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 Brussels has become an important player on the Belgian legal market, providing high-quality advice and services in the areas of banking and finance, capital markets, corporate and M&A, dispute resolution, intellectual property and ICT law, restructuring & insolvency, public & regulatory, employment & pensions, competition and anti-trust and taxation. Despite a highly crowded and competitive market place, our Brussels office has grown to include 70 lawyers, working alongside top Belgian and multinational clients.

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: 

Banking and finance: NautaDutilh is recognized as a leading banking and finance law firm. Its team is known for its advice in PPP and project finance, asset-based lending, corporate lending and acquisition finance, structured finance and securitization deals, the full range of financial regulatory matters, governance issues faced by financial institutions, compliance matters, regulatory aspects of mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, cross-border transactions and litigation before the Belgian and EU courts and the Belgian regulators.

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 strong team of transaction experts advising on matters involving mergers and acquisitions, the structuring of joint ventures, the establishment of companies (including investment rounds, exit strategies, etc.), the drafting of commercial contracts, corporate governance and compliance issues and corporate housekeeping.

Dispute resolution: NautaDutilh is well-known for litigation in the areas of insolvency, banking, real estate, enforcement and recovery of arbitral awards and cross-border judgments, liability, beside commercial and corporate litigation, as well as domestic and international arbitration. We are present in a number of landmark cases in banking disputes, insolvency litigation and sovereign debt enforcement disputes.

Intellectual property and ICT: NautaDutilh assists clients in all areas of intellectual property, in particular patent and trademark litigation. We also have extensive experience handling disputes related to designs, copyright, neighbouring (related) rights, database rights, trade secrets, advertising and domain names. We provide both IP advisory and transactional services. Our lawyers regularly lead national and cross-border litigation in the Benelux and coordinate multi-jurisdictional litigation before the European courts. We also provide assistance in technology-driven transactions and with the negotiation and drafting of IT and outsourcing contracts.

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.

Public & Regulatory: Our public and regulatory team provides advice, does transactional work and often engages in litigation in all areas of administrative and constitutional law. The team has developed a particular expertise in public procurement law (including PPP), environmental law writ large and energy law.

Employment & Pensions: As well as advising on the employment law aspects of corporate transactions, in particular with respect to consultation requirements, employee participation and the replacement, and employment terms, of board members, the NautaDutilh pensions and employment team advises on other contentious and non-contentious employment law matters, including collective and individual dismissals.

Competition and anti-trust: The NautaDutilh competition practice has an established merger control capability and has significant experience litigating both before the European courts and in the national arena. The team carries out litigation relating to cases involving State aid, cartel damages, merger control and to behavioural cases such as distribution and horizontal cooperation.

Taxation: In addition to advising on the taxation aspects of corporate and financial transactions, the NautaDutilh taxation team has an established practice advising corporate clients on their ongoing tax affairs and tax planning.

Real Estate & Infrastructure: We advocate an integrated, cross-practice group ap-proach. At NautaDutilh Brussels, Real Estate is a sector team, not a practice group like Employment or Tax. Our Real Estate team is composed of M&A lawyers who help clients acquire real estate portfolios, as well as urban planning and environmental specialists, tax lawyers and finance, funds and capital markets specialists. This mix allows us to provide high-quality services in an efficient manner. We have an excellent client base and referral network. Clients can rely on us to carry out assignments in a professional manner. The real estate community is a small one, in which respect and reputation are earned over the long term.

Press Releases

NautaDutilh appoints three new partners

1st April 2021

We are pleased to announce the appointment of three new partners as of 1 April 2021. These appointments further strengthen several of our practice groups, including our Data, Cybersecurity & IT law team, our Banking & Finance team and our Corporate M&A team. With a new partner appointed in each of our three home jurisdictions, NautaDutilh underlines its position as a leading Benelux law firm.

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 2019

NautaDutilh 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 2017

NautaDutilh 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 2017

NautaDutilh Luxembourg is organising a breakfast seminar on outsourcing in the financial sector, which will take place on Wednesday, 10 May 2017.    

NautaDutilh defended Fendi against Coach

20th March 2017

NautaDutilh 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.

Breakfast Seminar – The financing of Luxembourg Investment Funds – 6 April 2017

20th March 2017

NautaDutilh 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 assisted Raizen Fuels Finance S.A.

17th February 2017

NautaDutilh 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.

