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Henri Kaikkonen

Henri Kaikkonen

Henri Kaikkonen is a partner in Bird & Bird's Helsinki office and Head of our Finnish Intellectual Property Group. His focus areas are contentious IP matters, brand protection and commercialization of digital assets. Henri has extensive experience in contentious IP and Tech matters. Having represented clients in all kinds of IPR infringement and invalidation actions, preliminary injunctions and IP related damages claims, he focuses on contentious trademark, patent and unfair business practices disputes. His litigation expertise also covers trade secrets, copyrights, database rights, marketing, consumer protection, technology transfers and distressed IT projects. On the non-contentious side, Henri regularly advises in local, EU and international brand protection, oppositions and office actions, as well as in the creation and development of IP strategies. Much of his work is also about ensuring marketing campaigns and product launches are done lawfully.
Anton Aerts

Anton Aerts

Anton is a partner in our Employment team in Brussels, where he advises and represents our clients in a wide range of matters relating to employment and social security law. Anton is specialised in all aspects of employment and social security law including transfer of undertaking, restructurings and individual and collective redundancies. He also advises clients on business immigration and cross border employment situations. His sector focused approach with an emphasis on the life science and technology sectors has allowed Anton to develop specific expertise in matters such as protection of confidential information including trade secrets, employee poaching and international mobility. Anton also specialises in all employment aspects of corporate transactions. Working closely with the international Bird & Bird corporate teams he ensures that all potential employment liabilities are fully assessed and appropriately managed or factored into the deal. Anton is experienced in working with clients who are in the process of restructuring where he assists with strategic decisions to allow the clients to plan their employment policy for the future. Finally Anton helps clients optimise their remuneration and benefits packages for employees, taking into account the heavy tax and social security burden in Belgium. He has experience implementing equity plans (stock options, RSU's) for international companies in Belgium. Anton offers his clients in-depth but also very practical hands-on solutions to all their employment related issues. He delivers fast and precise answers whenever requested by our clients.
Mikko Ahonen

Mikko Ahonen

Mikko Ahonen is the managing partner in Bird & Bird Helsinki office. He has extensive experience advising on a wide range of corporate, M&A and real estate transactions. Specialising in mergers & acquisitions, corporate and securities law work and real estate transactions, his practice consists of advising both domestic and international clients in their transactional and corporate needs. He regularly advises clients with public tender offers, private equity transactions, complex cross-border transactions, creation of incentive plans for the management and employees, and complex internal corporate restructurings, among others. Mikko is also one of the leading experts in warranty and indemnity insurances. He advises both the underwriters as the subscribers on all stages of the process from the underwriting up to the end of the claims process. This provides Bird & Bird with a unique access to data from wide range of transactions.
Mikko Ahonen

Mikko Ahonen

Mikko Ahonen is the managing partner in Bird & Bird Helsinki office. He has extensive experience advising on a wide range of corporate, M&A and real estate transactions. Specialising in mergers & acquisitions, corporate and securities law work and real estate transactions, his practice consists of advising both domestic and international clients in their transactional and corporate needs. He regularly advises clients with public tender offers, private equity transactions, complex cross-border transactions, creation of incentive plans for the management and employees, and complex internal corporate restructurings, among others. Mikko is also one of the leading experts in warranty and indemnity insurances. He advises both the underwriters as the subscribers on all stages of the process from the underwriting up to the end of the claims process. This provides Bird & Bird with a unique access to data from wide range of transactions.
Ville Alahuhta

Ville Alahuhta

Partner Ville Alahuhta is Head of Tax in Helsinki, advising on domestic and international tax matters in corporate and personal income taxation. In addition, he specialises in advising private equity fund managers and fund investors on legal questions concerning private equity funds. Understanding tax questions relating to private equity funds and M&A transactions is a key consideration when optimising profit for an investment. Working this area for more than ten years has given him the understanding of the link between the key business of the client, taxation and other legal aspects. In addition, Ville has been involved in several Finnish landmark tax litigations.
Géraldine Arbant

Géraldine Arbant

Geraldine's practice encompasses the full spectrum of transactional and advisory IP work, brand management and IP litigation.She assists clients with the protection of their intellectual property, including filing and registering trademarks, drawings and models, patents and creations covered by copyright; licence agreements, order agreements, manufacturing and distribution agreements, various consultations, audit and defending their IP against infringement, unfair competition and employees’ actions before the French courts and international tribunals. Geraldine's clients are drawn from the Life Sciences, Food & Beverages, Automotive and Tech & Comms sectors.In addition to her IP practice, Geraldine also advises clients on the implementation and development of their activities, including commercial law, data protection, outsourcing and commercial litigation and supports clients in setting up customer service provider relations.She regularly hosts conferences, teaches intellectual property at DJCE in Montpellier and at EM Lyon, and publishes articles in various specialised magazines.
Lourdes Ayala

Lourdes Ayala

Lourdes Ayala is a Partner and Head in Bird & Bird's Corporate and M&A department in the Madrid office. She specializes in the life sciences, tech & comms, and retail & consumer sectors with a business oriented and hands-on approach. She advises institutional and industrial clients on complex mergers and acquisitions whether national or cross-border transactions, joint ventures, acquisition of majority or minority stakes, share deals and asset deals. She has broad expertise in venture capital, advising both the investors, venture capital funds, corporate venture capital, business angels and others, as well as the target high growth companies on financing rounds and investments throughout their lifecycle. She also offers expertise in transactions with a strong real estate element, as well as in corporate restructuring, mergers and spin offs.
Julie Bak-Larsen

Julie Bak-Larsen

Julie is a partner in Bird & Bird's international Tech & Comms Group in Denmark. She has extensive experience in IT, technology, and telecommunications advising national, international, public and private clients, both on the supplier and customer side. Julie specializes in IT, including advising on IT dispute resolution, IT acquisitions, SaaS, PaaS, IaaS, cloud in general, implementation and operation, outsourcing and licensing, cybersecurity and general advice on IT contracts. In line with being a truly international law firm, Julie assist Nordic based global companies internationally and ensures smooth international delivery within Bird & Bird's global reach. The firm's international Tech & Comms network provides the basis for insight into the forefront of the technological development and the legal opportunities and pitfalls that follows.
Julie Bak-Larsen

Julie Bak-Larsen

Julie is a partner in Bird & Bird's international Tech & Comms Group in Denmark, with extensive experience advising on IT, technology and telecommunications matters for both Nordic and international clients. She specialises in IT law, including outsourcing, cloud (SaaS, PaaS, IaaS), licensing, implementation and operation of IT systems, as well as IT disputes and cybersecurity. Julie advises both suppliers and customers across the public and private sectors. Julie also has strong expertise in telecommunications law, including regulatory matters and complex contractual arrangements such as MVNO/MVNE set-ups, interconnection agreements and data centre/colocation agreements. With a strong international focus, she regularly supports Nordic-based companies on cross-border matters and leverages Bird & Bird’s global network to ensure seamless international delivery. Her practice increasingly focuses on the intersection of connectivity and emerging technologies, including 5G, IoT, telemedicine and autonomous systems, as well as related data protection and cybersecurity issues.
Elisabetta Bandera

Elisabetta Bandera

As a partner in our Milan-based Intellectual Property practice, I focus on patents, trade marks, design and unfair competition litigation, assisting our Italian and international clients with contentious matters on a domestic and pan-European basis. My early fascination with method and logic has evolved into examining fine details in intellectual property litigation. My continued interest in this area has led me to specialise in complex patent disputes in the mechanical, pharmaceutical and electronic sectors, comprising standard essential patents litigation. Since joining Bird & Bird in 2011, I've been dealing with contentious matters relating to coffee capsule patents and have acquired in-depth knowledge of this specific industry. I also assist clients in trade mark contentious issues, enforcement of design and trade-dress protection, as well as in proceedings regarding unfair competition practice before the Italian Competition Authority (ICA). I am currently working on a new project in my role as product design ambassador for Italy within Bird & Bird's International Product Design Group. We aim to develop greater insight into design protection and share our expertise in prosecution and enforcement with relevant industry sectors. As a recent participant in Bird & Bird's Global Women's Development Programme, I am proud to attest to the firm's stance on gender diversity. I also foster links with an academic institution by guest-speaking at the Faculty of Engineering, Patent and Intellectual Property Course, Milan University and I am contributor to the Bird & Bird blog BrandWrites.
Cedric Berckmans

Cedric Berckmans

Cedric is a partner in our Corporate and Commercial practice in Brussels, where he combines his deep understanding of contractual issues with a pragmatic approach to challenging situations. He advises both national and international clients during the whole process of negotiating, structuring and closing corporate and commercial partnership agreements. In addition to his work on corporate and contractual matters, he has extensive experience in dispute resolution involving court proceedings and arbitration, as well as in insolvency law. Cedric also advises on risk mitigation and pre-trial strategies. His areas of expertise cover issues relating to financial difficulties as well as rescue or restructuring initiatives.
Mélanie Bercot

Mélanie Bercot

As a Counsel in the Tech & Comms group in Paris, and a member of the Paris Bar, Mélanie advises our telecoms clients on a wide range of issues and represents them in litigation. She assists telecom operators in all kinds of projects. In particular, she advises our clients in their projects and issues related to network telecoms (deployment and maintenance of telecom networks), in drafting and negotiating sales contracts of telecom services (contracts with operators and B2B/B2C end-users), procurement contracts (contracts with other operators related to network and wholesale purchase, contracts with providers such as subcontractors or telecoms equipment providers). She also supports telecom operators on regulatory issues (licence, access to resources, discussions with regulators, lobbying related to frequency allocations). She is also experienced in supporting public authorities in their projects to roll out electronic communications networks, especially when there is a lack of private initiative. In this regard, she has gained expertise defining the legal strategy, drafting tenders and selecting operators, as well as monitoring the execution of public contracts. More recently, she has represented Bird & Bird's clients in litigations before administrative and commercial courts and assisted them in their dispute settlements before the national regulatory authority (the ARCEP). She previously held various positions within the legal department of a public authority and worked for a major French telecoms operator. From these past experiences, she has gained the ability to understand and identify legal and operational problems faced by her clients.
Pablo Berenguer

Pablo Berenguer

Pablo Berenguer is a Partner and Co-Head of Commercial/Commercial Dispute Resolution practice and of the Technology & Communications sector group in the Madrid office. He has a broad knowledge of civil, commercial and litigation law, as well as a deep understanding of the technology industry. He has extensive experience in the field of dispute resolution in many civil jurisdiction cases before the Spanish courts (all instances, including the Supreme Court). He also regularly participates in domestic and international arbitration proceedings, acting as both counsel and as arbitrator. His litigation and arbitration expertise covers sectors and areas such as technology and business consultancy projects, privacy and data protection damages claims, healthcare, international commerce, corporate and M&A related disputes, among others. He also regularly acts in complex commercial contracts and negotiations, with a particular focus in the Tech & Comms sector. His experience in this area includes complex transformation projects, software development and integration contracts and IT outsourcing, as well as contentious and non-contentious advice in relation to new generation technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, blockchain, cryptoassets, metaverse, etc. He writes regularly for specialist publications, and he has lectured in several education and business institutions, such as IE, ISDE, CEU San Pablo University, among others.
Cintia Bernhardt

Cintia Bernhardt

Cintia Bernhardt is counsel in Bird & Bird's Intellectual Property department in the Madrid office. With more than 14 years of experience, Cintia provides strategic and client-oriented advice in relation to the management and enforcement of intellectual property rights and new technologies, focusing on the life science, telecommunications & media, fashion and e-commerce industries. Her work includes representing clients in patent, trade secrets, trademarks and copyright litigation before the Spanish courts. She has also a vast experience in drafting and negotiating contracts involving IP rights and new technologies. Cintia teaches in many universities and private entities such as Universidad Europea de Madrid, AENOR and Universidad Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona). She is also the author of several articles on Intellectual Property published in specialized publications and co-author of the books "Defensa corporativa y compliance" and "Tecnologías disruptivas" both published by Thomson Reuters in 2019. Prior to joining Bird & Bird in 2023, she was a senior associate at a Spanish law firm.
Olivier Bertin

Olivier Bertin

Olivier is a leading lawyer in tax litigation and tax controversy in Belgium and a teaching professor (tax litigation) at two Belgian universities. He also has complementary experience in other areas of tax law such as restructurings, tax planning for companies, due diligences, advance tax rulings, local taxes, stock option plans, international employment. Specialising in tax from day one, Olivier's aim is to make the matter clear and understandable for the clients, then to indicate the possible savings, the recommended actions and the risks attached, if any. Our clients must be in a position to take a decision based on our opinion, which should be easily understandable. Case law and legal scholars' opinions are the foundation of the advice at a given time. In litigation, the client must be defended firmly, but the way the arguments are put forward should leave the door open for a negotiated solution. Olivier's experience shows that disputes may be terminated at the administrative level of litigation with satisfactory results for both parties. In court, Olivier's aim is to present short, structured written pleadings. Afterwards, the judge simply should be convinced that it is easier and simpler to find for the taxpayer. Pleading is an essential element of judicial tax litigation, and debates are nothing more or less than a first opportunity to convince the Court. It should be prepared with the same care as the written submissions and the lawyer must be able to answer all of the judge's questions.
Frédérique Bocqueraz

Frédérique Bocqueraz

Frédérique is a lawyer in our Intellectual Property Group in our Lyon office. With about 15 years of experience, she assists our clients mainly in the context of IP litigation and pre-litigation. She acts mainly for retail and consumer businesses and mostly deals with copyright or trade mark infringement, unfair competition and free riding issues. Where possible, a transactional approach to finding an amicable solution is preferred before any legal proceedings, during the proceedings or in the context of mediation or conciliation proceedings. Over the years, she has developed particular experience in international copyright law issues and in the assessment of damages in the context of infringement proceedings. Her experience in IP disputes helps her to advise our clients to secure their IP rights in particular over employees' work and to enhance their IP assets. She has been involved in the creation and implementation of compensation policies for inventors and tools to identify and formalise know-how and to document the creation process. She regularly assists our clients in the management of employees' claims concerning intellectual property rights on work performed in the course of their duties. She also has experience in dealing with the day-to-day IP agreements (assignment, licence, partnership, consortium, settlement agreements etc.)
Pieter Camps

