Deloitte Legal > Zaventem, Belgium > Firm Profile

Deloitte Legal Offices

Deloitte Legal
GATEWAY BUILDING, LUCHTAVEN NATIONAAL 1J
1930 ZAVENTEM
Belgium
Visit website 32 2 800 70 00 32 2 800 70 01

Deloitte Legal > The Legal 500 Rankings

Belgium > Tax Tier 2

Deloitte Legal covers the full range of tax advice and litigation, with focused teams covering transactional taxation, planning and structuring, indirect taxation, and contentious tax disputes. The firm advises a wide range of clients, including major international names, and has strong multi-disciplinary and cross-border capabilities. The team includes a number of senior specialists, with leaders including Danny Stas, a VAT and indirect tax expert, international taxation-focused Tim Wustenberghs, Annick Visschers, a leading figure in tax controversy work, and Mathieu Ex , who takes the lead on private client and wealth management matters. Alexander Baert has a strong record in global tax controversy work. Filip Smet guides clients through contentious tax investigations, audits, and represents in associated litigation before Belgian courts.

Practice head(s):

Danny Stas; Tim Wustenberghs; Annick Visschers; Mathieu Ex

Other key lawyers:

Filip Smet

Testimonials

‘Excellent strategic focus, fighting spirit and determination; very good knowledge of the ins and outs of the Belgian fiscal landscape.’

‘Highly professional people that really understand the needs of our business.’

‘My fixed contact person is Alexander Baert: besides being friendly, approachable and understanding, I really appreciate his understanding of our business, his eagerness to find solutions and to think with us and his help in assisting us to find answers from other jurisdictions as well his follow-up on the outcome. For me he is an example of how a lawyer should work.’

Belgium > Banking, finance and capital markets Tier 3

Deloitte Legal advises a wide range of corporate clients on equity capital markets and financing transactions, with strong expertise in financial services regulation and USPP markets, allowing it to work with clients to find innovative funding structures for transactions and restructurings. Other recent areas of focus for the team include sustainable finance and Covid-19 recovery issues. The team is now led by Laurent Godts, who is focused on innovative financing structures, alongside debt capital markets practitioners Benoît Féron and David Roelens. Former practice head Werner Van Lembergen remains highly active across the firm’s financing matters, and is a leader in the field of public capex and deconsolidation projects.

Practice head(s):

David Roelens; Laurent Godts; Benoît Féron

Other key lawyers:

Werner Van Lembergen; Christoph Michiels

Testimonials

‘Christoph Michiels and Laurent Godts are hard-working individuals with a high degree of flexibility. They are always available for their customers also during the weekends and communicate extremely well on the status and progress.’

‘Very good knowledge of the market.’

‘Werner Van Lembergen is very smart and outstanding, a real statesman.’

‘Hands on, they act as part of the company, readily available when support is needed.’

‘Laurent Godts : knowledgeable, client oriented, solution oriented, pragmatic.’

‘Flexible broader team which is hands-on and pragmatic.’

‘Focus on a good teamwork. Always a team effort.’

Key clients

Lineas Group NV

Shell International Limited & Euroshell Cards B.V.

Bsit Technologies NV

Lloyd’s Insurance Company

Care Property Invest

Van Mossel Automotive Group NV

Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank (CA-CIB)

Vandewiele NV

AXA Bank Belgium

Inbiose NV

Xior Student Housing NV

Motown Real Estate Holding SA

Indigo Diabetes NV

Aphea Bio NV

MRM Health NV

Miracor Medical SA

Sopartec NV

International Car Lease Holding NV

Leaseplan Corporation NV

Montea NV

Work highlights

  • Advised Lineas on its €115m bank debt transactions.
  • Advised Van Mossel Automotive Group on the financing of its Belgian acquisitions and assisted on the structuring of their car lease securitisation programme.
  • Advised Shell on its pan-European regulated payments cards activity.

Belgium > Commercial, corporate and M&A Tier 3

Deloitte Legal advises domestic and foreign investors, companies, and financial institutions on a number of mid-market M&A and private equity mandates, alongside an active corporate governance and advisory offering, capital markets expertise and regulatory support. The practice, led by David Roelens, has industry expertise in the consumer, energy, life sciences, and technology sectors.

