Firm Profile > NautaDutilh > Brussels, Belgium
NautaDutilh Offices
CHAUSSÉE DE LA HULPE, 120
1000 BRUSSELS
Belgium
- Go to...
- Rankings
- Firm Profile
- Main Contacts
- Lawyer Profiles
- Diversity
- Press Releases
- Legal Developments
- Comparative Guides
NautaDutilh > The Legal 500 Rankings
Dispute resolution Tier 1
Stan Brijs and Sophie Jacmain jointly head up the department at NautaDutilh, which counts insolvency litigation as a core area of instruction. The team is equally adept at advising clients on financial services, real estate, corporate and commercial disputes, and arbitration matters. In an example of the latter, Brijs and Jacmain are acting for two Moldovan investors in an ongoing dispute with the Republic of Kazakhstan over recovering an arbitral award worth over $500m.
Practice head(s):
Key clients
Euroclear
Schneider Electric Belgium
ABN Amro Bank
ING Asset Finance
Insolvency and restructuring Tier 1
The restructuring and insolvency team at NautaDutilh frequently advises local and international financial institutions and real estate companies on restructuring and insolvency matters, as well as debtors in financial difficulty. The Brussels-based practice works closely with colleagues in its Dutch and Luxembourg offices, and recently advised on the Belgian and Luxembourg aspects of Cool Cat Belgium's bankruptcy. Sophie Jacmain is particularly experienced in advising on insolvency and out-of-court restructuring mandates and attracts praise for providing 'deep legal analysis and pragmatic solutions'. Jacmain heads up the team alongside Stan Brijs, who handles restructurings, recovery issues, insolvency work and litigation.
Practice head(s):
Testimonials
‘High-level legal analysis together with a very pragmatic approach on the cases, very responsive, good knowledge of the people involved in restructuring and insolvency in Belgium.’
‘Sophie Jacmain is key in the market. Thanks to her previous position as insolvency practitioner, she knows the right people and the way to interact with them. She is reliable, her team is great and I found her responsive.‘
Key clients
ING Asset Finance NV
ABN Amro Bank
Aareal Bank
Intellectual property Tier 1
NautaDutilh's team is 'well-known and highly regarded for the intellectual property area'; 'they are very sharp, straight to the point and pleasant to work with'. Key sector strengths include food and beverages, luxury/consumer goods and life sciences, with patent and trade mark litigation forming the backbone of instructions. In an example, the group is acting for GlaxoSmithKline in an ongoing colour trade mark infringement case. Florence Verhoestraete, Tanguy de Haan and Philippe Péters are the key contacts.
Practice head(s):
Other key lawyers:
Testimonials
‘Tanguy de Haan- a brilliant IP litigator who combines superb legal knowledge with a commercial perspective‘.
Key clients
GlaxoSmithKline
Unilever
L’Oréal
Commercial, corporate and M&A Tier 2
With a strong Benelux presence, NautaDutilh's corproate and finance practice handles a range of domestic and cross-border corporate and commercial transactions. It counts energy, real estate and fast moving consumer goods sectors amounts its sector specialisms, and, with its ability to leverage its strong IP team, is a popular choice for life sciences, healthcare and technology clients. Didier De Vliegher is particularly well-known for real estate sector transactions, while Elke Janssens is active in the private equity and life sciences sectors. Other names to note include Dirk Van Gerven, who combines corporate and finance expertise, and Philippine De Wolf, who advises start-ups, SMEs and large corporates on transactions. The group was further strengthened with the arrival of Philippe Remels, who joined from Linklaters in late 2018 and is frequently instructed by clients in the healthcare, life sciences, chemicals and energy sectors.
Practice head(s):
Key clients
ABN AMRO Bank
Cofinimmo
Colruyt Group
ENGIE Electrabel
Fedex
FNG Group
ForFarmers
IBM
Johnson & Johnson
Parkwind
QBE
Chenavari
Buy Way
Vanbreda Risk & Benefits
Waterleau
Environment Tier 2
NautaDutilh covers the environmental arena in Belgium extensively, with its practice being active in all three of the Flemish, Walloon and Brussels Capital regions. A name to note is senior counsel Patrick Peeters, who undertakes a mix of advisory work and litigation, and is particularly knowledgeable about soil contamination, environmental permits and waste management. He has been advising Umicore on various matters, including the end-of-waste criteria under the Waste Framework Directive and the Flemish implementing legislation. Ancillary to his environmental law expertise, Peeters is also knowledgeable about energy and zoning law. His recent work included representing Fluxys in various proceedings initiated by municipal authorities and private individuals over building and environmental permits for the construction and operation of high-pressure natural gas pipelines in the Flemish and Walloon regions. In January 2019, Jens Mosselmans joined from Portico.