Pieter Camps

As an Of Counsel in our Tax Practice in The Hague Pieter combines specialist experience with a pragmatic approach to counselling and negotiations, both nationally and internationally. He has a focus on Canada and works most of his time from Vancouver. He also works on behalf of a substantial number of US West Coast clients. His practice covers a broad range of tax matters, both in the Netherlands and abroad, with a particular focus on international tax planning. He advises regularly on acquisitions, restructurings, real estate funds and investment and mergers. In addition, he has substantial experience in real estate transactions including transfer tax issues and telecoms infrastructure, as well as in the tax planning and international structuring of patents and trademarks, including the use of the Dutch ‘innovation box’. He is a capable negotiator with an excellent track record of solving disputes with the Dutch tax authorities.
Nicolas Carbonnelle

Nicolas Carbonnelle

As a partner in our Regulatory & Administrative practice in Brussels, Nicolas provides strategic advice and practical support to international, EU, and Belgian companies, industry associations, and other clients navigating EU regulatory law, market access, compliance, consumer protection, and sustainability regulations including ESG frameworks, green claims, deforestation-free, and ecodesign requirements. Nicolas' primary focus lies in the agri-food sector, where he guides clients through the complex landscape of food, feed, novel foods, and food contact materials regulations. This sector's constant innovation and evolving regulatory framework makes every project both challenging and rewarding. Nicolas also advises fast moving consumer goods companies on cosmetics, clothing, textile, and apparel regulations, as well as household electrical and electronic products and other regulated areas to ensure comprehensive regulatory solutions across diverse industries. Nicolas guides clients on essential considerations, including defining regulatory strategies for market entry, classifying products, navigating compliance requirements, and addressing safety and environmental obligations. His practice also encompasses litigation matters. In crisis situations, he provides swift strategic guidance to help clients manage operational and reputational risks effectively. Nicolas leads the firm's international Food & Beverage sub-sector group and regularly speaks at industry conferences while contributing to legal publications and thought leadership articles.
Pietro Castoldi

Pietro Castoldi

I am a Senior Associate in the Finance & Financial Regulation group in Milan with significant expertise in structured finance and debt capital markets transactions. I advise arrangers, investors, originators, issuers and other market participants on a broad spectrum of securitisation transactions involving various asset classes, as well as commercial paper programmes and other debt instruments. My expertise also extends to advising investment funds and fintech platforms in structuring and executing complex financing transactions, as well as navigating regulatory challenges.
Nicola Ceraolo

Nicola Ceraolo

I work as an Of Counsel in our Rome and Brussels Offices. With over 35 years of experience in utilities and energy law and regulation, information technology (e-commerce, internet law, data protection, UCP), antitrust and European law in general, I have also previously worked in M&A, product liability and international contract law. Previously, I worked in leading Italian and international law firms representing major companies in proceedings before national and foreign independent authorities, the European Commission and national and European courts, and I was corporate counsel at a major Italian listed company. As legal advisor to European and international organisations, I have contributed in these various roles to the national and European regulation of numerous industrial sectors and have contributed to the work of academic institutions and legal centres.
Michelle Chan

Michelle Chan

I'm a technology, telecoms and media lawyer, providing strategic, corporate and commercial advice to major players in the Asia Pacific region. I am based in London and I am Of Counsel in our Corporate & Commercial team. With over 20 years' experience on my side, I work on commercial, corporate and regulatory matters in the technology, media and telecoms sectors across Asia. I also have considerable experience advising clients on data protection issues and non-contentious IP projects, including helping our clients with data protection investigations, in conjunction with Bird & Bird's investigation and dispute practice. In recent years, I've advised on projects covering disruptive technologies such as Big Data, IoT, online payments services and FinTech. In media, I have provided advice to leading European football clubs, digital media rights holders, channel providers (traditional and online) and game developers on a range of legal matters including online streaming, capital raising and regulation. I was seconded to the APAC headquarters of Alcatel-Lucent (now part of Nokia) in Shanghai for a year. I am dual qualified as a solicitor in England & Wales and Hong Kong. I am fluent in English, Mandarin and Cantonese.
Edoardo Courir

Edoardo Courir

I am a partner in our Corporate Group in Milan where I assist our local and international clients, from manufacturing to trading and services, in corporate and commercial matters. I also provide advice on litigation and antibribery compliance. My corporate experience includes advising on a range of matters, from M&A and start-ups, to stock purchase agreements, asset sales, deeds, dismissals, transfers of undertakings, and pre and post-closing activities. I am also involved in drafting joint venture agreements for merger and spin-off transactions. In commercial matters, I advise our clients on contractual and dispute resolution issues across a broad range of sectors. Currently, I coordinate the work of a team which deals with compliance activity related to antibribery law and the criminal liability of companies. I have taught law and economics, and comparative law at several universities (including the L. Bocconi University of Milan and the State University of Milan). I'm also the author of several publications on corporate and comparative law. Before joining Bird & Bird in 2007, I was a partner at a multinational law firm and also worked at an Italian tax and law firm in Milan.
Antonio Cueto

Antonio Cueto

Antonio is an experienced lawyer in Bird & Bird's Intellectual Property/Dispute Resolution department in the Madrid office. His practice covers all IP-related matters including patents (in mechanical, chemical, electrical and biotechnology patent areas) as well as designs, trade marks, domain names, copyright and unfair competition, with particular expertise in trade secrets. He has a broad practice, covering all areas of IP, advertising, unfair competition and trade secrets and he advises clients on the creation and evaluation of their IP, through exploitation, defense and enforcement where necessary. He also has wide experience in trade secrets litigation. He specializes in advising retail and consumer-facing clients, particularly global fashion brands and also consumer goods businesses and food and beverage producers. This experience has come from being a key legal adviser to some of the largest leading fashion retailers in Europe over a 20 year period. In recent years he has been handling complex disputes relating to IP rights. Because of his strong litigation profile, he also works with clients in litigation and dispute resolution outside of the realms of IP. This has included the renowned Musaat case, on which he obtained a successful result for the client and which is one of the most important anti-trust enforcement actions in Spain.
Peter Dann Jørgensen

Peter Dann Jørgensen

Peter is a partner and head of our international Public Procurement group in Denmark. In addition to being one of Denmark’s leading specialists in public procurement law, he is also co-head of our Copenhagen office and our international Public Procurement group. In his role as head of the Public Procurement group in Denmark, Peter oversees the department and team structure to ensure we have the right expertise in place to meet our clients’ needs. He believes that assembling the right team is key to delivering successful and sustainable solutions. As co-head of the international Public Procurement group, he benefits from a strong global network of skilled procurement lawyers across jurisdictions. Efficient public procurement is essential to facilitating government investments in infrastructure, healthcare, education and other public services. Peter is motivated by contributing to the improvement of such investments, for example by assembling the right teams of specialists and acting as a trusted advisor. Project management is central to Peter’s client service. Over the years, he has been involved in and coordinated a number of complex, multi-jurisdictional procurement processes for both public authorities and private companies. For more than a decade, he has advised on public procurement rules, public sector agreements and related areas of law within healthcare, construction and IT. He also advises contracting authorities and utilities companies, including on the preparation of tenders. Peter has extensive experience working with politically governed organisations. This includes acting as project leader on complex public procurement procedures, such as large-scale IT acquisitions, construction projects and framework agreements for procurement associations. In addition to his legal expertise, he is a certified Professional Scrum Master and regularly advises on the use of agile IT contracts. He is committed to simplifying public procurement by focusing on the commercial advantages of procurement processes. His advice covers procurement strategy, market dialogue, drafting of tender documents (including contracts and terms), legal quality assurance of requirements specifications, negotiations, and both internal and external contract management. Peter has significant experience representing clients before the Complaints Board for Public Procurement. He frequently speaks at seminars, provides training on public procurement, and has co-authored several publications, including books on procurement law. He is also co-founder and chairman of the Danish Association for Procurement Law, reflecting his strong commitment to the field.
Daniele De Angelis

Daniele De Angelis

As a counsel in our Intellectual Property practice in Milan, my expertise focuses on new technologies, copyright, related rights of performers, producers and broadcasters, image rights, advertising, trademarks, design, trade secrets and plant variety, assisting our Italian and international clients with contentious and non-contentious matters. My continued interest in books, songs, movies, art and technological development has led me to specialise in the media, entertainment and new technologies sectors with particular reference to web reputation, ISP liability, copyright levy, collecting societies, software, data base, apps, blockchain, videogames, TV format, audio visual works, movies, TV programmes, songs and publishing. I also assist clients on works of art, design, advertising, trade secrets, trademarks, plant variety and tourism law in both contentious and non-contentious matters. Since joining Bird & Bird in 2004, I have acquired in-depth knowledge of the relevant industries necessary to understand my clients' needs. I have developed a significant capacity to work across matters involving intellectual property (corporate, employment, banking and tax), as well as cross selling projects. I have been teaching masters and post-graduate courses at the Università Ca' Foscari in Venice. I am a lecturer for the Università di Pavia and speak at seminars and conferences on intellectual property. I have lectured at the Università di Pavia in tourism law for several years.
Guillaume de Villegas

Guillaume de Villegas

Guillaume is a counsel in our Brussels office where he has experience in all types of IP matters, with a particular focus on trade mark, copyright, design and patent law in the life sciences, retail & consumer, food & beverage, luxury goods and media & entertainment sectors. Over the years, Guillaume has developed in-depth expertise in managing complex litigation in trade mark, copyright, design and patent law, as well as in various commercial disputes, ranging from distribution to sponsorship and beyond. Guillaume has successfully represented clients before national courts, administrative bodies (EUIPO and BOIP) and EU courts (Court of Justice of the European Union and General Court of the European Union). Guillaume regularly advises clients on the implementation of a global trade mark and design policy and strategy, often hand in hand with his expert colleagues across the Bird & Bird network in order to offer a tailor-made solution. He recognises the value of innovative and dynamic tools to manage portfolios in a cost-efficient manner. Guillaume has also assisted clients on a range of transactional matters, including the drafting and negotiation of IP agreements, such as license agreements, collaboration agreements, transfer agreements, clinical trial agreements, etc. He always strives to provide constructive and pragmatic advice, weighing the risks linked with every option. His expertise in litigation has helped him a great deal in that respect. Guillaume has experience counselling clients on various legal issues involving trade practices and consumer law protection (e.g. vetting of marketing campaigns and packaging of products, review of general terms and conditions, etc.).
Clément Dekemexhe

Clément Dekemexhe

As a counsel in our Real Estate and Corporate practice in Brussels, Clément helps businesses navigate complex transactions and commercial challenges, drawing on more than 12 years of experience in M&A and commercial real estate. Clément  advises on both buy-side and sell-side M&A transactions, handling asset and share deals for Belgian and international corporations. From initial negotiations through to closing, his approach combines technical expertise with commercial pragmatism, ensuring risks are managed effectively. Clément also has extensive experience in negotiating and drafting a wide range of commercial real estate agreements, including sophisticated lease agreements (e.g. office, commercial and occupation leases) and management agreements, across various sectors (e.g. retail, logistics and hospitality). In addition to his expertise on corporate and real estate matters, Clément has experience in litigation and notably, real estate litigation. Clients appreciate his responsive approach and ability to cut through legal complexity to deliver clear, actionable advice. Whether you're structuring a major acquisition or negotiating a complex lease, you will benefit from his broad market knowledge and sector-specific experience. What Clément enjoys most is being part of your commercial strategy, not just documenting it. The best client relationships are collaborative ones where he understands your business well enough to anticipate issues before they become problems.
Jaime Delgado

Jaime Delgado

Jaime Delgado is associate in Bird & Bird's Commercial and Privacy & Data Protection department in the Madrid office. He also work with the the Digital Rights and Assets and Media, Entertainment and Sports sector groups. Jaime began his professional practise focusing on software infringement, trade secrets and unfair competition litigation, as well as advising on various intellectual property matters. He has also acquired extensive experience regarding data protection, ePrivacy, art law, digital media, audio-visual rights and trademark litigation. His career interests include the relationship between intellectual property, culture and privacy with the new virtual and technological reality. The world is currently experiencing a radical digital transformation which implies many disruptive legal challenges, such as the metaverse, augmented reality, blockchain, cryptocurrency and the creation of new media platforms and consumer models. Being used to working with the latest technologies has given him insight regarding the needs and strategies of clients related to their digital transformation, as well as advising them on the new legislative developments concerning digital law, data protection compliance, entertainment law, and other topics. That is why Jaime believes that the best way to gain industry experience is to be involved in the development of his clients' commercial objectives and business strategy, so that he can provide the necessary advice for their digital market needs and regulatory compliance. This requires Jaime to keep up to date not only with legislative developments, but also with the advancement of technology.
Nathalie Devernay

Nathalie Devernay

Nathalie is an experienced employment lawyer with a clear international and client focused vision. She advises international corporations in both individual and collective French employment law matters, such as contracts of employment and internal regulations, termination procedures, post termination obligations and business protection, as well compensation schemes.Nathalie regularly advises on international mobility, transfers of employees, corporate transactions and restructuring plans, including cross border matters. She also assists clients before French courts in litigations related to employment issues.
Sophie Dingenen