Practice head(s):

David Roelens

Other key lawyers:

Marc Van Tieghem; Hans Vansweevelt

Testimonials

‘Able to cater and adopt to the client’s needs. They cover a broad range of legal topics. They are cost-efficient. They are knowledgeable in matters of Belgium corporate and transaction law.’

‘Marc Van Tieghem: good partner, client-focused, interested in and working for client’s needs.’

‘Hans Vansweevelt: responsive, gets the work done.’

‘David Roelens understands his client’s needs and aligns the provision of services his team provides to that. This is pretty unique in the world of large law firms.’

Key clients

Cartamundi NV

Sweco Belgium BV

H. Essers NV

NxtPort CVBA

Duval Union

Vandewiele NV

Sonepar Belgium NV – Cebeo NV

Alcopa NV

Lineas

Aurelius

Minefin

Kebek Private Equity

Sarens NV

Radisson

Vebego International BV

Forum Estates NV

Xior

Work highlights

  • Advised Vandewiele NV on the acquisition of Savio Macchine Tessili.
  • Advised Cartamundi on the acquisition of United States Playing Card Company.
  • Advised H. Essers Logistics Company NV on the acquisition of several companies of the Meeus group.

Belgium > Employment Tier 3

Beyond its clear expertise in tax-related matters, Deloitte Legal‘s employment, pensions and benefits practice assists a number of blue-chip clients with the implementation of flexible reward systems, executive compensation packages, international mobility work and data protection matters. Clients regard practice head Stijn Demeestere as a ‘brilliant lawyer’ and litigator who focuses on various dismissal cases and disputes before the Belgian labour courts. Julien Hick  left the practice for AKD.

Practice head(s):

Stijn Demeestere

Other key lawyers:

Thomas De Donder

Testimonials

‘The team knows our company and its organisation and always provides us with practical hands on advice.’

‘Thomas De Donder and Stijn Demeestere have a unique hands on style and combine that with an incredible knowledge of employment law.’

‘Technically very strong and reliable, very pragmatic and creative. They think along with us as their client and translate the legal framework into practical advice that we can execute.’

‘Stijn Demeestere is a brilliant lawyer.’

‘Thomas De Donder is very strong; quickly grasps the situation and is able to provide advice on the spot.’

Key clients

Record Crédits

Matexi

Toyota Motor Europe

Allseas

Showpad

Getinge Belgium

Kaneka Belgium

Beaulieu International Group

Picanol

Ubiway Retails

Belgium > Fraud and white-collar crime Tier 3

Deloitte leverages its strength in tax controversy work, representing clients in a number of high-value tax fraud proceedings, including criminal cases, as well as tax audits, negotiations with regulatory authorities, and litigating before domestic and European courts. The practice combines litigation and risk management expertise alongside strong tax knowledge, and is led by Jürgen Egger, Annick Visschers and Johan Speecke.

Practice head(s):

Jürgen Egger; Annick Visschers; Johan Speecke

Key clients

Former CFO of Fortis Bank

Belgium > Industry focus: Energy Tier 3

Underpinned by its significant global footprint and cross-departmental collaboration, Deloitte's climate and energy team works with a range of municipal bodies, regulators, and renewable energy suppliers on various regulatory and advisory mandates. Renewable energy support mechanisms, closed distribution systems and public procurement contracts are all key areas of expertise for the group. Practice lead Dominique Vanherck's broad expertise includes solar, wind power and the development of energy infrastructure projects. Kathleen De Hornois is noted for her significant experience in public procurement and public-private partnerships.

Practice head(s):

Kathleen De Hornois

Other key lawyers:

Dominique Vanherck

Testimonials

‘Open minded, outside-the-box thinking.’

‘Pragmatic advisory approach.’

‘Large team with a broad set of skills.’

