Linklaters > Brussels, Belgium > Firm Profile

‘Standout team with deep knowledge of the market, market practice, trends, etc. Very responsive with efficient staffing across seniorities.’

‘David Ballegeer combines impressive technical skills with commercial acumen. Tom Cobbaert is not only very knowledgeable, but also very responsive and efficient and deserves to have a bright future ahead of him. ’

‘Highly skilled. Unrivalled market knowledge & technical expertise.’

‘Very well organized team that is well matched and has clearly guided numerous complex and big-ticket transactions to a successful close. The team is well aware of the latest trends and evolutions in the market.’

‘We worked with Linklaters on a debt capital markets transaction with a team led by David Ballegeer and Anne-Sophie Vankemmelbeke. Both very skilled lawyers with extensive experience who communicate clearly.’

‘Strong finance team with proven experience and track record on, among others, banking (re)financings.’

‘Francis Wijnakker is an experienced finance expert with proven expertise on (re)financing matters who is strong on execution. ’

‘Francis Wijnakker: Top lawyer, very deep understanding and knowledge. Exceptional commitment and drive to get the best for his clients. Tom Cobbaert: Expert in capital markets, approachable and can explain complex matters in an easy to understand way.’

‘Very agile team that is willing to think along with the needs of the client within short timeframes. Dedicated partner on the case who is always supported by the expertise needed at that moment.’

‘Filip Lecoutre is a very calm person with excellent logical and analytical skills. Confident and always with sufficient empathy.’

‘Victor Burki  has excellent research and writing skills. Has a certain degree of assertiveness that is needed for the job combined with good oration skills.’

‘Strong M&A practice with high responsiveness on deals and good execution capabilities. The team (and wider Linklaters platform) is also very strong in terms of knowledge offering towards clients (both digital and in-person). ’

Filip Lecoutre is experienced in M&A matters and very responsive on ongoing matters. Nils Vermeulen is a strong senior associate with proven experience in M&A matters who never hesitates to go the extra mile on transactions.’

‘Great understanding of the client’s need and excellent experience in M&A. Wide network of offices allowing for a one-stop shop. Diversity at partner level and excellent collaboration with the client.’

‘Charles-Antoine Leunen is a trusted business partner. He has an excellent understanding of the market and provides strategic advice. An-Sofie Van Hootegem is an excellent lawyer with knowledge of market practice. Good negotiator.

Jérémy Filbiche has a good understanding of commercial issues and is able to translate them into transaction documents.’

‘Very responsive team with efficient staffing across seniorities.’

‘Etienne Dessy combines great legal and commercial skills and expertise in dealing with the regulator with responsiveness and very good team management.’

‘Etienne Dessy and his team are just brilliant. Their added value lies with their profound understanding of their clients’ businesses and needs. They are sharp, accurate and fast. Very pragmatic as well.’

‘Etienne Dessy is very much client and solution oriented. He knows his clients well and advises them accordingly. He seems to be a very good people manager which translates into dedicated and efficient teams working for him.’

‘Deep knowledge of the sector, and the team makes an extra effort to start understanding the client and the objectives before jumping into providing a quote. This makes a huge difference and ensures a top-notch quality of delivery.’

‘They’re proactive in identifying potential issues and also collaborate across teams (internally) to provide holistic solutions.’

‘The team has in-depth knowledge of regulatory market practices in the Belgian jurisdiction and regulatory expectations, hence ensuring that the proposed solutions/approach are likely to align with regulatory expectations whilst also being efficient.’

‘The individuals at Linklaters are pleasant to work with due to being straightforward in what the outcome would likely look like, hence managing expectations and not overpromising on results. They apply a solution-based and efficient approach to problems, aiming to (also) have an in-depth knowledge of the operational set-up, rather than providing a solely theoretical approach, and also proactively providing (practical) solutions to problems.’

‘Guillaume Couneson really stands out in this area. Strong knowledge, very hard working and charismatic. He is extremely knowledgeable, very much available and reactive. He is the absolute reference point for privacy and data in the Belgian market.’

‘Holistic approach, very good knowledge of the clients’ business and needs. Fine negotiators in contract negotiations.’

‘Guillaume Couneson deserves recognition as being extremely technically competent in the underlying matters, in addition to of course being very knowledgeable in the legal landscape. He takes time and is great at understanding the business and can apply and explain the legal implications based on what is relevant to your business.’