Sophie Dingenen

Sophie has been advising the energy sector since 1999 on all corporate, projects and contract matters. After being involved in all the major energy transactions and regulatory changes during the privatisation of the Dutch energy market, her practice now mostly focuses on the structuring and, more specifically, the development and construction of national and international energy projects. Sophie has vast experience in drafting and negotiating key project agreements - for both conventional and renewable energy projects - which are often the basis for securing project financing. With a corporate background, Sophie also advises national and international (energy) companies on privatisations, cross border mergers and acquisitions, and restructurings. In addition, Sophie has advised energy companies and financial institutions on the contractual and corporate issues related to legal consequences of the regulatory changes. She regularly advises on innovative structures such as Corporate PPAs enabling acceleration of the renewable energy transition. She was Nominated Euromoney's European Women in Business Law award 'Best in Energy' in 2016, 2017 and 2018. Before joining us, Sophie worked both for other international law firms and in house where she led the legal aspects of the development of projects. She has extensive experience in providing strategic & boardroom advice. Sophie is dual qualified in the Netherlands and in the UK. She is a member of a number of professional associations, including the Dutch Energy Law Association (NeVER), the International Bar Association (IBA) and the UK Society of Construction Law. Sophie speaks regularly on conferences and her numerous articles on energy-related subjects are published in both legal and industry magazines.
Benjamin Docquir

Benjamin Docquir

Benjamin is data privacy and technology partner advising clients on digital regulation, data governance and AI, with a reputation for solving complex legal challenges across sectors and jurisdictions. Benjamin advises clients on the legal and regulatory aspects of digital transformation and disruptive technologies, with a particular focus on data governance, AI, cybersecurity and software-related matters. His practice spans both contentious and non-contentious work, and he supports a wide range of clients, from start-ups and scale-ups to global platforms and regulated industry leaders. Benjamin regularly helps clients navigate the legal implications of digitalisation, including data sharing, outsourcing, platform regulation and compliance with the fast-evolving EU digital framework. He has built a strong reputation for his cross-disciplinary expertise in IP, data privacy, cybercrime and unfair competition, and he has successfully handled disputes involving copyright, patents and digital assets. Benjamin is keen on ensuring the legal analysis builds upon a deep understanding of the technical details of each case. Benjamin has represented companies before the Belgian Data Protection Authority and at the appeals level, offering clear, strategic advice that balances legal risk with commercial opportunity. He has worked extensively with TMC platforms, life sciences companies, and both traditional and innovative players in banking and insurance. Benjamin brings a comprehensive and out-of-the box view to digital regulation, informed by years of hands-on experience and academic engagement. He is a published author in the field, most recently contributing a substantial chapter on the Law Over Borders Comparative Artificial Intelligence Law Guide.
David Du Pont

David Du Pont

David is a corporate partner with extensive experience in M&A, private equity and real estate, advising clients on complex transactions across sectors and borders. David advises clients on a wide range of corporate and M&A matters, with expertise in private equity and corporate real estate. His practice covers acquisitions, divestitures, management buyouts, joint ventures and strategic investments, both domestic and cross-border, across a variety of sectors. Clients value his ability to lead complex transactions with clarity and precision. Prior to joining Bird & Bird, David has spent most of his career at international firms, where he headed both the Belgian Corporate/M&A and Real Estate departments. More recently, he has co-led the corporate, M&A and real estate teams at one of the Big 4 firms, helping clients navigate high-value deals and regulatory challenges. David's approach is collaborative and commercially focused. He works closely with clients to understand their strategic goals and deliver tailored solutions that support long-term growth. He also regularly advises trade associations on corporate governance and structural matters, bringing a broad perspective to the evolving regulatory landscape.
Katia Duncker

Katia Duncker

As a partner in Bird & Bird's Helsinki office and Head of our Competition & EU Law group in Finland, Katia Duncker specialises in complex competition and corporate matters. Over the years, Katia has worked on a number of cutting-edge competition law and public procurement cases for prestigious clients, both nationally and internationally. She also has extensive experience in advising on commercial and corporate M&A transactions, and in litigation proceedings relating to competition law and public procurement matters.
Anne Federle

Anne Federle

Anne is a competition lawyer steering clients through EU and national merger control, cartel and abuse proceedings and providing pragmatic, hands-on competition law advice. She has over 25 years of experience advising and representing clients in all areas of EU and German competition law. Two key areas of Anne’s practice are merger control and cartel investigations. She has been involved in a large number of complex merger control cases before the European Commission and the German Federal Cartel Office and regularly manages multi-jurisdictional merger control proceedings across the globe. She also represents clients in EU and national cartel and abuse of dominance proceedings, helps them conduct internal investigations to identify and address anti-competitive conduct and supports them in developing effective competition law compliance programmes. When clients seek Anne’s advice on how to conduct certain activities in compliance with competition law, she always tries to put herself in their shoes. Her aim is to help them find a workable solution rather than just offering legal advice. Over the years Anne has developed significant expertise in a number of sectors where technology plays an important role. This includes in particular the automotive industry as well as the electronics and telecommunications sectors. She also has a strong interest in competition law issues around (big) data and works closely with our data protection team on issues at the interface of competition and data protection law.
María Fernández

María Fernández

María is an associate in Bird & Bird's Intellectual Property department in the Madrid office. María is a Spanish and European Trademark Attorney. Over the past fifteen years she has worked in the field of intellectual property, developing her career in various areas, currently focusing on pre-litigation trademark matters and Trade Secret consultancy projects. From her beginnings at an intellectual property boutique, she has always advised clients on the possibilities of IP protection according to their specific needs. As she started her IP career María quickly realised that she loved the global approach this area offers. Being able to deal with complex cases that usually involve a multi-jurisdictional perspective and a quick response gave her the necessary background to manage large international patent and trademark portfolios. To her clients she is recognised as a fast and creative lawyer, always ready to go the extra mile to get a positive answer. From her work prosecuting patents she has taken the problem-solution approach to her personal life and her work life, and immensely enjoys solving the complex day-to-day troubles for the companies María represents. Currently she works with brand management on large scale projects, focusing on trademark protection in Spain and EU markets, as well as the usual dealings with other jurisdictions. Due to her experience, María sometimes lectures students on Spanish and European intellectual property law, and also participates in seminars for clients to spread the word about the wonderful and powerful tool IP law can bring to their companies.
Luis Alfonso Fernández Manzano

Luis Alfonso Fernández Manzano

Luis Alfonso is a Partner and Head in Bird & Bird's Insurance and Reinsurance department in the Madrid office, Co-Head of the International Insurance Group and Co-Head of the firm´s LatAm Group. He has a wealth of experience in litigation with regards to insurance matters, tort law, insurance and reinsurance coverage disputes, product liability, claims handling, industrial losses, aviation claims, professional liability, medmal, D&O, cyber risks and financial lines in general. He is also a specialist in reinsurance contracts and practice, as well as on the regulatory aspects of the insurance and reinsurance industry, such as policy wording and insurance distribution agreements, insurtech, social benefits and pension regulation. He is an expert in the design and implementation of surety bonds facilities for international (mainly LatAm) PPP (P3) projects. He regulatory contributes articles concerning insurance contracts and practice, insurance regulation and co-author of books about liability issues and Insurance Law in Spain. He is also a Professor of Insurance Law and Tort Law at the Universidad Pontificia Comillas (ICADE).
Corrado Fiscale

Corrado Fiscale

I am a partner in the Finance & Financial Regulation group, based in Milan. I combine a client-focused business practicality with substantial knowledge of the structuring and negotiation of debt securities. I have a particular focus on structured finance products and finance transactions. I have in-depth knowledge of banking and finance and navigate clients, advise lenders, borrowers, arrangers, managers, underwriters, issuers, originators, representatives of the note holders and swap counterparties in connection with a wide range of banking and finance deals, involving various asset classes and financial structures. I am a regular speaker at conferences and seminars, focusing on topics related to Green Bonds and ESG Certificates and Structured Products, aimed at discussing new opportunities and challenges in this evolving market landscape. Clients acknowledge my "deep knowledge of financial legal issues' and I am ranked as a leading individual for Capital Markets in Italy.
Lawrence Freeman

Lawrence Freeman

Lawrence is a Senior Counsel in our Brussels office with over 30 years' experience handling issues on European regulatory, competition, and commercial law, both in private practice and in-house roles. He has unique experience regarding the regulation of electric, connected, and autonomous vehicles. Lawrence has particular expertise handling motor vehicle purchase agreements and warranties, commercial agreements in the supply chain and non-disclosure agreements, distance-selling rules, the contractual and liability issues arising from the rollout of electric vehicle charging points and European alternative fuels infrastructure legislation, emissions credit trading, right-to-repair rules, data protection rules, electromagnetic compatibility and CE marking legislation, energy labelling, subsidies, rules for general product safety and recalls, batteries legislation, end-of-life vehicles legislation, tyre legislation, type-approval legislation, the regulatory framework for autonomous vehicles, REACH, RoHS and WEEE legislation, UNECE Transport Regulations, ISO standards, the application of competition rules to selective distribution agreements, to the supply of tools and spare parts, to parallel trade and to geo-blocking for online sales.
Paula Garralón

Paula Garralón

Paula Garralón is senior associate in the Bird & Bird's Commercial and Privacy & Data Protection department in the Madrid office. She specialises in privacy issues providing continuous advice on data projects across multiple sectors, in particular on insurance legislation. In order to provide detailed advice it is necessary to know the sector in depth, so she regularly meets and gets involved with as many teams as possible within the firm. Paula has provided advice in multiple sectors (retail, food & beverage, insurance, telecoms, etc.) during the years prior to the application of the General Data Protection Regulation as well as during the implementation of the new regulation. She also specialises in electronic commerce legislation, allowing her to provide a complete service not only on data protection but also on privacy and electronic commerce. Meeting her client's needs and understanding how to anticipate problems before they arise is essential for Paula to being able to provide an efficient service for them. She is used to working internationally which has helped her to develop a wider view of the law. Paula has always believed that a good lawyer is the one who goes with you, guiding and providing solutions that enable her clients to meet their objectives.
Lisa Gius

Lisa Gius

Lisa is an associate in the Privacy and Tech & Comms teams in Belgium. Her work covers topics ranging from data protection and the EU's new digital legislation to cybersecurity, regulatory advice on telecommunications and the review of IT contracts. Working in data and technology-related legal matters provides an exciting combination: defending interests at the heart of our clients' businesses and being afforded the opportunity to work in a fast-evolving field. Here at Bird & Bird, Lisa practices both in an advisory and contentious capacity, mainly for clients from the technology, communications, hospitality, retail, biomedical and sports sectors. Amongst others, Lisa regularly advises clients in the context of investigations by the Belgian Data Protection Authority and assists them in building their global data protection strategy. She also has significant experience in understanding the impact of the Digital Services Act (DSA) on clients' online services and supporting their compliance efforts with commercially oriented solutions. In light of the upcoming NIS2 cybersecurity regime, she frequently helps multinational clients adopt a consistent approach across jurisdictions despite the fragmented implementation by Member States. For clients interested in implementing AI solutions or the exploitation of IoT data in their business model, Lisa also delivers dynamic contract review and early compliance advice regarding the Data Act and AI Act.
Cecilie Hald

Cecilie Hald

Cecilie is Counsel in our international Public Procurement group in Denmark, where she leverages her extensive experience in the procurement of complex IT contracts to advise clients throughout the entire procurement process – from the preparation af tender materials to subsequent contract management. Since July 2021, she has been a certified IT lawyer, underlining her strong focus on IT. Over the years, Cecilie has specialised in advising national agencies, municipalities, regional bodies, utilities and public companies on organising and implementing EU and national procurement processes, as well as other projects governed by public procurement law. In addition, she has assisted several tenderers in the preparation of their bids, giving her a strong understanding of both sides of the procurement process and enabling her to ensure well-balanced contracts for both contracting authorities and tenderers. In preparing procurement processes, Cecilie supports clients with drafting procurement strategies, conducting market dialogue and preparing tender documents, including contracts and relevant appendices. She also provides constructive feedback and quality assurance of requirement specifications. Once the procurement process is initiated, she assists clients throughout the process from start to finish.
Sakari Halonen

Sakari Halonen

Sakari Halonen is a partner and co-head of Bird & Bird's Nordic Tech & Comms group based in Helsinki. He predominantly advises clients in complex cross-border IT outsourcing transactions as well as in IT contracting in general. He also leads Bird & Bird's Finnish Commercial group. His ability to quickly get to the core of the problem, focus on the key issues, and find win-win solutions is the essential element valued by his clients. In addition to advising numerous global IT service providers, Sakari also acts for the customer-side in various industry sectors, including financial services, aviation, defence and automotive. Sakari is also frequently engaged in M&A transactions, with a particular focus on technology-related transactions and the technology aspects of M&A in general. In addition, as an arbitrator, he is also involved in IT-related dispute resolution processes.
Anne-Cécile Hansson

Anne-Cécile Hansson

Anne-Cécile has built a unique practice advising French, Swedish and Nordic clients on a broad range of corporate and commercial issues. Anne-Cécile is a partner in our International Corporate Group, based in Paris. Working with clients from the industrial, life sciences and new technologies sectors, her practice is focused on advising French, Swedish and Nordic companies on corporate and commercial law issues. Anne-Cécile has particular expertise in mergers and acquisitions, cross border transactions, investments, restructurings, as well as the negotiation and drafting of commercial agreements. Her practice also involves commercial and civil litigation, labour and employment law. Before joining us in 2014, Anne-Cécile worked for Jones Day in Paris for twelve years.
Heiko Heppner

Heiko Heppner

Heiko Heppner is co-head of the German Dispute Resolution practice group and professor of law concentrating on international arbitration and litigation with a focus on Germany and common law jurisdictions. Heiko has particular experience with defending clients against mass and class securities litigation and special expertise in Banking and Capital Markets litigation, including the liability of credit rating agencies and for the mis-selling of derivatives. Moreover, Heiko represents clients before the European courts in matters of European Banking Regulation. Heiko has advised on litigation and arbitration matters in Germany, the United States, Hong Kong, England and various other jurisdictions. Apart from court proceedings, he has represented clients in International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), German Institution of Arbitration (Deutsche Institution für Schiedsgerichtsbarkeit - DIS), and ad hoc international arbitration proceedings, often regarding issues of Contract or Corporate law. Heiko also gives preemptive advise to help avoid future disputes and draft dispute resolution clauses and regimes. Heiko’s second focus is on cross-border litigation and arbitration in Germany and abroad, often involving issues of common law. His two full legal educations in Germany and the United States offer clients a particular added value in matters that cross the common law/civil law divide. As a New York attorney, Heiko advises on litigation in US courts, including US discovery in Germany and in Germany on commercial litigation involving issues of US law. As an English Barrister and Solicitor Advocate Heiko represents parties in international arbitration proceedings under English law and advises on litigation in England. He is also a lecturer of common law at the University of Bonn. Due to his extensive experience in China, Heiko increasingly acts as a counsel in international arbitration proceedings that involve Chinese parties. Heiko has been lecturing as a professor of international arbitration at Fuzhou University since 2015.
Paul Hermant