Key clients

CREG

Port of Oostende

Futech

Elia

Shell

Nexans

Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy

West Flemish Intermunicipal Company

Intermunicipal Water Supply Company of Flanders

Fluvius

DATS 24

Aquafin

The Flemish Government, Department of Economy, Science and Innovation

Work highlights

  • Prepared a study for the federal government and the federal Energy Minister with policy recommendations for the future role of clean gas in a climate-neutral Belgium.
  • Advised the Port of Oostende on the legal framework governing the decommissioning, re-powering and sale on the second hand market of offshore and onshore wind turbines in Belgium.
  • Advised Elia on the tender procedure for the OSS contract for its Modular Offshore Grid II project.

Belgium > Industry focus: Healthcare and life sciences Tier 3

Deloitte Legal's life sciences and healthcare practice is experienced in the full spectrum of corporate and venture capital work for clients in the biotech, medtech, and clean tech sectors. Distribution agreements, IP rights enforcement, and EU regulatory reviews are further core workflows for the team. A number of biotech and medtech start-ups and scale-ups routinely turn to Christoph Michiels for assistance throughout the development process. Benoît Féron and Kathleen De hornois are other names to note.

Practice head(s):

Christoph Michiels

Other key lawyers:

Benoît Féron; Kathleen De hornois

Key clients

A-MANSIA BIOTECH SA

S-Biomedic NV

Indigo Diabetes NV

VIPUN Medical NV

MRM Health NV

Miracor Medical NV

Aphea NV

AgomAb Therapeutics NV

Softhale

Belgium > Industry focus: Transport Tier 3

Deloitte Legal works across the full scope of the transport sector, assisting a host of public authorities and commercial entities operating at the Belgian, European, and international level. The team is especially noted for its advisory and regulatory capabilities in public-private partnership matters, legislative reviews, and studies commissioned by various government departments. The team is jointly led by corporate transaction specialists Marc Van tieghem and Tim Baart, and the public law and regulatory expert Kathleen De hornois. All named lawyers are based in Antwerp.

Practice head(s):

Kathleen De Hornois; Marc Van Tieghem; Tim Baart

Testimonials

‘Highly experienced lawyers.’

‘Good knowledge of the legal issues.’

Key clients

Flemish Waterway

NMBS / SNCB

Flemish Government – Department of Mobility and Public Works

Flemish Agency for Maritime and Coastal Services, Flemish Government

Flemish Agency for Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Port of Oostende

Belgium > Insolvency and restructuring Tier 3

Deloitte Legal advises on a wide range of restructuring and insolvency processes, including related tax and regulatory issues, with clients including major international corporates and financial institutions acting as lenders. The practice partners with the international Deloitte network to service cross-border clients, as well as developing its own organic client base. The team is led by Jürgen Egger, who has notable expertise in the intersection between criminal and insolvency law, alongside Glenn Hansen, a specialist in insolvency and bankruptcy proceedings.

Practice head(s):

Jürgen Egger; Glenn Hansen

Key clients

Lehman Brothers

O’cool

Work highlights

  • Advising the administrators of Lehman Brothers on the recovery of assets.
  • Advising O’cool on its restructuring plan and process.

Belgium > Real estate and construction Tier 3

Maximilien Van De Werve heads the practice at Deloitte acts for clients across the real estate spectrum including domestic and international institution investors and funds and developers in addition to corporate clients. The team handles the gamut of real estate work and is well known for handling matters with a tax nexus.

Practice head(s):

Maximilien van de Werve

Testimonials

‘Hands-on, pragmatic and flexible.‘

‘Link with other Deloitte teams.‘

‘Maximilien Van de Werve: client focused.‘

Key clients

European Commission

AXA REIM

Global Estate Group

Xior

ION

Ciril (ex-DMI)

Extensa

CoHabs

Aldia-Zeelandia

Serris REIM

Belgium > Dispute resolution Tier 4

A number of high-profile companies, financial institutions, and public bodies turn to the sizeable team at Deloitte Legal for representation in commercial disputes, tax litigation and conflict handling matters. The multi-office practice is also noted for its arbitration offering, where CEPANI members Jürgen Egger and Alain-Laurent Verbeke are key contacts. Annick Visschers is recommended for her broad tax acumen.

