Mr Guillaume Couneson > Linklaters > Brussels, Belgium > Lawyer Profile

Linklaters‘ offering is chiefly directed at the customer base of IT service providers, with IT and business process outsourcing and the implementation of IT projects all falling within the unit’s purview. The team also provides transactional and regulatory assistance to telecoms clients. Tanguy Van Overstraeten heads up the practice; his mixed contentious and adviser practice centres on large IT outsourcing projects. Guillaume Couneson has significant experience pertaining to IT contracts and technology-related transitional services agreements. Claudia Allatta is highlighted for her international compliance expertise, while Valérie Heremans is a key contact for IT procurement mandates.

The ‘client-driven and pragmatic‘ fintech team at Linklaters is noted for its regulatory understanding of the sector, which enables it to advise banks, financial institutions and IT startups on a wide range of issues. In addition to advising on the regulatory and negotiation aspects of blockchain and cloud development projects, the team handles a large volume of investments and transactions in the fintech space as well as assisting with outsourcing and acting in contentious matters. The practice’s leadership encompasses data protection and IT specialist Guillaume Couneson, financial regulation expert Etienne Dessy, and Andreas Van Impe, who is a key contact for advising on the development of digital services, including blockchain technology.

The TMT group at Linklaters is regularly called on to act for clients – primarily customers of IT service providers – on strategic projects. Assisting with outsourcing, software, hardware and platform agreements is a particular strength. Tanguy Van Overstraeten, who is identified as an ‘outstanding figure in the market‘, heads up the practice. Guillaume Couneson is another key contact, and is noted for his contractual expertise.

Multinational companies turn to Linklaters for assistance with the full gamut of data governance projects; particular strengths include international data transfers, management of cybersecurity crises, implementation of cloud-based solutions, and compliance reviews. Tanguy Van Overstraeten heads up the firm’s global data protection practice, as well as overseeing the TMT offering locally. Guillaume Couneson is lauded by one client as ‘the absolute reference point for privacy and data in the Belgian market‘. The partners are supported by a strong bench of specialised practitioners, including managing associate Valérie Heremans and counsel Claudia Allatta.