Paul Hermant

As a partner in our Corporate & Finance group in Brussels, Paul is a highly experienced negotiator of corporate and financial transactions and an expert adviser on financial regulations. Paul has a recognised expertise in mergers and acquisitions, private equity, venture capital, joint ventures, securities offerings and take-over bids, as well as in project and acquisition finance. He also assists clients on their compliance with financial regulations and in corporate and financial litigation, including shareholders' disputes, directors' liability and cases relating to financial products and services. The feedback he is proudest of is the ability to translate business goals into contractual terms, regulatory strategies or dispute resolution, and to find solutions to the most intricate questions or situations.
Jaakko Hietala

Jaakko Hietala

Jaakko Hietala is a partner in Bird & Bird's Helsinki office. He is also the Head of the Finnish Real Estate Group as well as the Head of the Nordic Real Estate and Infrastructure Group. He is actively involved in client work with a strategic, pragmatic and business oriented approach. Jaakko specializes in corporate, M&A, real estate and infrastructure matters. He also has considerable experience in sports and entertainment law, where his clients include Finland's leading organisers of concerts and motorsports events. The business environment for his clients is increasingly complex and the clients appreciate his long experience in a wide array of matters - his approach is strategic but always also pragmatic. Jaakko is business oriented and holds various positions of trust, which provides him with insight into the strategic thinking behind the key areas of his expertise and the latest trends in the business environment of his clients. You will find Jaakko listed in international directories including Chambers and Partners and Best Lawyers.
Anna Hjortlund

Anna Hjortlund

Anna is an associate in Bird & Bird's Danish Tech & Comms team, advising national and international clients on IT and telecommunications law. She focuses on regulatory compliance, IT contracts, dispute resolution and litigation. Her recent work has centred on security and compliance frameworks, including NIS2, DORA, CER and other sector-specific regulations, where she assists clients with applicability assessments, implementation strategies and contractual compliance. Anna has developed strong expertise in regulated sectors, particularly telecommunications, advising on regulatory matters, network security and engagement with authorities. She also has experience within data protection and information security.
Hein Hobbelen

Hein Hobbelen

Hein is a Competition and Trade Partner at Bird & Bird in Brussels admitted to the Brussels and Amsterdam bars and currently holds the position of Diversity and Inclusion Officer of the International Bar Association's Communications Committee. Hein has more than 20 years of experience in Competition, Trade and TMT regulatory cases. Hein and his team assist clients in cases in these fields in front of the European Commission and other (national) competition and sector regulatory authorities. His practice spans sectors ranging from TMT and pharmaceuticals to security services, retail, paper/packaging, energy, chemicals, and many others. Hein co-heads our integrated Brussels Competition, Trade and Public Affairs practice and the Brussels TMT sector group.
Clive Hopewell

Clive Hopewell

Partner, CorporateAs a partner in our International Corporate Group based in London, I head up the International Capital Markets Practice across the firm.I coordinate the capital markets practice worldwide and facilitate teams in the various offices where we have capital markets lawyers, to work closely together, share know how and look out for opportunities for each other and clients.My own securities practice involves acting for institutions and issuers in respect of listings in London and elsewhere. I have extensive experience advising clients in a variety of sectors, with a particular emphasis on energy and utilities and technology and communications.
Marcus Huisman

Marcus Huisman

Marcus has been managing partner of Bird & Bird in The Hague since 2015. He is a partner in the International HR Services Practice. He advises and litigates on the full spectrum of employment-related matters and focuses particularly on corporate employment law. With over 20 years of experience, Marcus often provides strategic advice on corporate restructurings, disciplinary procedures and management issues, such as the dismissal and reward of board members and executives. In addition, Marcus is particularly experienced in advising on complex employees' representation issues and litigation, including litigation at the Amsterdam Entrepreneurial Chamber. Marcus' client base includes multinationals, educational institutions and health care institutions, as well as works councils and board members.
Laura Huomo

Laura Huomo

Laura Huomo is a partner in our Real Estate & Infrastructure group in Helsinki, heading our Energy practice. In addition, she works with our Corporate and M&A Group with equity and debt related transactions. Laura has 20 years of experience working for both Nordic and international law firms. She works with energy companies, municipalities, municipality owned companies and governments to navigate successful solutions within the energy transition. She assists her clients with regulatory issues, project structures, legal risk matrixes and energy related M&A activity. Further, Laura advises companies with their initial public offerings, share issues and rights offerings as well as debt issues. To her great delight, energy companies are also looking into tapping into the capital markets as part of their strategic planning, and in those transactions, she can combine her two strongest areas, energy and capital markets expertise to the benefit of her clients.
Arnoud Knijnenburg

Arnoud Knijnenburg

Arnoud is a partner in the Tax Practice of Bird & Bird in The Hague and his in-depth knowledge and expertise in tax matters complements Bird & Bird’s key focus on innovation and energy. With more than 16 years of experience, Arnoud advises on a broad array of international tax matters with a specialized focus on international structuring and restructurings, tax control and compliance matters and tax litigation, all with a particular focus on innovation, technology and energy matters. Over the years he specialised in the structuring of corporate foundations, not-for-profit organisations as well as Dutch and international charitable funds and social impact investments. Furthermore, he regularly advises our sector clients on energy taxes, tax incentives, VAT on services and on betting and gaming taxes. For more than a decade he regularly visiting South Africa on business trips to meet longstanding existing clients and contracts and get acquainted with new ones. Arnoud is a member of the Dutch Association of Tax Advisers, the International Fiscal Association, the International Chamber of Commerce, the Southern African Netherlands Chamber of Commerce and the Dutch Association of Tax Science.
Janneke Kohlen

Janneke Kohlen

Janneke is partner in our Competition & EU Law practice and is based in The Hague. Janneke specialises in competition law and public procurement law and advises a wide variety of clients, both contentious and non-contentious. She has substantial experience in merger control, cartel cases and abuse of dominance. Janneke has broad expertise in advising on distribution agreements and frequently provides in-house competition compliance programs and trainings to clients. Additionally, she has extensive experience in drafting Codes of Conducts and compliance manuals for companies with a focus on competition law. In addition, she advises a wide variety of clients on public procurement issues throughout the process from reviewing tender documents and advising clients on which questions should be asked of the procuring entities and representing companies in court, if necessary. Her practice areas are primarily focused on the postal and telecommunications, consumer products as well as food and beverages sectors. She is also a member of our Tech & Comms Group. Janneke also publishes regularly and is co-editor for the European and Economic chapter of the Dutch journal 'Juridisch Up To Date'.Testimonials - The Legal 500 EMEA 2021 ‘Janneke Kohlen, together with her strong team, is able to answer questions quickly and thoroughly.’ ‘Janneke Kohlen is always well prepared for any meeting, as is her strong team. She combines her incredible legal knowledge with deep industry knowledge and is able to answer questions quickly and thoroughly. A great thing about Janneke is that she does not present the rules of law, but that she thinks along with the organisation and comes up with practical, step-by-step and easy to implement tools for every situation.’
Natalie Konings

Natalie Konings

Natalie is a regulatory lawyer who helps clients navigate the complex world of EU chemicals law. She works alongside businesses to turn regulatory challenges into competitive advantages, particularly in the fast-evolving areas of REACH, plant protection and biocides. Natalie specialises in EU regulatory law with a focus on chemicals regulation, an area where she has been helping clients succeed for the last 15 years. Her practice focuses on REACH, plant protection and biocides, guiding companies through the entire lifecycle, from initial registrations to complex enforcement procedures. Natalie also manages task forces and joint registrations, for which she advises on legal, contractual and EU sanction schemes. Natalie also helps clients across the health sector navigate the intersection with chemicals. In this respect, she advises clients on the impact that chemicals have on their products, e.g. cosmetics, medical devices and pharmaceuticals and give advice on substances restricted under REACH, CLP, POPs, RoHS and PPWR. She is particularly skilled at identifying exemptions and derogations that can give clients a competitive edge whilst maintaining full compliance. Natalie speaks regularly at conferences on chemicals and sustainability.
Pauline Kuipers

Pauline Kuipers

Pauline Kuipers is a partner in Bird & Bird's Netherlands office, based in The Hague, where she was one of its founding lawyers in 2001. Today, she co-leads the firm's International Competition Law Group and heads the Competition Group in the Netherlands, providing clients with wide-ranging expertise in EU & competition law, particularly in regulated sectors and on the interface between IP and competition law. She is also a member of the firm's ESG steering group. On the basis of her EU law expertise, Pauline advises many global companies on ESG regulatory developments, particularly CRSD and CSDDD, and helps them understand how these regulations affect their business and what it means in terms of compliance. In The Netherlands, she leads the team dealing with cartel procedures, abuse of dominance matters, and merger notifications to the Dutch competition authority and European Commission. The team also co-ordinates multi-jurisdictional merger filings and foreign investment screenings, and deals with private enforcement actions and regulation of network industries. Meanwhile, her expertise in IP law enables her to advise in matters at the convergence of competition law and intellectual property, such as licensing arrangements and other technology transfer agreements, standardisation discussions, 'refusal to licence' issues, FRAND licensing, and abuse of IP rights. In addition, Pauline's team advises on competition rules on undertakings granted special or exclusive rights by the state, including state aid and foreign subsidies.
Matti Kuokkanen

Matti Kuokkanen

As a senior associate at Bird & Bird in Helsinki, Matti Kuokkanen advises our domestic and international clients on matters relating to corporate law and corporate transactions. Matti is a member of Bird & Bird’s Corporate and M&A group. Matti is a member of our international Corporate and M&A group. He regularly advises our domestic and international clients on corporate transactions and day-to-day corporate matters. Matti is frequently involved in assignments relating to financing, regulatory advisory of financial institutions and capital markets.
Diego Lambrecht

Diego Lambrecht

As a counsel in the Brussels Corporate & Finance group, Diego has expertise in the fields of corporate, financial and commercial law, with a strong focus on M&A, restructurings and investments. Examples include private equity and venture capital transactions but also impact funding and strategic acquisitions, as well as advising clients on (sustainable) governance and shareholders' cooperation, and dealing with directors' liability issues. Other fields Diego is passionate about are business contracts (including distribution), financial services and capital markets transactions. As a lawyer since 2012, his leitmotif is to think out of the box while remaining surgical in all circumstances. Each case is different, but deserves to be handled with the same enthusiasm, curiosity and creativity.
Anne-Sophie Lampe

Anne-Sophie Lampe

Anne-Sophie is a partner based in our Paris office, with 15 years' experience in the technology sector. She specialises in IT and Internet litigation, and works for both tech companies and end-user clients. She is passionate about the technology sector because of its relentless innovation. In addition to her practice in IT litigation, she is also interested in market trends, such as the ongoing digital transformation of companies, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and specifically the challenges related to generative AI. Additionally,  Anne-Sophie closely follows the increasing regulations surrounding platforms, which are inevitably leading to complex legal disputes. She is passionate about understanding our clients' businesses to better serve them. She loves to impart information, so she teaches in two different Masters 2, dedicated to Digital creation law, as well as organising training for Numeum (formerly Syntec Numérique, a union of IT service providers) and writing articles.
Jesper Langemark

Jesper Langemark

Jesper is a partner in Bird & Bird's international Tech & Comms sector group in Denmark, bringing extensive experience and expertise in the legal implications of technology and data-driven innovation. He advises IT companies on a wide range of technology-related issues, as well as on IP and data protection aspects of emerging and disruptive technologies. He advises IT companies of all sizes, from startups to large corporations, as well as public authorities, on contractual and public procurement law matters. His work includes drafting and negotiating outsourcing and IT agreements, as well as resolving IT-related disputes. Over the years, Jesper has developed a deep understanding of the legal landscape within the tech industry. He also advises on public tenders, particularly in relation to complex IT projects and framework agreements, and has been involved in a number of cross-border IT transactions. In addition to his experience in contractual and public procurement law, Jesper has strong expertise in data protection law, including data processing agreements, cloud computing, data transfer arrangements and GDPR compliance projects. As AI continues to transform the tech industry, Jesper has expanded his focus to include regulatory requirements, as well as IP and data protection issues related to the development and deployment of AI systems. He also assists clients with drafting internal AI policies and advises on the broader legal implications of AI technologies.
Anne-Charlotte Le Bihan

Anne-Charlotte Le Bihan

Anne-Charlotte co-head our French IP team and our International patent group. Best known for her strategic and business approach to complex IP matters, she has significant experience in both contentious and non-contentious intellectual property matters, developed over the past 22 years. Her major forte is patent litigation, notably in the pharmaceutical, electronics and telecommunications sectors. She coordinates highly complex pan-European patent litigations and is known for her capacity to work on complex technical matters as well as very sensitive legal issues. Anne-Charlotte was President of LES France from 2017 to 2020 and was a Board member of CEIPI until 2023.
Kristiina Lehvilä

Kristiina Lehvilä

As a senior counsel and Head of Bird & Bird's Banking and Finance Group in Helsinki, Finland, Kristiina Lehvilä specialises in banking and finance transactions, banking and finance regulation, payments, securities market issues and corporate law. She advises leading Finnish and international clients acting as lender or borrower in domestic and cross-border financial transactions. Her expertise covers a wide range of financing transactions including acquisition financing, real estate financing, asset based financing, distressed financing, security structuring and intercreditor agreements as well as securities market transactions. Kristiina also advises clients on a wide range of regulatory questions relating to domestic and EU banking, securities markets and payments regulation. Additionally, she advises on general corporate law matters. Her clients come from a variety of sectors including banks, investment banks, private equity firms, funds and companies listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki.
Stéphane Leriche