Practice head(s):

Jürgen Egger; Annick Visschers; Johan Speecke; Alain Laurent Verbeke; Patrizia Macaluso; Benoît Féron; Glenn Hansen

Testimonials

‘Excellent Team for tax dispute resolution!’

‘Samuel Vanthienen is our direct contact regarding Tax dispute resolution. He is an excellent lawyer and negotiator!’

Key clients

UK Government

Willemen Groep

Lehman Brothers

Hansard Europe Designated Activity

Work highlights

  • Representing the administrators of Lehman Brothers in Belgian court cases to recover as many assets as possible.
  • Advising a Belgian organiser of dance festivals on the framework of the international roll-out of its festival concept and the impact of Covid-19 on the organisation of festivals.

Belgium > Industry focus: IT and telecoms Tier 4

Deloitte Legal is routinely engaged by clients active in the areas of textiles, data, streaming, energy and blockchain. The team also regularly advises on strategic alliances and joint ventures, and represents clients in investigations. Antwerp-based Jürgen Egger  focuses on a range of commercial IT law issues, while Matthias Vierstraete - who splits his time between Ghent and Brussels - is noted for his capabilities in software development, e-commerce, domain name disputes and media law.

Practice head(s):

Jürgen Egger; Matthias Vierstraete

Key clients

Jofico NV (Consortium of 5 banks)

Elia Group NV

Het Domein Bokrijk VZW

Van de Wiele NV

Beeple NV

Club Brugge

Pro League NV

Work highlights

  • Advised a consortium of 5 banks on pooling their ATM operations and to shift to an “ATM-as-a-service” model.
  • Assist Elia in view of its participation in a European wide blockchain project in the energy sector.

Deloitte Legal > Firm Profile

Firm overview

Deloitte Legal – Lawyers addresses your challenges with comprehensive thinking, powered by experience and insights drawn from diverse business disciplines, industries, and global perspectives. We bring together legal advice, strategy, and technology to recommend innovative solutions, create value for you and your business, and transform the way in which legal services are delivered and consumed.

Operating in approximately 80 countries, Deloitte Legal practitioners work closely across borders, providing a strategic perspective to help companies meet local responsibilities and thrive in the global marketplace. With access to industry specialists and an unparalleled range of professional services, we also employ technology to pioneer innovative solutions to the most complex business problems.

Deloitte Legal pairs strategy with technology to aggregate, organize, and assess complex data from multiple sources, providing the insight to enhance clients’ decision-making process. Deloitte Legal doesn’t just work for clients, but with clients to recommend the right solutions for their business. We understand the client’s needs and put a business lens on legal problems.

Main areas of practice

We are first of all legal advisors

A top legal practice in Belgium and full service business law firm, Deloitte Legal – Lawyers comprises approximately 160 qualified Bar-admitted lawyers, based in Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent and Kortrijk.

We are proud of our reputation for providing thorough and practical solutions tailored to the needs of clients ranging from multinational companies, national large and medium-sized enterprises, financial institutions, and private clients to government bodies.

 

We understand that global organizations are enormously complex organisms, and no one unit is sealed off from the rest. The multi-disciplinary, tech-enabled legal approach allows Deloitte Legal to address legal questions not just in the abstract isolated way but with a holistic understanding of what the client organization is trying to achieve. Where appropriate, to allow a seamless and comprehensive high-quality service, we work closely with financial, assurance and advisory, tax and consulting specialists, and with select EU and US law firms.

 

With a client-centric approach, we expand our knowledge about our clients, the industries they operate in, their regulatory and legislative environments around the world to bring more to the table and provide the best possible legal advice to clients.

 

Guidance, advice and support are offered in the areas of:

  • Banking & Finance law
  • Commercial law
  • Competition law
  • Corporate and M&A law
  • Dispute resolution & litigation
  • Employment law and benefits
  • IP & technology law
  • Insolvency and reorganizations
  • Public law and Regulatory and compliance
  • Real estate
  • Tax law
  • Tax and legal services for high-net-worth families and individuals

 

Legal Management Consulting

Deloitte’s Legal Management Consulting (LMC) services are configured to identify opportunities to help the General Counsel and the legal department as a whole to achieve their desired state by driving efficiency and cost decrease in legal departments and contract areas through the introduction of more systematized ways of working, changes to the sourcing model, improved use of data and introduction of legal and contracting technologies.

