Ms Sophie Van Besien > Stibbe > Brussels, Belgium > Lawyer Profile
Stibbe Offices

CENTRAL PLAZA
LOKSUMSTRAAT 25/ RUE DE LOXUM 25
1000 BRUSSELS
Belgium
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Ms Sophie Van Besien

Work Department
Compliance and Sanctions, EU law, Competition and Regulation, Unfair Competition and Consumer Protection
Position
Partner
Career
Sophie Van Besien advises public bodies and private companies on the entire spectrum of national and EU competition law and regulatory compliance.
Sophie has a wealth of knowledge and experience in EU and national competition law. She advises on complex international and multi-jurisdictional merger control proceedings, as well as investigations into cartel and abuse of dominant positions. She also focuses on state aid and damage claims.Sophie has built up extensive international experience and industry knowledge in technology, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, postal and telecommunications, metals and mining, consumer products and retail, as well as financial services. With this valuable set of skills and knowhow, she advises clients on the application of EU directives and general regulatory compliance issues.In addition, she represents clients before national competition authorities, the European Commission, national courts, and the European Courts in Luxembourg.
Languages
Dutch, English, French
Education
- Master of Laws from Ghent University (2007)
- Admitted to the Brussels Bar in 2007
- Master of Laws (LL.M.) from Columbia University School of Law, New York, United States (2009)
- Admitted to the New York Bar in 2010
- Associate in the Brussels and Washington D.C. offices of a leading American law firm (2007–2016)
- Senior Legal Counsel in EU competition and regulatory (2016–2018 and Director Regulatory & Competition (2018–2019) at a major state-owned, listed Belgian company
- With the Brussels office of Stibbe since 2019 (Partner since 2019)
Lawyer Rankings
Belgium > Competition: Belgian law
(Next Generation Partners)–
Stibbe‘s EU law, competition, and regulation team handles the gamut of competition matters, advising on cartel work, abuse of dominance cases, state aid, and merger control matters, as well as complex litigation through its integrated antitrust litigation group. Its foreign direct investment and foreign subsidy regulation practices are growing. Peter Wytinck
and Sophie Van Besien co-head the team, with Wytinck a particular go-to in damage claim cases for infringements of competition law. Quentin Declève is recommended for his work in antitrust litigation, representing clients before national competition authorities on the spectrum of competition law matters.
Belgium > Competition: EU and global
The EU law, competition, and regulation team at Stibbe handles the full range of national and EU competition law, including cartel investigations, abuse of dominance, State aid, and merger control. Team co-head Peter Wytinck
is a go-to for damages claims, while co-head Sophie Van Besien advises on international and multi-jurisdictional merger control proceedings.
Lawyer Rankings
- Competition: Belgian law Belgium
- Next Generation Partners Belgium > Competition: Belgian law
- Competition: EU and global Belgium
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Competition: Belgian law
- Dispute resolution
- Environment
- Fraud and white-collar crime
- Industry focus: IT and telecoms
- Intellectual property
- Real estate and construction
Firm Rankings
- Banking, finance and capital markets
- Commercial, corporate and M&A
- Employment
- EU regulatory: Information technology
- Industry focus: Energy
- Industry focus: Healthcare and life sciences
- Industry focus: Media and entertainment
- Insolvency and restructuring
- Insurance
- Private equity
- Tax
- EU regulatory: Financial services
- EU regulatory: Pharma, medical devices and biotech
- EU regulatory: Privacy and data protection
- Competition: EU and global