'. Contentious work remains prominent in the group's workload, spanning copyright, trade mark, domain and brand name disputes. Etienne Kairis leads the team; of counsel Bernard Vanbrabant has extensive expertise in handling complex licensing agreements. Counsel Sarah van den Brande is 'very charismatic' and 'a master negotiator'.

Banking, finance and capital markets Tier 3

Liedekerke Wolters Waelbroeck Kirkpatrick's corporate and finance practice led by Christel Van den Eynden is equally strong in borrower and lender-side mandates in the banking and finance sphere. Jan Vincent Lindemans, Freya Mareels and a team of associates have expertise in a wide range of transactions, including those concerning real estate finance, asset finance, structured finance and acquisition finance. Mareels was the lead adviser to ING Belgium and ING Corporate Investments on the provision of senior financing and junior financing facilities to Destiny NV (which is owned by Dutch private equity firm Mentha Capital) for two add-on acquisitions. Debt capital markets transactions are a notable growth area at the firm, and Mareels and counsel Wim Dedecker serve as the key contacts in this space. Tom Van Dyck heads up a specialist group which focuses on regulatory matters, such as those involving PSD2, MiFID2 and other matters specific to funds, asset management and investment products. Van Dyck, Damien Conem and others handled the establishment of a new asset management firm, which is known as Infra4BE Management, as well as the launch of a new Belgian infrastructure fund.

Competition: Belgian law Tier 3

Liedekerke Wolters Waelbroeck Kirkpatrick's practice was recently strengthened by the arrival of Vincent Mussche from Baker McKenzie CVBA/SCRL. Mussche has over 15 years of Belgian and European competition law experience, which includes advising clients on merger filings, cartel investigations and the development and implementation of compliance programmes. He works with Stefaan Raes, who is a former president of the Competition Council, and has formerly served as a judge of both the Brussels Court of First Instance and Brussels Court of Appeal. The excellent competition offering benefits from support from ancillary areas, such as tax, regulatory, commercial and litigation and arbitration. The firm has a strong track record in cases before the Belgian Competition Authority and DG COMP (related to the Belgian market), as well as private enforcement cases before the Belgian Courts. In one matter, Raes and Simone Nudelholc are representing Proximus at the Belgian Supreme Court in a damages action against Telenet and former cable network operators over the assignment of network rights to Telenet. Raes and others also defended Facebook at the Brussels Court of Appeal in an action brought by the Belgian Privacy Commission over the use of cookies.

Industry focus: Transport Tier 3

Liedekerke Wolters Waelbroeck Kirkpatrick’s transport and aviation practice handles a range of advisory, transactional and litigation work for its client roster, which includes DHL International, Brussels Airlines and Uber. Counsel Jean Pierre Kesteloot has a breadth of contentious expertise across the aviation, shipping, railway, road carriage and insurance sectors, and heads up the practice, which can leverage the firm's full-service capabilities on a range of issues including corporate, finance, employment and competition matters.

Diversity/Community

Liedekerke is committed to eliminating discrimination and promoting diversity and inclusion. We believe having a diverse workforce and striving for equality will improve our impact on society and the community in which we operate, and improve our firm’s culture and performance.

We endeavour to create an environment at our firm in which people are treated equally and with respect, regardless of their gender, race, religion or belief, affectional and sexual orientation, disability or age.

We do so by imposing specific diversity policies and procedures in all departments and business units, particularly in the recruitment and evaluation process of both lawyers and support staff, as well as in our relations with suppliers and other third parties.

We attract talents from the widest possible pool and make an effort to recruit lawyers and staff members from different backgrounds and nationalities. Our lawyers and staff are from various ethnic backgrounds (currently some 20% of our staff is of non-Belgian origin) and collectively we speak no less than 11 languages.

Some of our lawyers work on a voluntary basis at the Royal Institute IRSA, which is the largest Center in Belgium for teaching and education for people with impaired vision, speech and hearing.

We have also been at the forefront of addressing the issue of gender balance in private practice for many years now. Like most firms, we have also struggled to keep talented female lawyers on board and on the partnership track. Through internal policies and an active role in various initiatives, we have been pushing this agenda and are now achieving tangible results. The percentage of female partners has been on the rise.

For many years now, our firm has participated in and supported a variety of initiatives, including:

LDIA (Legal Diversity & Inclusion Alliance): Liedekerke is a founding member of the LDIA, a cross law firm alliance launched in Brussels in January 2019. Members of the LDIA commit to build a diverse and inclusive workplace in which everyone benefits from equal treatment and opportunities, irrespective of race, ethnic or social origin, gender or sexual orientation, age, disability, language, religion, political preference or any other grounds of personal discrimination.

Women in Law: Designed to provide encouragement and support for talented women in law firms, the program brings together women from different disciplines and various fields in small groups to foster and encourage their professional development.

Women on Board: a non-profit association created by five women, one of whom is a former Liedekerke partner, dedicated to promoting women’s access to directorship roles within Belgian enterprises (public and private). Our firm has also contributed by organizing legal seminars on topics such as director’s liabilities, responsibilities and remuneration.

Lex Mundi GOAL: Liedekerke is the exclusive Belgian member of Lex Mundi, the leading global network of independent law firms with in-depth experience in 100+ countries. Lex Mundi Global Opportunities for Advancement and Leadership for Women in the Legal Profession address this challenge by identifying and providing specific resources to assist firms in the advancement and retention of women within the legal profession.