CMS EU Law Office > Brussels, Belgium > Firm Profile

‘Personal client contact and practical approach.’

‘Tom de Cordier and Deven Dobbelaere provide practical and down-to-earth advice and try to think broader than the privacy practice.’

‘Dedicated, flexible, easy to connect with.’

‘CMS’s broad network together with deep expertise covers all over Europe and CIS. This wide coverage makes this firm different from the others. Their work product is always value for money.’

‘Tom De Cordier is a very impressive partner who has very deep knowledge in the areas of data protection and telecommunication in the EU and Belgium.’

‘CMS has deep knowledge about the world of DNS and internet and can provide valuable advise in situations where a conflict already exists as well as in situations where the client can be advised to adopt a strategy to protect his rights and to prevent potential conflicts.’

‘The people we work with at CMS understand our needs very well and are available to us on short notice. We also appreciate that several key people within CMS have different skill sets, e.g. advice in litigation vs. advice on privacy related matters’.

‘CMS has a broad network together with deep expertise covers all over Europe and CIS. This wide coverage makes this firm different from the others. Their work product is always value for money.’

‘Tom De Cordier is a very impressive partner who has very deep knowledge in the areas of data protection and telecommunication in the EU and Belgium.’

‘A dedicated team of experts with a real business and creative approach, a perfect understanding of the context and constraints of their clients. A real cooperative work to define the best legal strategy.’

‘Dirk Van Liedekerke is a brilliant competition law expert, very responsive and solution oriented. Moreover his expertise and his profound understanding of the issues at stake, both from a legal and an economic point of view, are invaluable for his clients. His calm and educational way of presenting clearly any complex matter is a real asset for a company going through a crisis period.’

‘CMS Brussels has extensive knowledge in state aid law applicable to enterprise support in the Walloon Region.’

‘The partners have a high level of knowledge and are quick to adapt to new instructions and situations. The senior associates are also of a high level.’

‘Good knowledge, availability and interactions with clients.’

‘Elke Duden is tremendous. She provides practical advice that considers the needs of the client. She is what you need in an external adviser: someone who is able to help identify and spot the issues and then help present them to the client so they can make an assessment.’

‘Reliable and competent team.’

‘Deep knowledge and understanding of financial services regulation’

‘They are a very collaborative firm. If a team does not have the right legal competence, they directly re-direct the competent associate/partner. They are very available, always up to answer any question in a very tight timeframe (which happens quite often in our industry). They have a good knowledge of our industry and very practical.’

‘Florence Van Damme, commercial lawyer: she is always available, very clear in our legal opinion, both written and orally. She has a very clear understanding of our business and takes the lead when needed.’

‘The team is strong.’

‘The team is well-structured, with no missing links.’

‘Deep sectorial knowledge, very solution-oriented, and a very responsive team.’

‘Professional, diligent, and objective. The team is able to clearly articulate my options and provide considered views to guide me through complex international matters. They have also delivered an invaluable service in helping me to understand procedural matters in foreign jurisdictions.’

‘The team are knowledgeable, pragmatic and responsive. The service they provide is also good value for money. They keep their billing transparent and reasonable.’

‘They have a large network of insurance contacts, both internationally within the CMS network and within the insurance industry. Additionally, they have all the necessary in-house knowledge to advise on various corporate topics.’

‘Great availability of the partners, and a low threshold to get in contact with the senior partners.’

‘The practice always aims to provide support in problem-solving through negotiations, instead of litigating cases.’

‘Good knowledge of insurance law in Belgium. When asked to localise UK wording, they know exactly which part is UK law, they know what is compulsory in Belgium and needs to be added, and they know local practices very well. And even in busy times, they make time for the person behind the request.’

‘We’ve worked with Virginie Frémat and Julie De Pauw recently. We’ve specifically appreciated their efforts in clarifying our company’s insurance policies and clearly translating this into business coverage, in a way our own insurance broker was unable or unwilling to do.’

‘Virginie Frémat, Julie De Pauw, and Tom De Cordier all have good work skills, get the work done (with no excuses), and are flexible in their way of working.’

‘Highly responsive team with the focus to maintain and emphasise the main line of argument in complex litigation matters.’

‘High level of expertise in court proceedings with an international element. Excellent English language support. Reliable assessment of trade mark and competition law issues in an international context. Absolutely reliable deadline management.’

‘Tom Heremans and Lisbeth Depypere are highly competent IP lawyers with a clear view of complex litigation matters.’