Practice head(s):
Other key lawyers:
Key clients
Fluxys
Umicore
Belgian Shell
NMBS-Eurostation
Cimabel
Visser Transport
EU regulatory: Financial services Tier 2
Anne Fontaine's practice at NautaDutilh counts central securities depositories (CSD) and securities settlement systems as key strengths, although the group is well versed across the full range of financial regulation work, with a focus on advisory matters. Associate Pierre De Pauw is recommended.
Industry focus: Healthcare and life sciences Tier 2
NautaDutilh's life sciences practice acts for a range of global companies, start-ups and spin-offs, professional associations and universities active across the pharmaceuticals, biotech, medical devices and health food sectors. The multidisciplinary team is jointly led by Florence Verhoestraete, who handles a range of transactional and contentious patent, trade secret, trade mark and unfair competition matters; and corporate partner Elke Janssens. Jens Mosselmans recently re-joined the firm from public law boutique Portico and focuses on public procurement issues and public contracts, while Christel Brion left the practice to Deloitte Legal.
Practice head(s):
Testimonials
‘They have a pragmatic, no-nonsense approach, they are very flexible and not too expensive.’
‘Down to earth individuals. I never have the feeling that there is something I cannot ask.’
‘Corporate partner Philippe Remels is very competent, knowledgeable and responsive; he is experienced in handling complex cross-border transactions.‘
Real estate and construction Tier 2
NautaDutilh's 'solution-driven' team has 'excellent legal knowledge and experience in real estate and construction business'. PPP mandates, high-value transactions, lease matters and contentious real estate instructions have been included in the group's recent workload. The 'professional and experienced' Didier De Vliegher heads up the practice.
Practice head(s):
Key clients
Cofinimmo
Belfius Bank
Macquarie
AG Real Estate
Banking, finance and capital markets Tier 3
NautaDutilh's excellent reputation sees it work closely with international law firms on cross-border matters, as well as acting for a diverse portfolio of Belgian, Benelux and international clients on a standalone basis. The finance practice, which is led by Thibault Willlems, demonstrates strong capabilities in areas such as acquisition/leveraged finance, asset-based lending (including real estate and receivables finance), structured finance and securitisations. Willems has a particularly first-rate reputation in PPP projects and project finance, and has featured in nearly all major PPP projects in Belgium in the last decade. A recent highlight involved acting for KBC Bank and ING Belgium as the lenders on the €50m financing of an all-weather terminal at the ArcelorMittal site in the Port of Ghent. The firm also advised ENGIE Electrabel as a sponsor/shareholder on the corporate and finance aspects of the Seamade offshore wind project. Nicolas de Crombrugghe and Elke Janssens jointly head up the capital markets practice, which assists issuers (such as biotech companies and Belgian REITs) and underwriters with debt and equity transactions. Senior associates Nathalie Van Landuyt and Lorraine Drubbel are also recommended, as is Philippe Remels, who was hired from Linklaters in November 2018.Practice head(s):
Other key lawyers:
Testimonials
‘The team is really hands-on and involved, and very solution-driven, but also firm on its view of things. It has good strategic insights, which are complemented by excellent sector knowledge and experience‘
‘Nicolas de Crombrugghe always makes himself available when needed (and is not too present when not needed). He is an excellent negotiator, thinks strategically and in the wider interest of the client‘
Key clients
Aedifica
AG Insurance
AG Heylen Warehouses
Atenor
Bank of America
Bausch & Lomb
Bayerische Landesbank
BNP Paribas Fortis
BNY Mellon
Cofinimmo
Cooperatieve Rabobank U.A.
Deutsche Bank
ENGIE
Eoly Cooperation
Euroclear
FNG NV
Goldman Sachs
Ineos
KBC
Kempen
Komatsu
Parkwind
PNC Bank
Santander
Schoeller Allibert
Travelex
Wells Fargo
Employment Tier 3
At NautaDutilh, the 'pragmatic' group is assisting Groupe PSA with transferring all the pension plans of Opel Belgium's employees from General Motor's pension fund to a new pension vehicle, following the client's takeover of Opel Belgium. Department head Philippe François garners praise for his 'ability to understand clients' needs and provide practical solutions'. Thierry Duquesne is a key contact.
Practice head(s):
Other key lawyers:
Testimonials
‘Good lawyers, good people, good advices and business orientated‘.