Stéphane Leriche

Stéphane provides cutting edge, business-oriented advice on all aspects of technology transactions and partnerships Stéphane is a partner in ourCommercial and IT Groups, based in Paris. His specific interests include the drafting and negotiation of commercial contracts in the Information Technology, Communications and eCommerce sectors. His current practice is focused on high profile transactions and strategic partnerships, advising major companies in structuring their strategic alliances, joint ventures , IT and business process outsourcing deals. Stéphane has extensive experience of complex and structured contractual arrangements, particularly in regulated environments. In addition to his transactional work, Stéphane’s advises on copyright issues related to the protection of technology assets such as software and databases in both contentious and non-contentious matters. Stéphane regularly contributes to publications on information technology-related matters and is a frequent speaker at conference on such matters.
Benjamin Lichtlé

Benjamin Lichtlé

Benjamin is a partner in charge of the French tax practice, advising and assisting our clients on all aspects of taxation and has a strong expertise in group taxation. Benjamin has extensive experience of group taxation, advising on all transactions in a domestic and international context. His clients operate in a variety of sectors, including chemicals, engineering, healthcare and retail. Benjamin also manages multidisciplinary teams in different countries for large-scale reorganisations of international groups in project mode. He regularly performs audit assignments and has extensive experience in the tax structuring of acquisition transactions.
Gabriel Lidman

Gabriel Lidman

Gabriel Lidman is partner at the Stockholm office and the head of the Intellectual Property Group in the Nordic region as well as head of our Life Science Group. Gabriel has extensive experience of contentious and non-contentious IP as well as commercial work in the fields of media, life sciences and technology. He has a strong background in the media sector, including traditional media and online, where he represents major publishers. Gabriel is also an experienced litigator, regularly advising and representing clients in court disputes. Before joining Bird & Bird Gabriel was already the head of the Intellectual Property and TMT Practice.
Ola Lidström

Ola Lidström

Ola is a partner in our International Corporate Group, based in Stockholm.His practice focuses on all aspects of capital markets transactions and financial regulation within both the Nordic region and internationally, representing issuers, underwriters, shareholders, bidders and other capital markets participants in relation to all types of capital market matters, including initial public offerings, rights issues, public takeovers, underwritings, buyback programmes, share and share-related incentive programmes, and capital markets regulation. In addition, he advises on other aspects of financial regulation and the establishment of private equity fund structures.Ola’s background includes positions as head of the capital markets practices at Swedish firms Hamilton and Törngren Magnell as well as ten years as an associate in the capital markets' group of the leading domestic firm Vinge. Ola’s background also includes four years as Nordic Head of Legal for ABN Amro Bank and then leading Nordic investment bank Alfred Berg, a subsidiary of ABN Amro’s.
José Miguel Lissén

José Miguel Lissén

José Miguel is a Partner in the Bird & Bird's Intellectual Property department in the Madrid office. He has more than 22 years of experience as an IP litigator, focused on advising clients on the protection and commercialization of intangible assets, the negotiation and drafting of licences and assignment agreements of trademarks, patents, utility models, designs, copyrights and trade secrets. He has vast experience in filing judicial actions before the Courts regarding the infringement and validity of intellectual property rights and unfair competition in all fields of technology. He also has significant experience enforcing standard essential patents/on FRAND litigation in Spain.
Manuel Lobato

Manuel Lobato

Manuel Lobato is an experienced lawyer at Bird & Bird's Intellectual Property department in the Madrid office. He is recognized for his specialization in Intellectual Property and Pharmaceutical Law. He has acted in several multi-jurisdictional pharmaceutical patent and Supplementary Protection Certificate cases in Spain. He has, therefore, extensive experience in patent litigation before the Spanish courts. He also assist clients in drafting technology transfer contracts in pharma, electronics and defense sectors. He also advices universities, public institutions and private biotechnology entities on issues of ownership of research results. Manuel has also an academic profile. He has taught Commercial Law and Intellectual Property for 30 years (at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and Universidad Pública de Navarra) and he is author of several monographs, like Commentary to the Trade Mark Act (Civitas, 2nd edition 2007) and is editor of The pharmaceutical patent (IDEI 1997).
Edoardo Lombardi

Edoardo Lombardi

As Counsel in our Dispute Resolution and Commercial practice groups I assist clients in civil and commercial litigation matters, as well as in commercial agreements and corporate transactions between companies active in energy & utilities, in the construction and infrastructure industry as well as in the transport market. Advising our domestic and international clients on contentious matters and contractual issues relating to corporate and commercial law, I assist on a number of sectors, including energy & utilities, construction and infrastructure and transport. In recent years, I have represented primary operators before the national courts and the regulatory bodies overseeing the energy, construction and transport sectors. I specialise in advising on contentious and non-contentious matters in the energy sector, covering power, gas and renewable energy, as well as infrastructure projects and related regulatory issues. I also have extensive experience in dealing with the commercial issues that companies face day by day. In particular, I provide ongoing legal assistance to corporate groups operating in the manufacturing industry, providing continuous support across day-to-day operational matters as well as complex commercial transactions and disputes, One of the aims in my relationship with clients has always been to ensure immediate feedback and advice on a day to day basis. In Bird&Bird, I spent ten years in the Rome office, joining during its initial set up, then moving to the Milan one.
José Luis Lorente

José Luis Lorente

José Luis is a Partner and Head of Bird & Bird's Finance & Financial Regulation department in the Madrid office. He has a wide experience in cross-border financial transactions, corporate facilities, syndicated financing, acquisition financing as well as debt restructuring, insolvency and credit portfolio purchases. Frequently dealing with Spanish and international banks, funds, alternative lenders and borrowers among our clients, José Luis is highly experienced in venture debt financing and real estate finance. Other areas of strength include asset finance (particularly aircraft financing) or syndicated lending. As well as transactional work, he specialises in banking and financial regulation, and provides advice to national and foreign banks and other regulated entities. José Luis advises on financial regulatory matters, including payment services regulation, open banking and virtual financial services, blockchain and tokenization compliance standards and procedures before Spanish authorities including the Spanish Central Bank and the Spanish Securities and Exchange Commission (CNMV). Jose Luis holds double citizenship US and Spanish.
Gildas Louvel

Gildas Louvel

With vast experience in a wide range of transactions, Gildas specialises in mergers and acquisitions as well as private equity in France and Africa. Gildas is a Partner in our International Corporate Group. He is based in Paris where he acts as head of the Corporate Group in France. He advises both public and private French and foreign groups, from the industrial or services sectors, on their M&A operations – including sales, acquisitions, Joint Ventures, majority or minority investments, and reorganisations. Gildas heads our African Group in Paris. This dedicated team advises on the risks and opportunities related to M&A projects in Africa. The Group represents corporations, private equity investors, governments and State-owned entities.
David Malcoiffe

David Malcoiffe

David is a leading corporate lawyer advising on mergers & acquisitions, joint ventures and private equity transactions. David is a partner in the Corporate Group in our Paris and Lyon offices. With training and expertise in both corporate and tax law, David has extensive experience in advising purchasers/sellers in national and international M&A transactions. He also advises investment funds and start-up companies in private equity and venture capital transactions, including the drafting and negotiation of term sheets, share/asset purchase agreements, investment and shareholders’ agreements, joint venture and merger agreements and the coordination and undertaking of (cross border) due diligence procedures. In addition, David regularly advises clients on corporate reorganisations and assists companies and managers with laws of corporation and corporate governance matters. He is a regular speaker at seminars regarding corporate and tax laws, including those held by the Chartered Accountant Association.
Marc Martens

Marc Martens

As co-head of our International Life Sciences & Healthcare group and head of Bird & Bird's Regulatory, Public & Administrative Law group in Brussels, Marc provides cutting edge strategic and regulatory advice to our life sciences clients and represent them in litigation. Marc offers both contentious and non-contentious strategic advice to Belgian and international pharma, biotech and medical devices companies, public bodies and national and European industry associations facing complex regulatory frameworks. Marc's areas of expertise cover issues relating to life-cycle management, clinical trials and data, data exclusivity, marketing, price and reimbursement authorisations, and e-health together with data protection, distribution and advertising issues. Marc provides advice to biotech companies on issues regarding Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products as well as the legal and bioethical issues relating to research and use of human cells and tissues. He regularly represents clients before the nationals jurisdictions as well as before the European Court. Marc's public and administrative law expertise covers the full range of sub practices in public procurement and related litigation, environmental law, REACH, RoHS, WEES and other Belgian and EU compliance issues.
Scott McInnes

Scott McInnes

Scott is a partner in the Brussels office of Bird & Bird where, as an expert in payments regulation and competition law, he works closely with our Finance & Financial Regulation group, our EU & Competition law team, as well as our Public Affairs team. With more than 15 years' experience of competition law and regulation, Scott has considerable expertise in payments regulation and competition law across Europe. Scott advises payment schemes, payments services providers (e.g. card issuers and merchant acquirers), processors, merchants, as well as other stakeholders in the payments value chain. Scott advises them on payments regulation, such as PSD2 (the update EU Payment Services Directive) and the 'level 2' documents under PSD2 such as the Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) on Strong Customer Authentication, the EU Interchange Fee Regulation, the EU Cross-Border Regulation, the EU SEPA Regulation. He also advises on AML regulations, outsourcing regulations, banking secrecy rules, and other financial services regulations. Scott also advises on a variety of competition law issues, in particular in the payments sector. Along with the Bird & Bird Brussels public affairs team, Scott also provides support to clients on their public affairs initiatives related to draft legislation and regulations.
Fulvio Mellucci

Fulvio Mellucci

I am Senior Counsel in our Intellectual Property Group in Milan where I offer our clients over 35 years' experience as a leading authority on Industrial Intellectual Property Law. In the course of my activity I have learned to understand the needs of clients, which have gradually changed over the years. Today, my goal is to assist them in the most proactive way possible, providing them with timely and concrete answers and, where appropriate, with strategical hints in relation to the protection and development of their IP assets. Focusing on issues including patents and know-how, trade marks, copyright and design and unfair competition, I assist and advise our major clients active in various industrial sectors (life sciences, chemicals, electronics and telecommunication, fashion, automotive, food and consumer) in national and multi-jurisdictional litigations, as well as in drafting and negotiating agreements concerning IP rights. I also regularly lecture in specialist courses in IP organised by the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Milan and for private organisations. I am a member of EPLAW, LIDC, AIPPI and LES. I am a native Italian speaker and I am fluent in English.
Claudio Mereu

Claudio Mereu

Claudio is a partner with over 26 years' worth of experience in EU regulatory law with an emphasis on chemicals, pesticides and biocides, as well as other regulated consumer, professional and industrial goods. Claudio's practice focuses on EU regulatory law with an emphasis on chemicals (REACH/CLP), pesticides and biocides, as well as other related regulated sectors (cosmetics, medical devices, f-Gas, etc.). Claudio's expertise covers all aspects of product regulations and restrictions under, including notification, registration, exemptions/derogations, mutual recognition, classification & labelling, marketing and use restrictions, parallel imports, environmental liability, product recalls and scientific data compensation negotiations, among others. Claudio has been involved in large chemical defence projects, such as chromium trioxide and PFAS under the REACH Regulation. Claudio's activity can be divided into three main streams: advisory, advocacy and litigation, at both EU and national levels. This includes assisting clients in navigating the EU regulatory landscape, policies and compliance requirements across various sectors, as well as litigation at EU and national levels against administrative decisions from EU Institutions/agencies and local authorities. Claudio also advises chemical companies on strategic and business law matters relating to their commercial agreements, as well as regulatory due diligence in relation to the acquisitions and divestments of product portfolios in the EU.
Mette Mernø Hans Jakobsen

Mette Mernø Hans Jakobsen

Mette is a highly experienced M&A attorney with more than 15 years of experience, having advised private equity clients as well as industrial clients on some of the largest and most complex M&A transactions in the Danish market. Further, Mette works as a trusted advisor, providing strategic and commercial day-to-day advice, and is a board member in several companies and funds. Mette’s focus is on value creation and achieving results for her clients. She has a commercial mindset and takes a business-oriented approach to legal issues. Her approach is pragmatic and solution-oriented, without losing sight of the details or being afraid to challenge the status quo. She makes the complex simple and communicates issues in straightforward terms.
Willy Mikalef

Willy Mikalef

Willy is a tech-friendly lawyer based in Paris, specialising in data protection, communications and satellites, with a commitment to providing business-oriented, sustainable advice. After training at a telecommunications operator, an e-commerce world leader, the European Space Agency and the TMT departments of law firms in Paris and London, and gaining significant experience in commercial, communications, satellite and data protection law, he joined Bird & Bird in 2013. This experience helps him advise some of the world's most technologically advanced organisations on the implementation of regulatory requirements, the negotiation of commercial contracts with a strong regulatory component or where he acts for clients in proceedings before the regulators and courts. He has experience in advising businesses and regulators in all areas of communications and satellite law across Europe and emerging countries. This includes network deployment, licensing, radio spectrum, numbering, interconnection, cybersecurity, public safety, law enforcement, consumer protection, terminal telecommunications equipment product conformity, regulatory taxes, etc. His expertise also covers satellite regulatory and commercial matters such as licensing requirements for space activities, liability and space contracts. In the field of data protection, he assists organisations in developing and implementing their privacy program, establishing GDPR compliance tools (eg. information notices, internal policies and procedures, privacy impact assessments, data breach notification process, etc.), complying with international data transfer requirements (data transfer agreements, BCRs, etc), responding to data subjects requests and complaints or representing companies in their dealings with data protection authorities. With his telecoms background, he is also able to provide expert advice on data protection requirements which specifically apply in the electronic communications sector (cookies, email direct marketing, traffic data retention obligations, and other ePrivacy obligations). Willy regularly acts as a lead lawyer on international projects and transactions. His secondment to Bird & Bird's London office in 2017 taught him to work as a single, cohesive team with his colleagues across all of our offices, and beyond the firm with our network of trusted partners in America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. This helps him implement complex multi-jurisdictional projects smoothly and efficiently.
Ariane Mole

