Loyens & Loeff > Brussels, Belgium > Firm Profile

‘We have been working together with the team in cross-border disputes. They are smart, quick and a pleasure to work with.’

‘Hakim Boularbah is exceptional. He offers smart and solution-oriented advice.’

‘Olivier van der Haegen is outstanding. His legal analysis digs down to the core of the matter and discloses smart opportunities for the client.’

‘We have had a very well established relationship with Loyens & Loeff for several years. They are a very professional and reactive team, with a wide range of backgrounds and significant resources, allowing for a thorough and reactive follow-up of files.’

‘Hakim Boularbah is impressive on international law issues and complex litigation cases. We have always experienced a very good client service.’

‘They stand out not only for the quality of the legal work, but also the consideration given to our final cost.’

‘Hakim Boularbah and Olivier Van der Haegen always give concise and well motivated opinions and suggestions.’

‘Dedicated team which knows about the Belgian federal regulations, but also for each region: Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels. The team is also well aware of the European obligations and constraints.’

‘Very skilled and broad legal advice in the renewable energy sector.’

‘Thomas Chellingsworth is the most knowledgeable Belgian lawyer on energy law matters in its broadest form. He advises project developers on the development of their projects in all its aspects. He is very knowledgeable as well in all relevant regulatory matters but also in all relevant contract and construction law matters. ‘

‘ The most experienced and complete Belgian law firm for advice in the renewable energy sector.’

‘The team offers all you need as a company involved in the hydrogen sector: strong expertise and deep knowledge of the industry, sound recommendations and advice and flawless execution.’

‘Great communication, top-level expertise, and sound and clear recommendations along with perfect execution.’

‘Bram stands out as he is one of the few lawyers on the Belgian market that combines a thorough energy regulatory practice with excellent contract drafting and negotiation skills. For onshore renewable energy projects, he is the go-to lawyer.’

‘Bram is well-versed in the negotiation of power purchase agreements and construction contracts in the energy sector. He is also one of the very few lawyers we know that already has a practice on assisting newer technologies such as battery storage projects on their contracting.’

‘Loyens & Loeff’s real estate and construction team has a deep knowledge of the real estate industry, understands and takes into account the constraints of the client, and always acts in a business-oriented manner which is highly appreciated from a client perspective.’

‘Always proactive and looking for solutions, so that a deal is possible.’

‘Christophe Laurent has an extensive knowledge of the real estate industry and is one of the very few lawyers who can not only advise clients on the legal aspects but also on related tax, structuring and financial matters. Julien Lecler is a brilliant lawyer with a very good knowledge of the real estate industry. Great availability, meets deadlines and has very good negotiation skills.’

‘Ariane Brohez is a great partner and dealmaker. She efficiently protects the interests of the client, but knows to advise on alternatives that will work for both parties.’

‘Christophe Laurent has very good real estate legal know-how and combines this with very good tax know-how, which is a great combination to have, especially in the markets in Belgium and Luxembourg. Julien Lecler is very proactive, so that a deal runs as smoothly as possible.’

‘The people from Loyens & Loeff are very professional, very helpful, and very agile in their response time. They really know what clients expect, and they really fulfil expectations about their service.’

‘Practical and to the point solutions are the strengths of the team. They know what banks are expected from the lawyers and relevant advice is given.’

‘Client-focused.‘

‘Direct access to managing partner, senior team members with great knowledge’

‘We appreciate the team expertise in finance related matters, not only the required legal items, but also a very strong understanding of the pure finance issues, as well as the bigger picture. Their sharp financial view reinforces strongly their role as legal advisor on financial matters. Collaboration with the team is always very fruitful and leads to important structural innovations.’

‘The team individuals have extended experience, and while being specialists in their legal domain, they have also a strong broad view on the entire business. Our collaboration with Marc Vermylen is always highly appreciated and leads to considerable added value. We appreciate a lot his extensive experience, strong financial views, outstanding legal competence and no-nonsense approach.’

‘The L&L team clearly works very well together. They are responsive, professional, considerate of the client’s primary time zone, and (perhaps most importantly) very patient with our various demands, ever-changing timelines, uncertain deadlines and evolving scope throughout the course of a transaction.’

‘While our firm’s main contact at L&L is Marc Vermylen, a partner, the majority of my team’s correspondence is with Sarah Libregts, a senior attorney in the Belgian office. Sarah is incredibly responsive, and her legal advice is consistently thoughtful and well-articulated. She does a really good job of laying out the pros and cons of an approach; describing whether a point is ultimately a legal or business consideration; and guiding our deliberation with practical suggestions.’

‘I have worked with the banking and finance team of Loyens & Loeff on a number of transactions. The team worked always to the highest satisfaction of myself and of our joint clients, it was always responsive and delivered highest quality.’

‘They have an excellent team and pragmatic way of working.’

‘Excellent knowledge, pragmatic and always available.’

‘They use the latest techniques such as teams and digital signing of documents. They are always available and react very fast. They are real deal makers.’

‘Robrecht Coppens and his team are very pragmatic, fast and accurate with an extensive knowledge. They always look for a constructive solution without losing sight of the commercial and legal aspects.’

‘It is one of the largest M&A teams on the Belgian market. Their team is very complete and of a high quality. The arrival of Thomas Lenné has further boosted their transactional profile on the market.’