Legal Developments

Sustainable Investing as a Driver of Change

21st April 2020 A disruptive cultural shift is driving change in the financial industry. Investors and new sources of deals are redesigning the fundamentals of the asset management business.In the asset management sector, trends have generally evolved to keep pace with the need to identify new ways of delivering alpha, as investors have traditionally been focused mainly on return. Today, however, investors are increasingly concerned with the social impact of their investments. The communication on the European Green Deal recently issued by the European Commission is representative of this changing environment. Indeed, the EU aims to become climate neutral by 2050. On a more global scale, similar sentiments were voiced at the last UN Climate Change Conference (COP 25) in Madrid. Initiatives at the European and national levels focusing specifically on the financial industry are also being taken, such as Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 on sustainability‐related disclosures in the financial services sector. In the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, there is already a legal framework for green covered bonds linked to renewable energy projects; in addition, a new bill (no. 7433) on sustainable finance aims to introduce more favourable rules for inter alia funds with environmental, social and governance (“ESG”), green or similar investment strategies. Finally, the Luxembourg Stock Exchange has issued guidelines for reporting on ESG aspects that address “the specific scope and needs of its three main stakeholders: companies, issuers of sustainable debt instruments, and asset managers active in sustainable & responsible investment funds”. The real economy is influencing the financial economy and forcing portfolio managers to develop products that are more in line with investors’ expectations. Unless they have a positive impact on, for example, the environment, the healthcare system or access to affordable housing, strategies will not be considered in line with current trends, regardless of whether they take a short or long approach, relate to a correlated or uncorrelated investment approach or public or private debt. There is indeed growing demand for the industry to participate in resolving questions and respond to real-life needs. ESG investing takes into account both ethical factors and financial elements in the decision-making process and has become increasingly common worldwide in recent years. Once a niche approach thought to come at the expense of returns, such strategies have proven that they can be market-beating. As ESG momentum builds, it is argued that companies can no longer afford to ignore ESG ratings. Last year, record amounts were invested in so-called sustainable funds. Within the overarching category of sustainable investing, strategies include ESG integration, socially responsible investing and impact investing. In brief, the primary factor in ESG integration is still financial performance, while impact investing is meant to maximise, with a quantifiable impact, social reach. Socially responsible investing can be considered to fall somewhere in the middle. The first priority for ESG integration strategies remains financial performance, while impact investing focuses on achieving the greatest possible social reach. Performance measurement is coming under increasing scrutiny by investors, and asset management firms need to be able to report on financial and social results in a transparent manner. Digital transformation  In the financial sector, digital transformation tops the list of priorities of a majority of financial institutions and actors.  The integration of digital technologies into all areas of business, including human resources and finance, entails a cultural shift and requires organisations to constantly question themselves and the way they operate and deliver value to customers.   In practice, we may expect increasing adoption of digital operating models, including integrated cross-functional teams, better use of artificial intelligence and machine-learning processes, greater reliance on the public cloud, encompassing a more detailed legal and regulatory framework, and finally continuous investment in data storage in order to synthesise data and facilitate their use. Luxembourg, the frontrunner in anticipating and driving change The Luxembourg financial sector is already investing in new standards and processes and revamping its service offering in order to adapt to the rapidly changing landscape. One of the keys to the success of the Luxembourg financial sector is the speed at which participants (i.e. service providers, credit institutions, auditors, lawyers and authorities) invest in and purchase new skills and technologies to ensure they are seen as modern, mature and competent business partners by the international markets. As has been the case in the past for other strategies, knowledge and expertise in new areas of investment and services, to anticipate and drive change, will enable the Grand Duchy to remain a location of choice for investors and asset managers. Law firms need to consider all aspects of digital transformation as well as ESG issues and impact-investing asset classes and understand the various components and models in order to be able to assess them adequately in the due diligence process and ensure that they are reflected in contractual and legal documentation. As global front-runners, Luxembourg financial sector players have not only an opportunity but also a duty to stay on top of these trends. Understanding ESG and digital transformation entails implementing appropriate processes within each organisation and constantly innovating by adopting an open-minded, ESG-oriented approach in all areas of business.

Comparative Guides

• Luxembourg: Lending & Secured Finance

  Published: June 2021

  Authors: Nicolas Bonora Thibaud Muller Audrey Derep

  This country-specific Q&A provides an overview to Lending & Secured Finance laws and regulations that may occur in Luxembourg.