Ariane Mole

Ariane is renowned for her in-depth knowledge of data protection matters and advising some of the world’s most innovative and technologically advanced companies Ariane is joint head of our International Data Protection Group and is one of the leading lawyers in personal data protection law. She is based in our Paris office. Ariane advises French and international companies and public services clients on all aspects of personal data protection and privacy, particularly international data transfers and businesses, monitoring at work and data protection issues. She also assists her clients with their relationships with the CNIL and with other national or local Data Protection Authorities. She advises clients on technologies, privacy and individual liberties and on the application of personal data protection laws, audits of information systems and compliance of data processing systems. A member of the Paris Bar since 1995, Ariane previously worked within the Legal Department of the French Data Protection Authority (CNIL) focusing on international matters before becoming an expert to the DG XIII of the European Union Commission where she helped to draft the 1995 Directive on Personal Data Protection. In 2008, Ariane was admitted as a Legal Expert to the EuroPriSe project launched by the EU Commission, allowing her to offer assessments to manufacturers and vendors of IT products and IT-based services in order to obtain EuroPriSe privacy certification. In June 2012, CNIL awarded her the "label CNIL”, for her data protection training seminar, "Loi Informatique et Libertés - le regime juridique des traitements et des fichiers". She is a frequent speaker at data protection related conferences and training seminars. She is also a regular contributor to newspapers and specialist legal magazines.
Benedicte Mourisse

Benedicte Mourisse

Benedicte is an associate in the Regulatory, Public & Administrative Law department in our Brussels office.  She advises clients on regulatory matters with a particular focus on life sciences, food and beverages. Benedicte advises clients in a wide range of regulated sectors including life sciences, food and beverages. She also advises on public and administrative law matters such as public procurement, in addition to issues relating to environmental law in its broad meaning. After graduating from the University of Ghent in 2017,  Benedicte completed an additional year of study at the Erasmus University of Rotterdam to obtain a Master's degree in International Trade Law. She was admitted to the Antwerp Bar in 2018 and to the Brussels Bar in 2020. Prior to joining Bird & Bird in 2018, she worked as an associate at an Antwerp law firm.
Brian Mulier

Brian Mulier

Brian is a partner in our Tax Group, heading the International Trade & Customs Practice. He is based in The Hague. Brian represents clients, notably in the high-tech and communications sector, in trade compliance matters with a particular focus on EU export controls, economic sanctions, customs, free trade agreements and trade remedies. He has extensive experience with the EU's export controls and sanctions regulations including the interaction between EU and national laws and US rules. His experience includes both dual-use and military products and technologies.A significant part of Brian's practice involves assisting companies in understanding the concrete implications of restrictive measures (sanctions), designing and implementing international compliance programs and advising on complex questions of international compliance for companies with global operations, as is conducting internal investigations to examine allegations of wrongdoing.  In addition, Brian provides practical and clear advice to multi-national clients in relation to EU customs compliance, customs classification, customs valuation and transfer pricing, rules of origin and customs efficient supply chain (re-) structuring, including sourcing strategies and optimizing the use of free trade agreements. He assists companies in understanding the concrete implications of the WTO rules and treaty (trade) provisions for their business. Such understanding has helped his clients improve competitiveness and financial performance by making optimum use of trade and customs laws. Besides advisory, Brian’s practice includes also litigation.
Kevin Munungu

Kevin Munungu

Kevin is an attorney in the Regulatory, Public & Administrative Law department in our Brussels office. He advises both Belgian and international clients on regulatory matters and public procurements across several sectors, advising clients at the intersection of government and business. Kevin advises Belgian and international clients across various industries, including life sciences, energy, and defence, on both contentious and non-contentious matters. His practice focuses on assisting clients with regulatory challenges and public procurement matters, including litigation. Working alongside our international offices, Kevin helps clients navigate complex cross-border issues involving authorisations, compliance strategies, and regulatory enforcement proceedings. A significant part of his practice involves public procurement law, where Kevin assists companies and government entities throughout the procurement process: from analysing tender documentation and formulating strategic questions to procuring entities, through to court representation when disputes arise. This work encompasses procurements by national authorities as well as international organisations such as the European Union institutions, NATO, NSPA, the World Bank, and Interpol. Kevin is recognised in the legal directories as a Key Lawyer in handling public procurement matters (Legal 500, 2025). Kevin also advises on emerging sustainability obligations, including compliance with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and evolving environmental regulations.
Joaquín Muñoz

Joaquín Muñoz

Joaquín is a partner and head in Bird & Bird's Commercial and Privacy & Data Protection department in the Madrid office. He works closely with the Tech & Comms and Media, Entertainment & Sports sector groups. His interest in having technical and business knowledge about how the most disruptive technologies work helps him to understand the most innovative business models, being able to anticipate the legal challenges they face and proposing legal solutions that help to solve the legal barriers that clients may encounter in the development of their activity. Due to his experience acquired over the years, he has a very broad vision of the needs of clients in their digital transformation process. He appreciates being close to the clients' business strategy in order to be able to provide advice oriented to their commercial goals, always ensuring regulatory compliance. He has has extensive experience advising high-potential tech companies on digital law, data protection compliance, information security, e-Commerce law, entertainment law, IT outsourcing, gambling compliance, trade secrets and other issues related to the TMT industry.
Maisa Nikkola

Maisa Nikkola

Maisa Nikkola is a partner in our Helsinki office, where she is Head of our Nordic and Finnish Employment practice groups as well as our Finnish Employee Incentives & Benefits group. She advises our local and international clients on complex employment issues. Focusing on all aspects of employment relations, Maisa advises clients on a broad range of employment and HR matters on a daily basis including transactions, contractual issues, the negotiation and termination of contracts, collective and trade union matters, co-operation procedures, restructuring and discrimination. In addition to employment law, Maisa specialises in outsourcing, trade secret issues and privacy and data protection. She has experience in complex litigation matters. Her team is regularly working on a broad range of cross-border projects and they have an excellent network with colleagues located all over the world at our Bird & Bird offices. They have longstanding experience in taking an innovative and strategic approach to their work. Her team is often thanked for being an everyday strategic partner for their clients.
Morten Nissen

Morten Nissen

Morten is a partner and co-head of Bird & Bird's international Competition & EU group, and leads the practice in Denmark. He specialises in applying competition and EU law to achieve clear commercial outcomes for clients. He has more than 12 years’ experience from Brussels and advises on state aid, anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominance and merger control. Morten has acted in a number of landmark cases and has extensive experience representing clients before the EU Court of Justice. His sector experience includes pharmaceuticals, media, IT, telecoms, transport and payment systems. Morten is a member of the advisory board of the World Competition, Law and Economics Journal (Kluwer) and co-author of Guide to EU Pharmaceutical Regulatory Law.
Domien Op de Beeck

Domien Op de Beeck

Domien advises on patents and trade secrets laws and implementation on a daily basis. He also represents design or trademark holders in infringement and opposition proceedings, up to the CJEU level. Domien helps clients recapture their legitimate IP rights (incl. domain names), ban copycats from the market or fence off unfounded infringement claims. Working at Bird & Bird implies a privilege on working for and together with inspiring individuals and cutting edge companies. Clients have said they appreciate Domien's openness to the business and drive to grasp the most complex science. Investing time to understand these extra factors goes hand in hand with the sector approach for which Bird & Bird is known. Having represented clients before different courts and IP offices in Belgium and abroad, Domien knows the procedural intricacies of IP litigation, but also how to get to constructive out-of-court solutions. Contract drafting and negotiation is another inherent part of Domien's practice. Furthermore, he helps clients on matters like adding value to their IP, negotiating a safe passage to market, or devising and implementing trade secret protection policies.
Thomas Oster

Thomas Oster

Thomas  specialises in competition law, having significant experience in helping clients to avoid competition law pitfalls and representing them in proceedings before the competition authorities. His practice covers both contentious and non-contentious national and European competition law, together with commercial and distribution law.Thomas has substantial experience of advising on cartel investigations and assisting companies in preparing leniency applications before the European Commission and the French Competition Authority.  He helps to develop and implement competition compliance programs and provides assistance in notifications of transactions to the European Commission under the EC Merger Regulation and to the French Competition Authority.Thomas’ experience of competition law covers different angles, having worked in practice, in house and having done an internship at the French Competition Authority. Prior to joining Bird & Bird he worked for 14 years in the Paris office of a major global law firm.On the commercial side, Thomas has experience of advising clients on the structuring of selective, exclusive or franchise distribution networks across Europe, as well as advising on supplier-distributors relationships and sales regulations. He also regularly assists clients in relation to product liability issues.Thomas regularly participates in seminars and conferences and is the author of several articles on competition law.
Miguel Pastur

Miguel Pastur

Miguel Pastur is a Partner and Head of Bird & Bird's International HR Services department in the Madrid office. Since 2011 he leads the Bird & Bird's international Employment and Human Resources practice in Spain. He leads a versatile practice that covers most areas of employment law, including the hiring and termination of employees and senior management, advising on the employment aspects of M&A and commercial and outsourcing service agreements, advising on the implementation of restructuring and redundancy plans, or collective bargaining with trade unions and worker's representatives. Contentious matters also are an important part of his work, as he regularly represents clients before the Spanish Courts and Tribunals, from first instance to the Supreme Court. Most of Miguel's work involves an international element, and he has developed specific expertise in guiding foreign clients through the complexities of Spanish employment laws.
Romain Perray

Romain Perray

Romain advises clients across the full spectrum of data protection and data security matters, including automotive, adtech, life sciences, insurance, e-commerce, leisure, social networks, and even the public sector, especially in the context of smart city projects. His experience extends to multijurisdictional cross-border data transfers strategy (including global intragroup data transfers framework agreements), joint data controllers and/or data processor agreements, the formulation of privacy and/or cookies policies, and the use of personal data for marketing purposes, including through profiling techniques, particularly in a Big Data context. He has also conducted numerous privacy impact assessments (notably in cases of pseudonymisation or anonymisation) and international data protection audits to ensure compliance with both EU and domestic data protection requirements. Beyond data privacy, he also advises on the EU Data Act, open data issues and cybersecurity (including incident response to cyberattacks, NIS2 and DORA compliance programs). He is also a lecturer in data privacy and data protection at the University of Paris-I Panthéon-Sorbonne, the University of Sorbonne Abu Dhabi, the University of Sorbonne Morocco and the University of Tokyo. Alongside his work, he lectures on data privacy and data protection in Master of Laws classes at the University of Paris-I Panthéon-Sorbonne, the University of Sorbonne Abu Dhabi, Sorbonne Morocco and the University of Tokyo (2026). He is also a regular contributor to leading legal publications, including LexisNexis and Lamy Editions, and the author of two significant manuals on data protection and video monitoring. He is a bilingual speaker and advises clients in both English and French.
Giovanni Piazza

Giovanni Piazza

As Counsel in our Dispute Resolution Group in Milan, my practice focuses on commercial litigation, arbitration and bankruptcy law. I believe it is crucial for a lawyer to understand the real needs of the client and to get straight to the point. For a litigator it is extremely important being able to explain complex highly issues in simple terms. Before joining the team at Bird & Bird, I was a junior partner in Italian well-known law firms. I have been the author of publications and articles about commercial law and bankruptcy law. I am also a lecturer in these fields at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore di Milano.
Flore Poloni

Flore Poloni

Flore Poloni is a partner in the dispute resolution group in Paris, with extensive experience advising companies and public entities on complex cross-border disputes. Her work focuses on complex arbitration proceedings across strategic sectors such as energy, defence, life sciences and logistics, often linked to projects in Africa. She acts as counsel in significant international cases and also serves as an arbitrator, offering clients a well-rounded perspective on dispute resolution. She has extensive experience in high-stakes arbitrations arising from commercial agreements, corporate transactions, and shareholder arrangements. Many of these cases involve sensitive issues triggered by geopolitical or regulatory changes, including sanctions and force majeure events. Clients value her ability to manage time-critical proceedings and deliver practical solutions that protect their interests. With a background spanning business and law and in-house experience in claims management, she brings a commercially focused approach to arbitration strategy. Also having a litigation background, she advises on enforcement and asset recovery to ensure that awards translate into tangible results. She is also experienced at handling parallel proceedings of all kinds and in all jurisdictions.
Emmanuelle Porte

Emmanuelle Porte

Emmanuelle is co-managing partner of Bird & Bird France. Emmanuelle advises companies and venture capital funds on fund-raising processes, M&A transactions, private placements and IPOs. She specialises in venture capital, M&A and corporate finance transactions within the Life Sciences & Healthcare sector. She focuses in particular on clients in the biotech, medtech and healthcare industries, although she also works for clients in the Tech & Comms sector. Emmanuelle's practice frequently involves advising small to mid-size corporate clients on fundraising processes, both within the French market and overseas. Her expertise includes advising start-ups and those selling new technologies on M&A, private placements and IPOs as well as general corporate and commercial matters.
Simon Price

Simon Price

Simon is a highly experienced real estate lawyer with versatile expertise in corporate real estate transactions, including joint ventures and acquisitions and disposals of real estate assets and holding structures. He advises developers and investors on the full scope of contractual arrangements, including leases, management and development agreements. He has specialist knowledge concerning development projects, the financing of investments and dealing with insolvent or distressed assets and structures. Simon also has particular experience in the hotel sector, acting for investors, developers and funders on hotel and branded residences transactions throughout the UK, Europe and the Middle East and on the negotiation of operator agreements. Work highlights: Simon has advised on a wide range of high-profile real estate deals. These include advising: TIAA on the establishment of a three-way joint venture with the Swedish national pension funds, Forsta AP-Fonden and Andra AP-Fonden, to create a £3bn office fund with assets in the UK, France and Germany and on the acquisition of 60 Great Portland Street, London W1 a North American pension fund on its formation of a £1bn joint venture with Aviva Life over a portfolio of real estate assets in central London Brookfield on the disposal of a 50% interest in the Principal Place London office development project to the Italian asset management company Antirion SGR, based on an asset value of £763m Meyer Bergman, a real estate investment management firm, on the acquisition of a portfolio of 14 residential development sites from Tesco for £250m and ongoing development advice a Middle Eastern investor on the acquisition of a five-star London hotel for £280m TIAA on the acquisition of the Lakeside Extra Retail Park and Tunnel Retail Park from Hammerson for £93m Brait, the South African private equity group, on the acquisitions of New Look Retail and Virgin Active gyms
Anne-Florence Raducault