‘Total willingness to evaluate legal matters in consideration of the client’s interests. High degree of availability for the development of strategies, both procedural and non-procedural. Professional guidance in court proceedings. Tom Heremans and Lisbeth Depypere stand out.’

‘It is easy to work with CMS and I can always trust them for professional help. It is very personal, but still highly professional always. Exceptional company. I can highly recommend them – and I have many times.’

‘Annabelle Lepièce is a one of a kind person to work with. She is committed to her work and always on top of knowledge and the business. My trust in her is full and if I ever have any special needs in my work, Annabelle is the one I contact. She is the best!’

‘I worked with the team/law firm a first time this year and was pleasantly surprised with the professionalism in an inaugural large deal. The team was always available and helpful with expert advice and despite very tight deadlines (we were convinced it would be almost impossible to obtain, but they did). It is always difficult to adjust to each other’s style in a first time working together, however this was no issue.’

‘The two partners involved in the deal, Benoit Vandervelde and Bruno Duquesne, did well in summarizing main issues without getting lost in details that are not that important for banks. Despite us being new in the deal, they gave the same attention and weight to our concerns as the remaining incumbent lender, which is not evident, and put time pressure on client and his counsel at the correct moments. I had the feeling they did everything they could to represent us well and maximized their attention on the file.’

‘Excellent negotiating skills – Superior knowledge of LMA documentation compared to the borrower’s counsel. Strong involvement of two partners on our deal – Excellent knowledge of Dutch, French and English which was relevant in this case.’

‘I worked several times with Arnaud Van Oekel. Very good balance between nice people and highly professional and available. very good value for price. I would highly recommend.’

‘CMS teams involved the right mix of associates profiles and partners profiles. Partners are highly involved, bringing a high level of expertise in the deals they work in. It leads to a very reassuring approach to the client.’

‘They demonstrate a very high level of expertise. In addition, they are very patient with the client, and pedagogic.’

‘There is a real collaboration in the team, with associates valued and not only there to act as secretaries. It implies a real level of trust from the senior partner and makes the general atmosphere of work a pleasant one, while allowing the client an easy access to the lawyers. They mastered a difficult and stressful 100% Docusign closing with a high number of documents and signatories while facing all possible technical trouble: very well done!!’

‘Stéphane and his team are easy to access, widely available, have a solid expertise on corporate law and are able to propose practical solutions to move forward with the negotiations, even under pressure.’

‘Hands on, pragmatic, looking for solutions for the client.’

‘Excellent knowledge of the law. Always a pleasure to work with Renaud Dupont.’

‘The team is very collaborative and understands our needs for efficiency and pragmatic advice.’

‘What is important for us is the interaction and fluent communication between us. This secures a firm partnership.’

‘The team is very responsive and reactive. We receive accurate and informative answers, with very practical insights into all our questions.’

‘The team are very professional and their advice is always appropriate in each specific context. Their knowledge about insolvency, judicial reorganisation procedures, and shareholder rights is really excellent and working with them was very reassuring.’

‘The firm was extremely responsive and available.’

‘They are clear about the available options in a constructive way, always showing respect for both the law and the people. They understand the ins and outs of the business so that the solution proposed enables moving forward and avoiding staying stuck.’

‘Grégory de Sauvage is very efficient, and conscious of our constraints and practical needs.’

‘Jean-Luc Hagon is an available, sympathetic, and educational lawyer. It’s very nice to work with him.’ 

‘Excellent expertise, pragmatic advice, value for money.’

‘Great professionalism, availability and responsiveness.’

‘The team, notably Olivier Querinjean and Arnout Vaninbroukx, work well together and are skilled in tax legal advice, and are also very diverse. The level of their expertise is excellent. Everything runs smoothly, transparently and easily. Olivier is always available.’ 

‘High level of technical expertise in VAT.’ 

‘Olivier Querinjean is very pragmatic and business-minded, looking for the best results in the most efficient way.’ 

‘Stéphanie Houx is always available for her clients – she gives good advice and is very pragmatic.’ 

‘Dr. Michael Baue: Extremely knowledgeable in European state aid law.’

‘The strength of the CMS team lies in the fact that each individual team member has both a special professional qualification in one facet of EU state aid law (e.g. tax component) and is able to classify the overall case to be considered with its other legal implications as a whole. Thanks to the well-considered team composition that is tailored to each problem area, an optimal result is achieved in terms of both the breadth and depth of the problem.’

‘In addition to excellent professional qualifications, the transparent evaluation of various solution options which were worked out with associated advantages and disadvantages should be emphasized. There was no predetermination of the one and only alternative.’

‘Michael Bauer delved deeply into the case from the customer’s point of view.’