‘They make sure that all expertise is available at all times. Under time pressure, they collaborate very well and organise themselves such that deadlines are met – they know their strengths and how to bring this to the benefit of the client.’

‘Professional and knowledgeable. Fast and accurate in their responses. Conscious of deadlines.’

‘I’m glad to work with the Linklaters practice all around Europe, including the Belgian team, as I know I’ll have a great service and follow-up, so I don’t miss any aspects of a transaction, for example.’

‘I particularly appreciate working with Caroline Borgers, who is a significant asset to the Belgian tax practice of Linklaters. Her availability and wide knowledge is very much appreciated.’

‘The team is very well established in the Belgian market. They have capabilities covering the whole range of tax topics, from VAT to corporate income tax. They also work very closely with the other departments of the firm (notably the corporate and the real estate practice) which makes them a fully integrated tax practice, ready to work on large M&A transactions.’

‘Matthieu Possoz’s practice is really broad (both direct and indirect taxation). He has a deep understanding of the market, and his track record is impressive. He also covers the full range of tax topics, which is very rare and a serious asset in the Belgian market.’

‘All the people involved, especially Xavier Taton and Guillaume Croisant, operate like clockwork together. They have always supported us from a multidisciplinary perspective, without the person who started working with us at the beginning (Guillaume) ever losing sight of the whole.’

‘Their response times are unbeatable, the quality of all documents delivered and the quality of their interventions are something I have never seen before working with other firms. It is as if they were all one and we never have the feeling that there was a question left unanswered. On the contrary: they go above and beyond and always manage to surprise us with their ability to anticipate potential problems.’

‘Guillaume Croisant has been working on this issue with us since the beginning and it is amazing how easily he is able to recall and pick up on issues that have been in the works for years.’

‘Xavier Taton has shown himself to be a privileged mind, with a capacity for conviction and persuasion (without losing his serenity) that I have never seen before: he can summarise the essence of all the issues so well that it is simply impossible to disagree with him.’

‘Strong legal insights and tactical approach in settlement negotiations.’

‘Florence Danis is simply the one you want defending your case in court.’

‘Lieve Swartenbroux and her team are available when needed and always handle requests with speed. Professional and committed.’

‘Excellent. Lieve Swartenbroux is very knowledgeable, experienced, reliable and responsive. Very nice to work with.’

‘Strengths: people, availability, knowledge, stakeholder network management.’

‘Guillaume Couneson – outstanding figure in the market.’

‘Guillaume Couneson and his team are outstanding on the market. The added value lies in the good understanding of the client’s business, their legal skills and expertise ,but also their true understanding of the fintech/IT business. Such area of law is specific in the sense that we need to understand the fintech/AI/IT product itself, not just the legal rules and contracting negotiation skills. Guillaume combines both perfectly.’

‘The team is pleasant to work with, reactive and creative as it comes to solving complex issues in an efficient manner. The team has in depth knowledge of the Belgian market practices and regulatory expectations, and also engages teams of other (EU) jurisdictions to assess how certain, mainly PSD2, requirements are applied in national jurisdictions.’

‘We’ve been very impressed by both the regulatory/legal knowledge of Andreas Van Impe and Etienne Dessy in often complex and innovative matters, and the competency to apply legal reasonings to the set-up applied by our institution. They also leveraged the international network of Linklaters in the EU to obtain more insight on how EU-wide regulations are interpreted/applied by different regulators. Both individuals have an in depth knowledge of Belgian market practices and the regulator’s expectations, which enables them to work towards feasible, yet innovative, solutions.’

‘Great team showing good cohesion. They manage all aspects of the relation very well.’

‘We have a high level of trust in partners An-Sofie Van Hootegem and Charles-Antoine Leunen. They always go the extra mile and know the market very well. ’

‘The Linklaters team has a thorough knowledge of PE and VC practices. They offer solutions-oriented and practical advice and know what it takes to get the deal done. Their partners and managing associates are very clever, accessible, dedicated, and always available.’

‘The team is very flexible and adapts to the client’s needs. They have a deep knowledge of private equity.’

‘An-Sofie Van Hootegem is close to the clients and has an excellent understanding of the clients’ needs. Charles-Antoine Leunen is a trusted business partner and is solution-minded.’