 

Legal Managed Services or Legal Operate

Deloitte’s Legal Operate Services were developed to help legal departments keep up with the demands from their businesses for support on a range of legal issues. Their aim is to drive efficiencies through process improvement, and provide support and guidance to help enable legal departments’ focus to shift to more strategic issues.

 

Support is offered for:

  • Contract management & document review :
  • Legal Entity Management
  • Intelligent staffing

Main Contacts

DepartmentNameEmailTelephone
Managing Partner Kathleen De hornoiskdehornois@DELOITTE.com+32.2.800.7060
Head of corporate and finance David Roelensdroelens@deloitte.com+32.2.800.7132
Head of Commercial, IP/IT Jürgen Eggerjegger@DELOITTE.com+32.2.800.7053
Head of Competition Law David Roelensdroelens@deloitte.com+32.2.800.7132
Head of Employment, Pensions and Benefits Stijn Demeesteresdemeestere@DELOITTE.com+32.2.800.7142
Head of Dispute resolution & litigation Annick Visschersavisschers@DELOITTE.com+32.2.800.7072
Head of Dispute resolution & litigation Jürgen Eggersjegger@DELOITTE.com+32.2.800.7053
Head of Public law and Regulatory and compliance Kathleen De hornoiskdehornois@DELOITTE.com+32.2.800.7060
Head of Real Estate Maximilien van de Wervemvandewerve@deloitte.com+32.2.800.7173
Head of tax and legal services for high-net-worth families and individuals Mathieu Exmaex@deloitte.com+32.2.738.0664
Head of Tax Advisory (VAT) Danny Stasdstas@DELOITTE.com+32.2.800.7011
Head of LMC/LMS Christoph Michielscmichiels@DELOITTE.com+32.2.800.7138