‘Philippe François and Thierry Duquesne are seasoned employment partners used to dealing with high profile international clients‘.
Key clients
Groupe PSA
The Body Shop
FedEx
AstraZeneca
Gilead
Sanofi
Generali
Industry focus: energy Tier 3
NautaDutilh's energy and utilities sector practice group advises its impressive client roster, which includes ENGIE Electrabel, Fluxys and FEBEG, on regulatory issues, corporate transactions and project finance work. Senior counsel Patrick Peeters heads up the practice and has a breadth of experience across regulatory and public law matters. Other names to note include Nicolas de Crombrugghe and Thibault Willlems for corporate and financing instructions respectively.
Practice head(s):
Key clients
Parkwind
ENGIE Electrabel
Direct Energie
Enel
Xylowatt
FEBEG
Fluxys
Private equity Tier 3
NautaDutilh's private equity team assists its client roster of private equity and venture capital investors, which includes Bain Capital, Black Rock and Apollo Global Management, with a range of transactions including buyouts, public-to-private transactions, exits via IPOs or trade sales and fund structuring matters. The group also assists the management of investment targets, and recently advised Imcyse and its shareholders on a series B financing round. Elke Janssens, who acted for FNG on its acquisition of Ellos Group from Nordic Capital, leads the team, which was strengthened by the arrival of Philippe Remels from Linklaters in late 2018.
Practice head(s):
Key clients
Apollo Global Management
Archimed
Bain Capital Private Equity
Bencis Capital Partners
Blackstone
Black Rock
Elliott Advisors
Fund+
Korys
Levine
PMV
QBIC I
QBIC II
Smile Invest
TA Associates
VIB (VC)
Chenavari
Bay Grove Capital
Tax Tier 4
NautaDutilh has increased its headcount at associate level to handle a growing volume of tax work from new and existing clients. Daan Verhaegen, who recently joined from Greenyard, is one of the names to note. The tax team works alongside various other departments across the firm and is sought out in its own right to provide standalone advice. The scope of its work includes cross-border transactions and international tax structuring, assistance with applying for tax rulings, management incentive plans, VAT and registration tax, and tax litigation. Team head Ken Lioen and Verhaegen advise American insurance company Travelers on the tax aspects of various insurance policies. Also notable is that Lioen and Verhaegen recently assisted Confinimmo with the tax issues connected with the acquisition of 15 nursing and care homes in Belgium.
Practice head(s):
Other key lawyers:
Testimonials
‘Ken Lioen is responsive and an excellent tax lawyer‘
‘Ken Lioen is available, has a strong technical skillset and demonstrates deep & qualitative analysis‘
Key clients
Travelers
NautaDutilh > Firm Profile
The firm: NautaDutilh is an international law firm practising Dutch, Belgian, Luxembourg and Dutch-Caribbean law. The firm was founded in 1724 and is one of the largest in the Benelux region, with offices in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Brussels and Luxembourg as well as in London and New York.
NautaDutilh places particular emphasis on combining expertise in those practice areas which are relevant to clients’ business with an understanding of the underlying industries, and their strategic and economic drivers. This approach defines NautaDutilh’s organisation with its dedicated teams for particular sectors, including financial institutions, real estate, investment funds, private equity, life sciences, healthcare and energy and utilities. These teams are all multidisciplinary, combining deep sector knowledge with the highest level of legal expertise.
While its practice is anchored in the jurisdictions of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, NautaDutilh works with a substantial number of clients involved in cross-border and multi-jurisdictional transactions and proceedings. The firm works on a non-exclusive basis with leading law firms throughout the world.
Areas of practice: NautaDutilh is characterised by its significant banking and finance, corporate and M&A, and dispute resolution capabilities, strengthened by extensive other practice areas including competition, employment and pensions, insurance, taxation, real estate and infrastructure.
Banking and finance: NautaDutilh fields the largest acquisition finance, structured finance and general bank lending team in the Benelux region, advising on complex, one-off financing arrangements as well as on mainstream financing arrangements, both on behalf of issuers and debtors. In addition, NautaDutilh advises on derivatives, financial services and regulatory matters to almost every major domestic or international bank, financial institution and regulatory body with interests in the Benelux region.
Capital markets: the capital markets team advises on a range of equity offerings including IPOs, secondary offerings and rights issues. Their debt capital markets expertise includes MTN and commercial paper programmes, notes issues, repackagings and the emerging markets segment of the Eurobond market. Securitisations are an additional focus area within NautaDutilh both for the domestic market and for pan-European transactions, with particular expertise in relation to RMBS and covered bond programmes.