Anne-Florence Raducault

Anne-Florence has a particular interest in the civil and criminal risks in industrial public firms, especially on matters related to responsibilities in these fields. Her practice encompasses public administration, government departments and private firms, on both nationally and internationally.  Anne-Florence advices on litigation cases before the Courts of first degree or Appeal Courts together with civil, criminal and public issues cases before the Administrative Courts.In addition, Anne-Florence advises on tort and criminal cases together with claims for damages; commercial cases; shareholder claims and cases based on contractual links and contract law, especially related to international contract or foreign contract policies.She is a regular speaker at conferences for public and private firms on torts, risks and civil or criminal liability, Anne-Florence draws upon her experience of European issues, particularly on recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters.Anne-Florence conducts audits on criminal risks  for public and private companies and works on criminal risks prevention with her clients; she wrote a book aimed to business leaders to help them understand their personal risks and the organisation of the internal prevention of risks.
Mikko Rajala

Mikko Rajala

Mikko Rajala is a partner in Bird & Bird's Dispute Resolution group in Helsinki. He specialises in commercial dispute resolution, as well as real estate-related matters. Mikko acts as a legal adviser to clients in dispute resolution and pre-dispute management matters in various fields of law and sectors including real estate, leasing, construction, intellectual property, securities, finance and damages. In particular, he specialises in construction and lease matters as well as in construction, IT and other project delivery-related disputes. In addition, he acts as an arbitrator in institutional and ad-hoc arbitrations. Mikko also advises his clients in non-contentious commercial agreements and arrangements. He has over 15 years of experience in leases of business premises, including retail, office, hotel as well as industrial space. His team provides daily support to their clients in agreements, development projects and insolvency issues relating to construction and lease of business premises.
Riku Rauhanen

Riku Rauhanen

Riku Rauhanen is a Senior Associate in our Commercial and Privacy & Data Protection groups in Helsinki, where he works with our local and international clients advising them on data protection, other data regulation, and commercial contracts. Riku has extensive experience in providing legal advice on various data protection issues. His work covers all aspects of privacy and data protection law, including negotiating data processing agreements, carrying out data protection impact assessments and implementing multijurisdictional data protection projects. He has advised a wide variety of clients from public bodies to multinational technology companies on data protection law. In addition to privacy and data protection, Riku also specialises in other data regulation. His particular area of interest is the EU's artificial intelligence regulation.  Riku is part of Bird & Bird's global network of AI experts. In addition to data-related councelling, Riku also provides guidance on contract law issues. He has extensive experience of drafting and negotiating different types of contracts as well as supporting clients with interpreting contracts and resolving contract-related conflicts.
Manon Rieger-Jansen

Manon Rieger-Jansen

Manon is a partner in Bird & Bird’s Intellectual Property Group and she leads the brand management team in the Netherlands. As an experienced litigator, Manon specialises in trademark, design, copyright and advertising, and has a particular focus on cases involving product design. She handles cases in front of the courts as well as many proceedings at the Benelux trademark office and EUIPO.Many of the contentious matters Manon is working on have an international angle and over the years, she has developed a particular experience in pan-European enforcement strategies of trademarks and designs, including customs and parallel import enforcement strategies. Apart from contentious work, Manon’s practice also provides global strategic advice on IP rights, and the protection and registration of trademark and design portfolios. Manon and her team offer cradle-to grave trademark services, thereby combining the experience in both contentious and non-contentious matters.Manon assists many businesses in the retail sector, including the world's best known brands. Working in the sector and heading the Dutch retail group and the international luxury, fashion and retail team gives her a good understanding of the industry and the issues impacting it. Manon has been included in the top 250 women in IP (2020, MIP), won the Best in Trade Marks award by Women in Business Law Awards 2020 and was shortlisted for their Best in Copyright award in 2020.
Alberto Rodríguez

Alberto Rodríguez

Alberto Rodríguez is a Partner in Bird & Bird’s Corporate and M&A team in the Madrid office. He specialises in advising national and international clients on complex M&A, venture capital and search fund transactions, with a strong focus on the technology and life sciences sectors. Given that many of his clients operate in highly innovative or regulated industries, Alberto is accustomed to handling complex legal matters and providing creative, practical solutions as part of multidisciplinary teams. He has acted for sellers and purchasers (including industrial companies and private equity funds), as well as for founders, investors, financing parties —including corporate ventures— and search funds. This broad experience has given him deep insight into the industries in which his clients operate. Alberto also collaborates regularly with academic institutions and specialised publications.
Morten Rosenmejer

Morten Rosenmejer

Morten is Head of Corporate / M&A in Copenhagen, with a particular focus on the tech & comms, retail & consumer, and media, entertainment & sports sectors. His primary focus is on M&A, and he has extensive experience negotiating and advising on business transfers in the Danish market. Morten has advised both Danish and international companies, as well as private equity funds, on M&A transactions. Over the past decade, he has advised on some of the most notable transactions in the Danish market, including multi-billion EUR deals. Before specialising in M&A, Morten worked at one of Denmark’s leading IP law departments, which has given him significant insight into the business models and challenges of companies where IP rights are a key asset. He is therefore particularly strong in advising on M&A transactions involving such companies, including those within the tech, fashion, design and media industries. As one of Denmark’s leading legal experts in sports and entertainment, Morten also has extensive experience advising film companies, production companies, advertising agencies and athletes on sports and entertainment law, including production agreements, player contracts, sponsorship agreements and management agreements.
Julien Sad

Julien Sad

Julien is a senior associate in our Finance & Financial Regulation group and a member of the firm's international payments team. Building on years of experience as a banking lawyer, in both private practice and in-house for a global investment bank, Julien advises various stakeholders in the payment ecosystem, such as payment schemes, payments services providers (including issuers, acquirers, TPPs), processors/gateways, as well as merchants (including e-commerce platforms). He is qualified to provide legal advice under EU and Belgian law, but he also regularly assists clients with their financial regulatory issues around the globe by working closely with our dedicated network of lawyers. Julien's practice area includes a wide range of payment-related regulatory topics, essentially the second Payment Services Directive (PSD2), 'level-2' documents under PSD2 such as the Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS), the Payment Account Directive (PAD), the EU Interchange Fee Regulation (IFR), the EU Cross-Border Regulation (CBPR), the EU SEPA Regulation (SEPA). His expertise also extends to credits, electronic money, cryptos and anti-money laundering legislations. Julien frequently speaks and publishes on these topics, but more particularly he has authored chapters on payments in two Belgian law reference books, namely the "Traité pratique de droit commercial" and the "Répertoire pratique de droit belge". Before joining Bird & Bird, Julien worked for an international and a top-notch boutique law firm, where he gained substantial contentious and non-contentious experience in the area of banking and finance law. From a regulatory perspective, he has advised various clients on a number of payments-related topics and assisted them with the launch of new products in the market, such as electronic wallets and virtual accounts. Julien has also gained experience in OTC derivative transactions, such as currency and interest rate swaps, options, as well as securities lending and repurchase transactions, in connection with various master agreements (such as ISDA, GMRA, GMSLA, or EMA). As part of his litigation experience, Julien represented multiple Belgian banks in civil procedures on topics ranging from payment services (for example, unauthorised/fraudulent transactions, antitrust claim in the payment card market) to derivatives, mainly in the form of interest rate swaps. He also helped clients with litigation matters relating to lending, investment services, portfolio management and security interests, including enforcement.
Mariano Santos

Mariano Santos

Mariano Santos is a Partner and leads the Bird & Bird's Brand Management Prosecution team in the Madrid office. He has more than 25 years of experience within the Intellectual Property field. He specialize in trademark, design, patent and copyright and advertising law, with a particular focus on cases involving trademark matters and handling many proceedings at the SPTO, EUIPO and Latin American jurisdictions. He has developed particular experience in pan-European prosecution and enforcement strategies of trademarks, patents and designs, including customs and parallel import enforcement strategies, especially in Latin American countries. He has advised and developed intellectual property consultancy projects in national and international companies. Furthermore, he has acquired extensive experience on all aspects relating to trademarks portfolios, IP legal advice, franchises and licensing. This includes defining and implementing intellectual property management policies in companies (management of R&D; marketing activities; policies on employee's inventions, among others), and analysing, auditing and organizing intellectual property portfolios.
Kristoffer Saugman

Kristoffer Saugman

Kristoffer is an associate in Bird & Bird's Corporate team in Copenhagen, where he advises Danish and international businesses on M&A and general corporate law. He advises clients on M&A processes, including structured sales processes, private equity investments and other types of business transfers. In collaboration with his colleagues, his work spans the entire process – from project structuring and management, and related strategic considerations, to due diligence and the drafting and negotiation of transaction documents. Kristoffer also advises on corporate law matters, including company formations, changes to corporate structures, management and ownership structures, the drafting of warrant programmes, due diligence and general corporate issues.
David Schreuders

David Schreuders

David is a specialist in financial and economic criminal law and is a highly experienced defence counsel in corporate crime litigation matters. Apart from being an excellent litigator, he is a strong advocate for the preparedness of companies and advises boards on compliance issues, designs or upgrades corporate compliance programs and conducts internal investigations for proactive remediation. He has a very broad experience in white collar crime, in a wide range of fraud matters (including complex accounting, banking, securities, environmental and tax), as well as in compliance and regulatory issues for companies, board members or higher level management. He and his team are also experienced in advising on company policies including Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) due diligence, cybersecurity and cybercrime resilience, anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, safety & health and trade sanctions. David’s practice has a strong international focus and is marked by multi-disciplinary aspects of law. David is a partner in Amsterdam and works closely with other specialists of Simmons & Simmons internationally. He has built up a large international network of specialist peers over the years, which enables him to offer the client an optimum of knowledge and high level experience if there is also an extended scope outside his practice. David has over 30 years’ experience in high profile litigation matters. He has been a partner since 1998 in leading domestic (boutique) and international law firms. David has a long list of publications to his name and is co-author of the Dutch Defence Counsel Handbook (on Tax Fraud) and of the book Financial Law Compliance (on money laundering and crypto currencies). Furthermore, David regularly lectures about Corporate Compliance, Financial Crime and Cybercrime related topics.
Andrea Semmola

Andrea Semmola

I am a senior associate in our Finance & Financial Regulation department based in Milan, with a specific focus on the energy sector. I'm specialized in financing, project financing and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deals, providing legal assistance to Italian and foreign financial institutions and companies in both cross-border and domestic transactions. My primary focus lies in the renewable energy and infrastructure sectors, where I support clients in navigating complex legal and regulatory frameworks to achieve their strategic objectives. Over the past years, I have been actively involved in numerous landmark financing and refinancing transactions within the renewable energy and infrastructure sector, contributing to the successful realization of high-profile projects. This has allowed me to develop a deep understanding of the unique challenges and opportunities associated with the green energy transition. Furthermore, I have gained significant experience in drafting and negotiating key energy contracts, including Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) agreements, Operation and Maintenance (O&M) contracts, and Power Purchase Agreements (PPA), ensuring that my clients' interests are well-protected throughout the project lifecycle as well as in the project development activities of photovoltaic, wind and biomethane projects in the Italian market. Prior to joining Bird & Bird, I honed my expertise working at both an Italian and an international law firms specialized in energy law. Additionally, I served as Senior Legal Counsel for M&A and Energy Transition at one of Italy's largest utility companies, further enriching my knowledge and practical experience in this dynamic sector.
Diana Sendagorta

Diana Sendagorta

Diana is a Consultant in Bird & Bird's Madrid office in the Corporate and M&A department. She has extensive experience in M&A (private equity, corporate venture, venture capital and direct industrial acquisitions), Finance Law, Capital Markets and Real Estate. Her experience includes advising on M&A transactions in the Retail & Consumer, Information Technology, and Life Sciences sectors, as well as on Real Estate deals. Diana also advises our institutional and industrial clients on complex Spanish and cross-border transactions, including corporate and debt restructuring, financing transactions (with or without guarantees), joint ventures, investment and shareholder agreements, corporate secretarial and complex commercial matters. Her background and experience in corporate, financial and commercial matters enables Diana to offer our clients strong and efficient technical advice. Her main objective is to add value to every piece of advice that our clients need. She strives every day to achieve technical excellence, to provide practical solutions, and to make our clients feel that they can rely on us at any time, with any legal matter they may have, by being pro-active and proposing solutions in advance.
Feyo Sickinghe

Feyo Sickinghe

Feyo is a Principal Regulatory Counsel in the Regulatory & Public Affairs practice of Bird & Bird in the Netherlands and Brussels with a focus on tech and comms and digital markets regulation. He combines in-depth business knowledge with legal and regulatory expertise. Feyo has a broad network in Brussels, the Dutch Parliament, the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets ("ACM") and the Ministry of Economic Affairs & Climate. His practice involves developing and presenting strategic, regulatory and policy views in legislative procedures and lobbying at a national and EU level on digital services, data regulation, telecoms regulation in fixed and mobile markets, infrastructure, end user protection, cybersecurity, rights of way, market analysis and the transposition of European legislation into national law.
Risto Sipilä