Lawyer Profiles

PhotoNamePositionProfile
Tim Baart photoMr Tim BaartTim is a corporate M&A partner and trusted advisor for various dynamic…View Profile
Alexander Baert photoMr Alexander BaertAlexander is a Director in the Tax Dispute Resolution Team. He advises…View Profile
Joris Beckers photoMr Joris BeckersJoris joined Deloitte Legal in 2021. With over 15 years of experience,…View Profile
Helene Casman photoMrs Helene CasmanHélène is a member of the Greenille Private Client team within Deloitte…View Profile
Caroline Costermans photoMrs Caroline CostermansCaroline is a Director in the Greenille Private Client team and focuses on…View Profile
Luc De Broe photoProf Luc De BroeLuc is Of Counsel in the Tax Dispute Resolution and Tax Advisory…View Profile
Kathleen De hornois photoMs Kathleen De hornoisKathleen became Managing Partner of Deloitte Legal – Lawyers on 1 October…View Profile
Stijn Demeestere photoMr Stijn DemeestereStijn Demeestere heads the firm’s Employment, pensions and benefits team.View Profile
Mathieu Ex photoMr Mathieu ExMathieu has been a tax partner in the Greenille Private Client team…View Profile
Benoit Feron photoMr Benoit FeronBenoît is Partner in Deloitte Legal’s Corporate and M&A team of lawyers.…View Profile
Glenn Hansen photoMr Glenn HansenGlenn heads the dispute resolution and insolvency & restructuring division of Deloitte…View Profile
Joaquim Heirman photoMr Joaquim HeirmanJoaquim is a Director at Deloitte Legal, specialising in all VAT matters.…View Profile
Patrizia Macaluso photoMrs Patrizia MacalusoPatrizia is a Director in Conflict Handling within the Greenille Private Client…View Profile
Kristof Maresceau photoMr Kristof MaresceauKristof is a Director mainly specialising in (cross-border) corporate law. He advises…View Profile
Christoph Michiels photoMr Christoph MichielsChristoph is a Partner in the Corporate and M&A department. His work…View Profile
Nancy Muyshondt photoMrs Nancy MuyshondtNancy is a Director in Deloitte Legal’s Tax Advisory team of lawyers.…View Profile
Wim Naudts photoMr Wim NaudtsWim Naudts has a clear focus on administrative and regulatory law and…View Profile
David Roelens photoMr David RoelensDavid Roelens is head of the Corporate and M&A and Finance practice.…View Profile
Filip Smet photoMr Filip SmetFilip is a tax director in the Tax Dispute Resolution team within…View Profile
Johan Speecke photoMr Johan SpeeckeJohan is a partner in the Tax Dispute Resolution team and is…View Profile
Danny Stas photoMr Danny StasDanny is head of the tax advisory practice. He is a tax…View Profile
Frederik Swennen photoMr Frederik SwennenFrederik is member of the Greenille Private Client team at Deloitte Legal.…View Profile
Lara Trawinski photoMrs Lara TrawinskiLara is a Director in Deloitte Legal’s Corporate and M&A team of…View Profile
Dominique Vanherck photoMs Dominique VanherckDominique is a member of Deloitte Legal’s Public law, regulatory & permits…View Profile
Alain-Laurent Verbeke photoProf Alain-Laurent VerbekeProf. Dr. Alain-Laurent Verbeke is a Partner at Deloitte Legal, Greenille Private Client…View Profile
Bart Verdickt photoMr Bart VerdicktBart is a Director in the Greenille Private Clients team at Deloitte…View Profile
Jasmijn Verraes photoMrs Jasmijn VerraesJasmijn is a Director in the Commercial team of lawyers at Deloitte…View Profile
Hendrik Viaene photoMr Hendrik ViaeneHendrik is head of the Competence Centre European LawView Profile
Annick Visschers photoMs Annick VisschersAnnick is head of the Tax Dispute Resolution team of lawyers at…View Profile
Tim Wustenberghs photoMr Tim WustenberghsTim is partner in the Tax advisory team. His main focus is…View Profile
Maximillien van de Werve photoMr Maximillien van de WerveMaximilien is head partner of the Real estate practice. His practice covers…View Profile
Eric von Frenckell photoMr Eric von FrenckellEric is a Partner in the tax advisory team. He focuses on…View Profile

Staff Figures

Qualified Bar-admitted lawyers : 160

Languages

Dutch
French
English
German

Memberships

Deloitte Legal global network

Other

Headquarters : Zaventem
Other offices : Antwerp
Other offices : Ghent
Other offices : Kortrijk
Other offices : Woluwé (Brussels)

Diversity


We believe that an inclusive culture, underpinned at all times by respect, provides the foundation for a diverse and vibrant organization—we understand that providing this workplace environment for all our people is a long-term commitment. We also understand that diversity requires deliberate action when it comes to the way we work.

Whether through embracing the power of allyship, or by making our processes more inclusive, we are taking clear and consistent action to achieve the aspirational diversity goals that we have set for ourselves. Progress against these goals is measured through a formal assessment to hold leaders accountable for their focus and effort in delivering our global inclusion strategy. Using these measures, progress on diversity goals is discussed at Executive meetings on a regular basis.

We believe diversity will enhance group performance. In a group, diversity matters as much as ability and brainpower.

It will also improve decision making, help attract top talent, increase employee satisfaction and make the firm more customer oriented.

Here’s how we’re taking action:

1. Working toward gender balance across the organization

Aspirational goals have been set for all Deloitte firms (in Belgium, female partner representation increased by 20% by 2023 and 30% by 2030). We have developed consistent initiatives spanning the entire career lifecycle—from recruitment, promotion and succession processes to mentoring, sponsorship and agile working.

2. Fostering LGBT+ inclusion

We are a proud signatory of the UN Standards of Conduct for Business in Tackling Discrimination against LGBTI people, a proud member of the Partnership for Global LGBTI Equality. We also joined the Brunswick Group’s coalition Open for Business, which is a network of major businesses campaigning for LGBT+ inclusion globally. We believe the power of ‘allyship’ is a critical element of LGBT+ diversity, whereby our people support the rights and wellbeing of their LGBT+ colleagues.