‘It is always a pleasure to work with the Linklaters teams. They really try and understand your business case and come with pragmatic and fit-for-purpose support and advice. They take ownership and really help the projects.’

‘Charles-Antoine Leunen ensures the high quality of the support and is able to compose the right Linklaters teams that fit perfectly our needs. Evita Bassot is always impressive, not only for her strong legal/financial expertise or her negotiation skills but also for the drive and leadership she demonstrates to deliver what we need.’

‘Real estate team has a vast experience and expertise, is oriented to solve problems, is fast, always reachable and available, knows their clients, great transaction team.’

‘Yves Moreau and his team are excellent advisors.’

‘Very experienced, very good lawyers.’

‘In-depth knowledge of the project finance business.’

‘The experience and pragmatic approach of Pieter Peulinckx and Lothar Van Driessche’

‘Professional, commercial (thinking with the business), available, multilingual, cross-border team with high knowledge of the real estate market.’

‘Very accessible and efficient.’

‘Very high-level team with a large scope of work, from real estate leasing, to capital markets transactions, including litigation. Good mix of senior and junior lawyers – very efficient organization.’

‘The team was of great quality and was on top of things. The team was up to the task and targeted the right issues without overinvesting ressources. They were also able to translate the questions into easy to manage workstreams.’

‘Bernd Meyring was leading the team by setting the right focus and cutting down to the essence.’

‘Liliane Gam provided the pragmatic approach needed to speed up the process but had sufficient attention for the details.’

‘Closeness to the European Commission and other relevant EU institutions’ thinking, with deep understanding of their motivations and positioning on core issues. Able to deliver high-quality strategic advice relevant for our industry under tight deadlines for new developments in the competition space.’

‘William Leslie provides actionable and proactive advice relevant to our business.’

‘Linklaters is a heavyweight in competition law and regulation. Their lawyers are thought leaders and are at the forefront of developments in competition law and policy. They seem to be everywhere in terms of subject matter.’

‘William Leslie is extremely knowledgeable, has a strong grasp of competition law and regulation, as well as economics. He is sharp and commercially aware, and appears to be involved in virtually everything from digital platform regulation to merger control, FSR to FDI, telecoms regulation to vertical restraints.’

‘Neil Hoolihan is a highly skilled lawyer, with a great sense of humour. He is very much available and provides valuable hands-on advice.’

‘Pragmatic and commercial in providing risk-adjusted advice and solutions to assist clients with navigating through the ever-complex and changing regulatory regime of competition, foreign investment and foreign subsidies.’

‘Neil Hoolihan – absolutely stellar partner! As a seasoned advisor, he brings a commercial and sensible perspective that is based on sound analysis and works within the parameters of regulation. Always clear, succinct and with the client in mind. Always feel in very safe hands.’

‘William Leslie’s ability to truly (and quickly) understand our business and products is exceptional and means his advice is always tailored to our specific needs.’

‘Reliable and experienced team.’

‘Nele Van Kerrebroeck is a skilled technical lawyer who has the drive to make the difference.’

‘Exceptional services. In-depth, pragmatic, client and solution-oriented, with high flexibility.’

‘Nele Van Kerrebroeck is a very accessible and pragmatic lawyer who seeks solutions with the client.’

‘The Linklaters Belgium team is extremely helpful and provides excellent client service. They are very responsive and offer a wide range of practical legal advice.’

‘Nele Van Kerrebroeck is a fantastic partner who is exceptionally knowledgeable. Together with Jennifer Granado Aranzana, they make a great team.’

‘Nele Van Kerrebroeck is really capable of understanding the client’s context and needs and bridge them with the legal context to come up with pragmatic and solid solutions.’

‘Very strong knowledge. Pragmatic approach. Smooth collaboration.’

‘Excellent experience in the Belgian energy market, including regulatory elements and PPA drafting.’

‘The IP practice at Linklaters should be singled out as of very high quality, commercially savvy, very reliable and always available. I can trust them to come up with commercial solutions and answers that the business can use.’

‘Pieter Van Den Broecke, a longstanding IP partner, is overall top. He knows the law and our business, engages with the legal and business teams alike and can translate a lot of his knowledge into practical and useable solutions for the company.’

‘Tom De Coster is a very hardworking lawyer with very good knowledge of IP law. Julie De Meyer, one of the more junior lawyers in the team, clearly is up-and-coming and should be credited too.’