Risto Sipilä

As a senior counsel in Bird & Bird's international Dispute Resolution group in Helsinki, Risto Sipilä has a wealth of experience advising on dispute resolution matters as well as on construction and real estate law issues. Advising his clients on dispute resolution in various fields of law and across all business sectors, Risto specialises in matters, disputes and pre-dispute management. He also acts on behalf of our clients in energy & utilities, and as an arbitrator. His main area of expertise is construction and real estate law. Typically Risto represents construction parties and related projects in arbitration and litigation proceedings. He has also represented clients in court proceedings on other areas of business law, such as delivery agreements and assets deals.
Nathalie Sit

Nathalie Sit

I am an Associate in the Greater China Employment team based in Hong Kong. I advise and represent clients on both contentious and non-contentious employment matters. I have experience handling contentious employment matters and assisting clients in pursuing/defending claims in the Labour Tribunal and the High Court. Some of these claims include pregnancy, sex, and disability discrimination, breach of restrictive covenants, breach of the terms of employment contracts, constructive dismissal, wrongful and unlawful dismissal, as well as employee's embezzlement of monies. I have assisted in various investigations into employees' misconduct such as sexual harassment, assault, and bullying. On the advisory side, I regularly advise clients on proposed redundancies, manage staff departures, advise on restrictive covenants, draft and review employment contracts, employee handbooks and policies of companies. Prior to joining Bird & Bird, I handled, alongside employment matters, general commercial litigation and intellectual property disputes in another international law firm. This has enabled me to offer clients a unique perspective.
Brent Springael

Brent Springael

As head of our Tax group in Brussels, Brent's practice covers the full range of business tax matters, domestically and internationally, focusing on IP-related tax in life sciences, media and tech & comms. Over the years, Brent has strengthened his international tax experience (from private equity to finance structuring) by taking secondment roles in the Luxembourg office of one of the largest law firms in Europe and the New York office of a Chicago headquartered international law firm. He also advises non-profit associations on direct and indirect tax matters. Contributing to leading Belgian and international tax reviews, Brent has written about the practical implications of, among others, Belgian and other European patent box regimes, the taxation of copyright income, royalty taxation, aircraft financing, holding company regimes, and non-profit associations' tax rules.
Hans Svensson

Hans Svensson

Hans Svensson a Partner in our office in Sweden, and the head of the Corporate practice group in Stockholm. He is a key member of our Media Sector Group and heads the Nordic Tech & Comms Sector Group and the Banking & Finance Practice Group. Hans has more than 20 years of experience in public and private M&A, capital markets, financing and joint ventures both locally and internationally. His extensive experience means that Hans is very versatile and he is exceptionally successful in the field of transaction advice. His industry and sector experience spans over a wide range of businesses in the communications, media and tech sectors and his clients are mainly entrepreneurs, private equity owned companies, and businesses with strategic challenges. Apart from offering transaction advice, Hans is also a trusted senior advisor to owners, directors and managers. He attracts extraordinary endorsements from an international and domestic client base.
Djazia Tiourtite

Djazia Tiourtite

Djazia is a partner in our Dispute Resolution Group in Paris, taking a pragmatic approach to litigation, combined with in-depth expertise in the French rules of civil procedure in all aspects of litigation (mediation, negotiation, trial and enforcement). She has been practising as a qualified litigator since 2008, mainly assisting international companies in their disputes. Her expertise covers a wide range of commercial and liability disputes (unfair competition, distribution, breach of contract, breach of established contractual relationships, IT and industrial project failure, technical intermediary liability, e-reputation, cyber security) for clients from the IT, media, energy and utilities, and communications sectors. Djazia has a deep understanding of all the latest trends in technology and communications and a real appetite for innovation, which gives her real added value in all technology and communications-related disputes. These skills enable him to provide clients with efficient and successful assistance in their disputes.
Jean-Christophe Troussel

Jean-Christophe Troussel

Jean-Christophe is an intellectual property partner and the head of the IP practice in Brussels, where he offers clients over 25 years' hands-on experience in all sorts of contentious and transactional matters in IP and technology, with in-depth expertise in sectors including food & beverage, life sciences and consumer goods. From day one, his practice focused on the protection and the monetisation of clients' innovation and IP assets. This focus made Jean-Christophe delve into all types of IP dispute resolution, including patents, trade secrets, trade marks, designs, copyright and unfair competition matters, both national and cross-border. Aligning litigation with business goals is complex and challenging. It is a key part of Jean-Christophe's role. He enjoys it very much, as it makes him part of the client's team. Jean-Christophe also manages IP rights as essential corporate assets and became a skilled negotiator and contractual lawyer in stand-alone IP transactions and in other forms of collaboration and corporate deals in which brands and technology are essential. This encompasses the IP aspects of M&A, restructurings and finance-driven transactions, including IP due diligence. Jean-Christophe likes the mechanics of contract negotiation and contract drafting. He enjoys working with clients towards contract solutions that make sense for all parts of their business and are compliant with their corporate values and risk culture. In addition, Jean-Christophe helps clients on issues relating to portfolio management and protection, and on new types of challenges such as IP issues in the digital world, including social media.
Montserrat Turrado

Montserrat Turrado

Montserrat is a Partner and Head of Bird & Bird's Tax department in the Madrid office. She is a lawyer with strong transactional and dispute resolution expertise. With over 30 years' experience within the tax environment, Montserrat has wide-ranging experience providing tax advisory services to Spanish entities and multinational groups, from the financial & insurance industry, energy industry, real estate area, pharma field and others. By utilising her knowledge of the Spanish market, regulatory framework of some of her clients and maintaining regular contact with regulators and the tax authorities, she has built a very pragmatic practice with a clear understanding of clients' tax requirements and needs. Assisting private clients to structure their wealth in a tax efficient manner to hold it and further pass it through new family generations or to transfer on-going businesses to new investors is also one of the areas where our department grew significantly along the last years. She coordinates and leads specialist teams on projects relating to direct and indirect taxation, tax accounting, tax controversy and transfer pricing. Montserrat writes regularly on tax issues and lectures and leads seminars for organisations including the ICADE, IEB and Chamber of Commerce of Madrid.
Jan Ussing Andersen

Jan Ussing Andersen

Jan is a specialist in outsourcing and technology projects, with more than 15 years’ experience advising clients on complex digitalisation initiatives. He combines legal expertise with a strong understanding of the technical and organisational aspects of large-scale projects. He advises on all types of outsourcing and IT matters, including cloud computing, AI, machine learning, 5G and other emerging technologies, with a particular focus on data protection aspects. Jan has extensive experience advising clients in regulated sectors, particularly telecoms and financial services, and is known for his pragmatic approach to procurement processes, deal structuring and complex multi-stakeholder projects. Having advised both customers and vendors, he brings a well-rounded commercial perspective and a deep understanding of the challenges involved in outsourcing and technology transformations.
Benoit Van Asbroeck

Benoit Van Asbroeck

As a partner and IP/IT specialist at Bird & Bird in Brussels, Benoit leads our Belgian Data Protection, Tech & Comms and Media practices, advising our clients on legal issues in privacy, data, e-commerce, digital marketing, cloud computing, the Internet of Things, AI, 3D printing, cookies, electronic signatures, intermediary liability and automated objects. He also co-heads the Bird & Bird international special interest group on Copyright due to his large experience in copyright matters with the Court of Justice of the European Union. His practice is both transactional and litigation. He has extensive experience in drafting and negotiating complex TMT contracts. In addition, he has exceptional expertise in counselling our clients on issues that require the coordination and integration of a variety of legal solutions, such as intellectual property, information technology, media, sport, competition and telecommunications issues. Advising on contentious matters in front of arbitral tribunals and national and EU courts, he has successfully conducted landmark matters with the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) (in Copyright/Trademark and E-commerce). In the context of our Public Affairs practice he lobby's public authorities in relation to the EU and national legislative processes. Alongside the wider team in Brussels, we are participating as legal partners in number of H2020 EU-funded consortia all focusing on data driven economy issues.
Jeroen Van Der Lee

Jeroen Van Der Lee

Jeroen co-heads the Tech & Comms Group of Bird & Bird in the Netherlands. He is also a member of the Commercial Group. He advises on complex commercial transactions, particularly in the communications and IT sector. Jeroen is particularly experienced in advising on cross-border outsourcings and other services arrangements; ICT procurement agreements; complex software licensing transactions; and B2B e-commerce projects. His client base includes innovative internet start-ups and listed companies, both Dutch companies and multinationals. Jeroen's extensive experience in large scale projects means that he understands the issues that arise in such projects and can provide the solutions to resolve these issues.
Tom Vapaavuori

Tom Vapaavuori

Tom Vapaavuori is a partner in Bird & Bird's Helsinki office and the Head of our Finnish Dispute Resolution group as well as the co-head of our international Trade Secret group. He has a lot of experience in demanding litigations and arbitrations and trade secret matters. Tom works with a broad range of company litigations, arbitrations and white collar crimes. He also acts as an arbitrator, as nominated by parties in disputes, or by the arbitration institutes. He advises his leading domestic and international clients on a broad range of contentious and non-contentious matters in several sectors. In addition to dispute resolution he is especially active in contractual matters such as distribution, purchase and sale, co-operation, joint ventures, leasing, employment, intellectual property, IT and non-disclosure agreements.
Martin von Haller Grønbæk

Martin von Haller Grønbæk

Martin is a partner in Bird & Bird's Danish International Tech & Comms Group. Widely regarded as one of Denmark's leading IT lawyers, he combines solid legal skills, innovative thought leadership and real strategic IT industry expertise. Martin spent around 20 years advising Danish and international organisations, including major blue-chips, across the full spectrum of IT-related legal and commercial matters. He has gained a reputation as a pioneer in all legal aspects of online technology solutions (ecommerce, internet and web services), cyber and IT security, open source and open data, and other open licence forms such as Creative Commons.
Pauline Vos

Pauline Vos

Pauline is a partner and heads the Corporate Law practice group of Bird & Bird in the Netherlands. She has broad experience in (national and cross-border) mergers & acquisitions and private equity transactions, with a particular focus on the Communications, Media and Life Sciences sectors. With particular experience in cross-border M&A transactions, Pauline has acted on behalf of national and international clients on numerous multi-jurisdiction share and asset transactions. Pauline also advises clients on a broad range of general corporate matters and is also regularly involved in private equity deals, advising investors as well as target companies.
Alexandre Vuchot

Alexandre Vuchot

Alexandre’s breadth of experience enables him to provide his clients with strategic commercial solutions. Alexandre is a partner in our International Commercial Group, based in Paris. With both French and English postgraduate qualifications in commercial and corporate law, Alexandre has extensive experience of transactional matters. He is able to offer comprehensive advice on all aspects of general business law including supply and manufacturing agreements; standard terms and conditions of supply and purchase; sales; joint ventures; co-operation and collaboration agreements; strategic partnerships; and procurement and outsourcing, particularly in the telecoms, media, IT, internet and ecommerce sectors. His practice also includes advertising, marketing, sales promotion and sponsoring matters and he specialises in broadcasting and media regulation. In addition, Alexandre advises and acts on real estate matters for institutional investors, in relation to acquisition of buildings, as well as the preparation of leases and provide assistance for negotiating, renegotiating or terminating commercial leases. He has significant experience in drafting and negotiating property development agreements, agreements for delegation or assistance in project management, or general construction contracts. Complementing his commercial expertise, Alexandre leads our initiatives to support entrepreneurs in the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) sector, using this experience to assist our clients in the implementation of their CSR initiatives.
Sophie Wang

Sophie Wang

I am a Senior Associate in Bird & Bird's employment team, based in Shanghai. I have over 10 years of experience handling the full range of employment matters. This includes advising on the establishment and implementation of company policies, recruitment and dismissal, redundancies, compensation and benefits, labour dispatch, cross-border employment and secondment, global mobility and immigration, negotiation of employment contracts and separation agreements, compliance investigations, employee transfer in M&As and restructurings, as well as employment due diligence projects. I have advised a large number of international companies across a range of industry sectors, including manufacturing, technology, automotive, optical, furniture, medical device, financial services, entertainment, retail and wholesale, and hospitality, on various employment cases. Prior to joining Bird & Bird, I worked in the employment team of another international law firm for seven years and before that I had been working as the in-house legal counsel for a Global 500 MNC. The combination of professional experience as an external lawyer and in-house counsel allows me to better understand clients' legal needs, providing practical legal solutions and advice which add value to their businesses.
Coral Yáñez

Coral Yáñez

Coral Yáñez is the Head of Bird & Bird's Iberian Region and Managing Partner of Bird & Bird's Madrid office, where she leads the the Regulatory & Administrative team. She has more than 25 years of full lifecycle regulatory experience on renewable projects (PV, wind, biomass and thermosolar administrative authorisations, due diligences, grid connection and access permits, etc.), and representing energy companies before the relevant national, regional and municipal public authorities. She is also an expert litigator who has handled and led key judicial reviews before the Spanish Courts of Justice on Energy & Utilities related matters (challenging wind farms tenders, electricity blackouts, feed-in tariff regime for solar PV plants, tariffs settlements for biomass plants, grid access disputes, sanctions, among many others).
Katarina Åhlberg

Katarina Åhlberg

Katarina is the head of the Employment Group in Stockholm. She is also co-head of the International Employee Incentives and Benefits Group. Katarina has been involved in many extensive mergers and acquisitions transactions, nationally and internationally and has longstanding experience in providing corporate employment advice mainly to clients active in the Financial Services, Information Technology (IT), Media, Life Sciences and Food and Beverage Sectors. Advice to clients encompasses the full range of human resources (HR) services; Katarina is a trusted advisor on management contracts, incentives and benefit programmes, pension and insurance, collective employment issues, restrictive covenants, trade secrets and other loyalty issues. Advising international corporations with mobile workforces, she has further developed a practice where all aspects of business migration are managed in an efficient way. Katarina is an experienced litigator within the employment and benefits field, advising clients in court disputes as well as arbitration. In the field of work environment, Katarina advises on the full range of workplace safety issues and how to manage them effectively, including developing appropriate policies and procedures. This includes advice on corporations’ liability to prevent health hazards in the work place as well as managing disputes arising from workplace injuries and accidents.