‘Thomas Lenné is an excellent dealmaker who understands what truly drives a deal. He is smart, quick, pragmatic and pleasant to work with.’

‘Legal and sector knowledge. Broad scope, covering tax, legal, social, and pensions law in one firm. Main lawyer always supported by a team of associates, keeping the response time short.’

‘Kris De Schutter has in-depth knowledge of the sector and client. Great availability and closely manages a team of associates that keep the same standards.’

‘The team has a very good knowledge of the European and Belgian practices, and of what other financial institutions do, which is really helpful. The team is pragmatic but fully aware of the risks associated with the banking regulations and has provided to the point advice when we needed them.’

‘Vanessa Marquette is knowledgeable, pragmatic and responsive. She listens to the client’s needs and issues advices which really responds to the questions. She sticks to the budget.’

‘Vanessa Marquette in particular is excellent.’

‘The L&L practice is a unique blend of flexibility and knowledge. They understand how to work with US-based lawyers and guide them through foreign legal systems and processes. They had patience with business colleagues’ questions and made the business and legal teams feel comfortable with our legal strategy in record time.’

‘The entire team from partners to associates were always available when late-night issues arose and constantly produce outstanding and timely work products. It was a team where everyone had a voice and all contributed to shaping strategy and work product. There is no better team to litigate with in Belgium.’

‘Hakim Boularbah: A strategic thinker that sees the whole field. He appreciates the business goals and develops legal strategies to match those goals. Hakim was always available for our last minute questions and provided us with real feedback on the strengths and weakness of our positions. He put together strong legal briefs and delivered winning oral arguments. Our team trusted Hakim in record time and felt comfortable litigating in the Belgium system.’

‘Hakim has also built a very strong team of associates that speak up and contribute.’

‘Clémence Van Muylder: Dug into our case in record time and knew the facts cold. She made herself available at all hours and was crucial to drafting the briefing and delivered a strong oral argument.’

‘Stéphanie De Smedt: Asked great questions to help develop our strategy. She worked hand and hand with Hakim in putting together our strategy and provided timely advice as we learned the Belgium legal system. Was extremely flexible in responding to last-minute requests.’

‘The Loyens Loeff health regulatory team in Belgium is very professional and dedicated to the client. They are quite experienced in their field, responsive and able to provide timely, pragmatic and business oriented advice.’

‘The team are very approachable and hugely knowledgeable, willing and able to assist with all the key issues for the industry.’

‘Knowledgeable and pragmatic.’

‘Vanessa Marquette provides insightful knowledge in complex matters.’

‘We worked with Robrecht Coppens and Mathias Hendrickx, who both did a fantastic job leading us through a very challenging transaction that spanned many months. The transaction was a complicated carve-out, and both coordinated the numerous workstreams very effectively. The team was willing to delve deep into the client’s, at times short-staffed, business to get workstreams over the fine.’

‘Robrecht Coppens provides a very re-assuring presence during intense and often anxiety producing times. Genuinely knew our transaction documents inside out and was very involved in the deal. Mathias Hendrickx did a great job shepherding the transaction and staying on top of our very long checklist.’

‘They are able to provide a full life cycle service for private equity funds in combination with their tax and investment management teams.’

‘Thomas Lenné is a great team player, dynamic, commercial and smart.’

‘Practical advice on complex matters – thorough knowledge of data protection – clearly explaining the risks and compliance steps’

‘Stéphanie De Smedt is highly available and responsive with practical and intelligible advice in complex matters. She understands the (legal) needs of technology driven companies.’

‘Stéphanie De Smedt is consistently excellent, and very responsive, in my experience.’

‘The Loyens & Loeff team consists of experts on various aspects within the privacy and data protection framework with experience from various jurisdictions, which makes them able to give a prompt high-quality advice to their multinational clients on data protection/privacy risks in cross-border and cross-disciplinary projects.’

‘In most cases we communicate directly with Stéphanie de Smedt. Stéphanie is able to always find a suitable communication approach depending on what client’s departments/functions are involved into a discussion of a project.’

‘The Loyens & Loeff DP team in Belgium shows great expertise and experience in EU and Belgium data protection law, specifically on fairly complex issues and interplay with other regulatory laws. The team is always responsive and efficient.’

‘Stéphanie de Smedt is an expert in the field of data protection, including on key and complex topics such as sensitive data, transfers outside of the EU and data protection impact assessments. She always provides pragmatic advice of a great quality as well as recommendations at a strategic level, taking into account the business needs and the reality of industry practice.’

‘They have a deep knowledge in digital matters. They are fast and efficient.’

‘We use the team for privacy breaches in Belgium. They are always on hand, even at weekends and provide a diligent, and impressive, work product.’

‘The privacy team is very good and provides pragmatic advice that is. Also commercial and good value for money.’

‘Very satisfied with the advice of the team: good balance between involvement and keeping distance. People are very dedicated, with timely responses to emails. Excellent knowledge of the energy market.’

‘Koen Panis and Victor van Nuland are very dedicated people, with knowledge and excellent communication skills.’

‘Strong content knowledge on wind energy deals. Quick response and high flexibility. Strong commitment.’

‘Very good experiences working with Victor van Nuland. Strong people and process management skills.’