3. Supporting mental health

Supporting mental health is a critical aspect of inclusion. We want our people to know where and how to seek support when needed and feel comfortable they can do this without fear of stigma.

4. Fostering racial and ethnic inclusion

Deloitte stands against systemic bias, racism and unequal treatment. We take our responsibility seriously to listen, learn and lead the change we wish to see in the world. Within our organization, we continue to drive global and local initiatives to increase racial and ethnic diversity, from recruitment to learning and development, career progression and mentoring.

5. Supporting people with disabilities

We are building an environment where people with both visible and invisible disabilities can actively and fully participate and demonstrate their abilities in the workplace and society. We have launched a number of awareness-building, coaching and education programs to enable professionals with disabilities to reach their full potential at Deloitte.

6. Promoting allyship

Our shared values at Deloitte include: “Take care of each other” and “Foster inclusion.” One of the ways we bring those shared values to life is by promoting allyship, which means visibly and vocally standing up for the rights of others, addressing bias and unacceptable behaviour—and encouraging people to use their voice to effect change. It goes far beyond expressing passive support—it is a long-term commitment to advocate for others.

Client Testimonials


CLIENT: Global Estate Group
COMPANY/FIRM: Deloitte Legal – Lawyers
TESTIMONIAL: Wij hebben in Deloitte een zeer betrouwbare partner gevonden voor de begeleiding van onze complexere projecten. We kunnen hierbij steeds rekenen op het deskundig advies van een multidisciplinair topteam, waarbij een kwalitatieve dienstverlening, snelheid en klantvriendelijkheid centraal staan.

Een team met een “hands on”- mentaliteit, dat resultaatgericht met ons meedenkt.

(Translation: We have found Deloitte to be a very reliable partner for the supervision of our more complex projects.

We can always count on the expert advice of a top multidisciplinary team, in which a qualitative service, speed and customer friendliness are central. A team with a “hands on” mentality, that thinks along with us in a result-oriented way.)

CLIENT: ODTH NV
COMPANY/FIRM: Deloitte Legal – Lawyers
TESTIMONIAL: “We developed a great partnership with Deloitte Legal. We fully appreciate their commitment, expertise and responsiveness to our needs. I would highly recommend Deloitte Legal to any firm looking for a legal partner.”

CLIENT: A-MANSIA BIOTECH SA
COMPANY/FIRM: Deloitte Legal – Lawyers
TESTIMONIAL: We, at A-Mansia Biotech, a Belgium based microbiome company, have received, and continue to receive excellent support from Deloitte Legal. We highly appreciate both their expertise and their ways of working – we see them as strong partners, they are proactive and responsive, they always bring very good insights and it’s a pleasure working with them.

CLIENT: REDEVCO
COMPANY/FIRM: Deloitte Legal – Lawyers
TESTIMONIAL: We experience a pleasant cooperation with Deloitte Legal. They have a high level of know-how, offer smooth communication in various languages and, above all, can think along with the commercial requirements of the client’s internal business.

Interviews

Kathleen De hornois, Managing Partner, Deloitte Legal – Lawyers

Kathleen De hornois became Managing Partner during the pandemic and gives her views on the company’s recent developments

What do you see as the main points that differentiate Deloitte Legal – Lawyers from your competitors?

Without a doubt our ability to offer end-to-end compliant business solutions. When conventional law firms speak about offering multidisciplinary advice, they really mean multidisciplinary legal advice. When we say multidisciplinary advice, we offer the real deal since we can liaise, when required, with our counterparts within the relevant Deloitte Business Unit or Service Line, like Risk Advisory for instance. Together, we offer a holistic view which allows us to come to the best workable and legally sound solution for the client.

The fact that we ‘cohabit’ with all of our closest non legal advisors greatly facilitates this teamwork and enables us to offer our clients a comprehensive helicopter view of the different issues at hand and propose clear action plans. Clients gain in efficiency and interpretation risks are mitigated, along with the inefficiencies inevitably linked to several separate teams being called upon.