Corporate and M&A: NautaDutilh has a significant public M&A capability having advised on almost all transactions involving competing public offers for companies listed in the Netherlands. The team also advises on the buying and selling of domestic and international private companies and businesses. A specific area of expertise is supporting private equity transactions. The corporate team also provides a broad range of advice on corporate and commercial matters with particular emphasis on corporate governance, reorganisations and international joint ventures.
Dispute resolution: NautaDutilh handles a broad range of litigation and arbitration relating to securities, transactions, insolvency and restructuring, officers’ and directors’ liability, insurance, IP, employment, regulatory, fiscal and administrative law related issues and commercial cases. This focus enables the firm to maintain the only true stand-alone arbitration team in the Benelux market. The firm is a leading player in class actions, having acted in the ground-breaking Converium case.
Intellectual property: NautaDutilh specialises in patent and trade mark litigation, but also enjoys considerable expertise in the areas of copyright, designs, and neighbouring and database rights, as well as advertising and domain name disputes.
Restructuring and insolvency: the team advises on financial restructurings as well as on insolvency related litigation and specialises in cross-border cases or cases with an international component. 80% of its cases are carried out in cooperation with foreign law firms.
Main Contacts
Department | Name | Telephone | |
---|---|---|---|
Corporate M&A | Dirk Van Gerven | dirk.vangerven@nautadutilh.com | +32 2 566 8114 |
Corporate M&A | Elke Janssens | elke.janssens@nautadutilh.com | +32 2 566 8150 |
Corporate M&A | Philippe Remels | philippe.remels@nautadutilh.com | +32 2 566 8152 |
Corporate M&A | Maxime Colle | maxime.colle@nautadutilh.com | +32 2 566 8202 |
Public & Regulatory | Patrick Peeters | patrick.peeters@nautadutilh.com | +32 2 566 8346 |
Public & Regulatory | Jens Mosselmans | jens.mosselmans@nautadutilh.com | +32 2 566 8316 |
Litigation & Arbitration | Stan Brijs | stan.brijs@nautadutilh.com | +32 2 566 8192 |
Litigation & Arbitration | Sophie Jacmain | sophie.jacmain@nautadutilh.com | +32 2 566 8194 |
Banking & Finance | Nicolas Crombrugghe | nicolas.decrombrugghe@nautadutilh.com | +32 2 566 8184 |
Banking & Finance | Anne Fontaine | anne.fontaine@nautadutilh.com | +32 2 566 8146 |
Banking & Finance | Thibaut Willems | thibaut.willems@nautadutilh.com | +32 2 566 8182 |
Banking & Finance | Philippine De Wolf | philippine.dewolf@nautadutilh.com | +32 2 566 8188 |
Employment & Pensions | Philippe François | philippe.francois@nautadutilh.com | +32 2 566 8514 |
Employment & Pensions | Thierry Duquesne | thierry.duquesne@nautadutilh.com | +32 2 566 8512 |
Intellectual Property | Philippe Péters | philippe.peters@nautadutilh.com | +32 2 566 8444 |
Intellectual Property | Florence Verhoestraete | florence.verhoestraete@nautadutilh.com | +32 2 566 8452 |
Intellectual Property | Tanguy de Haan | tanguy.dehaan@nautadutilh.com | +32 2 566 8430 |
Intellectual Property | Christel Brion | christel.brion@nautadutilh.com | +32 2 566 8440 |
Taxation | Ken Lioen | ken.lioen@nautadutilh.com | +32 2 566 8612 |
Insolvency & Restructuring | Stan Brijs | stan.brijs@nautadutilh.com | +32 2 566 8192 |
Insolvency & Restructuring | Sophie Jacmain | sophie.jacmain@nautadutilh.com | +32 2 566 8194 |
Real Estate & Infrastructure | Didier De Vliegher | didier.devliegher@nautadutilh.com | +32 2 566 8140 |
Lawyer Profiles
Photo | Name | Position | Profile |
---|---|---|---|
![]() |
Mr Stan Brijs | Partner | View Profile |
![]() |
Mr Didier De Vliegher | Partner | View Profile |
![]() |
Mrs Anne Fontaine | Partner | View Profile |
![]() |
Philippe François | Partner | View Profile |
![]() |
Mrs Sophie Jacmain | Partner | View Profile |
![]() |
Mrs Elke Janssens | Partner | View Profile |
![]() |
Mr Jens Mosselmans | Local Partner | View Profile |
![]() |
Mr Patrick Peeters | Senior Counsel | View Profile |
![]() |
Philippe Péters | Partner | View Profile |
![]() |
Mr Dirk Van Gerven | Managing Partner and Partner | View Profile |
![]() |
Mrs Florence Verhoestraete | Partner | View Profile |
![]() |
Mr Nicolas de Crombrugghe | Partner | View Profile |
![]() |
Mr Tanguy de Haan | Partner | View Profile |
Staff Figures
Number of lawyers : 433 at this office : 65Languages
Dutch English FrenchOther
Contact : Dirk Van Gerven (managing partner) Other offices : Amsterdam Other offices : London Other offices : Luxembourg Other offices : New York Other offices : RotterdamDiversity
Corporate Social Responsibility; Empowering the Next Generation
Social engagement and corporate responsibility are inextricably bound up with NautaDutilh’s day-to-day legal practice. We help companies in a wide range of sectors to resolve the issues they are or will be facing in an equitable and practical manner.