When compared to the other Big Four, we have more than 20 years of experience coping with the challenges specific to law firms within the Big Four environment and have attracted a number of truly eminent people to work for our firm. Indeed, of the four, we are the only one to have kept a dedicated legal offering in Belgium.

Which practices do you see growing in the next 12 months? What are the drivers behind that?

I predict growth first of all for our M&A practice thanks also to our increased focus, both Deloitte-wide and specifically within Financial Advisory, on end-to-end M&A. With the current uncertainties due to the war in Ukraine, we also predict a demand to advise on shifts from international to more local production, in line with the reflection on lessening our dependency on international trade.

Next to this, climate change challenges and related legal impacts remain a burning platform. All these trends create opportunities for legal advice and, more specifically, for real estate and infrastructure projects, as well as for employment law for restructurings.

What’s the main change you’ve made in the firm that will benefit clients?

These last two years have demonstrated that it is possible to rapidly change entrenched ways of working, and that we adapt more easily than we thought possible. Indeed, it’s fair to say that the legal profession has changed more from a technological point of view in that short timeframe than it has in the past decade. One of the benefits of this fast-track has been increased reactivity for reasons ranging from the increased acceptation of email versus hard copies and e-signatures to the elimination of travel time thanks to Teams and Zoom meetings. This change has also translated into less formal and expeditious exchanges, which have greatly speeded up correspondence and enhanced the overall management of the matters in question. It is this sense of speed and openness to change that we must now further build on.

Is technology changing the way you interact with your clients, and the services you can provide them?

To benefit our clients and capture the benefits of this openness to change, we are now also offering Legal Management Consulting, which drives efficiency in legal departments and contract areas through the introduction of more systematized ways of working, changes to the sourcing model, improved use of data and introduction of legal and contracting technologies. The time gained thereby can then be spent on real business challenges, which can in turn drive further potential cost efficiencies.

We then also looked at how we could advise clients wanting to outsource (parts of their) legal work and have outlined three so-called ‘operate’ offerings: the first one concentrates on contract management & document review. The work we perform decreases the cost of contracting, increases the quality of contracts and gives General Counsels additional insights in and greater control over their contracts. The second offering, Legal Entity Management, allows legal departments to outsource their corporate compliance, thereby achieving improved management of complexity and risk, greater control of data and insights into the entity compliance process. The third one is an intelligent staffing solution where we can provide an ideal mix of paralegals, junior lawyers and senior lawyers with a direct access to our ever-growing knowledge database.

At the end of 2020, we launched an Ecosystems & Alliances initiative that focuses on start-ups and scale-ups in legal and tax tech. We decided on this initiative because the way we do business is changing, and there are increasing numbers of small and smart specialist firms appearing that we can work with, gain in efficiency from, learn from and/or potentially support. We want to increase our knowledge and understanding, connect with key stakeholders, and become ‘the‘ recognized go to lawyers.

We strongly believe in the digital transformation of the legal profession and have started building partnerships with legal tech providers with a view to contributing to the future proofing of the legal profession.

Can you give us a practical example of how you have helped a client to add value to their business?

I would like to highlight a case showcasing our Deloitte in-house multidisciplinary advice: our Deloitte Legal Corporate M&A team, alongside a large multidisciplinary engagement team, provided buy-side due diligence and transactional legal advice to a leading manufacturer of card & board games and digital solutions, when it acquired the United States Playing Card Company, a leader in the production and distribution of premier brands of playing cards.

This acquisition signifies a milestone for the manufacturer and strengthens its market leadership within the playing card and board games sector. As a result of the acquisition, the group will increase its turnover to approximately USD 550,000,000 and will obtain market access in all states within the United States.

Are clients looking for stability and strategic direction from their law firms – where do you see the firm in three years’ time?

Our strategy underpins our ambition to (continue to) be a top full-service advisory law firm, benefiting from our close and multi-disciplinary collaboration with Deloitte and Deloitte Legal, both nationally and internationally, and expanding our operate offerings to help unburden clients whilst helping them to gain in efficiency and focus. We will continue to develop our knowledge and penetration of legal and tax ecosystems and keep abreast of changes impacting the legal profession, thereby ensuring we remain a frontrunner in legal innovation.



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