Sharing knowledge and working in concert are paramount. We feel that corporate social responsibility entails so much more and have taken “Empowering the next generation” as our main motto. We are committed to strengthening the position of the next generation by giving them opportunities in a sustainable world.
A diverse and safe working environment
An important part of our strategy is our diversity policy. We aim to promote a safe working environment in which employees feel free to be themselves. Gender diversity, LGBT+ diversity, and cultural diversity are of primary concern. We believe that diversity makes a team stronger.
The current male to female ratio in our partner population is approximately 30/70. Although this makes NautaDutilh one of the top 5 Dutch law firms in terms of diversity, our goal is 50/50, which we hope to achieve by actively recruiting and retaining talented women with, among other things, effective career coaching and by preventing subconscious prejudice from rearing its head in performance reviews. In terms of up-and-coming talent, we are already at 50/50.
In 2014, NautaDutilh became the first independent law firm in the Benelux to have its own LGBT+ network. We are one of the co-founders of Stichting Forward, which aims to promote the acceptance, recognition, and visibility of LGBT+ in the Dutch legal profession.
NautaDutilh also strives for a greater influx of culturally diverse talent. To implement this in practice, we, for example, work with Diversity Dinner. We have partnered this initiative since its launch in 2016.
You can find a more in-depth overview of our CSR policy here.
Press Releases
NautaDutilh welcomes new investment funds partner Luc Courtois
18th February 2020 On 3 February 2020, NautaDutilh strengthened its Luxembourg funds practice with the arrival of investment funds partner Luc Courtois. Prominent in his field, Luc has more than 25 years' experience on the Luxem-bourg legal market, with a strong focus on investment management. His practice covers the full range of Luxembourg-based UCITS and alternative funds as well as all legal aspects of investment funds, man-agement companies and their activities.NautaDutilh Avocats Luxembourg establishes Insurance and Reinsurance practice
13th February 2019NautaDutilh is pleased to announce the establishment of its Luxembourg Insurance and Reinsurance practice, another big step in the firm's ongoing expansion. The new practice group reflects increased client demand for legal services in the insurance field.
NautaDutilh opens Luxembourg Desk in New York
5th October 2017NautaDutilh expands its New York office with a Luxembourg desk headed by Jad Nader, who recently has been named local partner. The firm's New York satellite team advises US clients on Dutch, Belgian, and Luxembourg law, particularly in regard to cross-border banking and finance and corporate M&A transactions. The arrival of a Luxembourg partner will increase the firm's capacity to handle Dutch and Luxembourg matters locally.
Outsourcing in the Financial Sector
13th April 2017NautaDutilh Luxembourg is organising a breakfast seminar on outsourcing in the financial sector, which will take place on Wednesday, 10 May 2017.
Breakfast Seminar – The financing of Luxembourg Investment Funds – 6 April 2017
20th March 2017NautaDutilh Luxembourg is organising a breakfast seminar on the financing of Luxembourg investment funds, to be held on Thursday, 6 April 2017 at the Waldorf Hilton.
NautaDutilh defended Fendi against Coach
20th March 2017NautaDutilh Avocats Luxembourg defended the interests of luxury fashion house Fendi in proceedings against US-based Coach for infringement by the latter of Fendi's EU design rights in its Peekaboo handbag.
NautaDutilh assisted Raizen Fuels Finance S.A.
17th February 2017NautaDutilh assisted Raizen Fuels Finance S.A., as issuer on its USD 500 million 5.3% senior notes offering which successfully closed on 20th January. The issuer is part of the Brazilian Raizen group, the world largest individual producer of sugar cane. The Raizen group also operates a network of more than 5,800 Shell-branded stations in Brazil.