Mr Dirk Van Liedekerke > CMS EU > Brussels, Belgium > Lawyer Profile

‘A great asset for a company confronted with a competition proceeding’, the CMS antitrust, competition, and trade team is co-headed by Annabelle Lepièce and Dirk Van Liedekerke. Lepiece is particularly lauded for her state aid work in the airports and air transport industry, and she is also specialised in foreign subsidies and foreign direct investment control. Van Liedekerke is an ‘exceptional lawyer’ with a notable focus on digital fields and electronic communications regulation. The practice’s work in the pharmaceuticals and railways sectors also stands out.

The ‘consistently reliable’ tech, media, and communications team at CMS delivers ‘exceptional quality’ for its clients, providing advice across the full gamut of IT, data protection, and media work. Emerging technology trends, including Internet of Things-related matters, data spaces, and artificial intelligence all fall within the expertise of the practice, which advises well-known tech clients, based in Belgium and internationally. The practice frequently works with others in the firm, including the employment and public law teams. Dirk Van Liedekerke leads the team alongside Tom De Cordier who ‘fosters a strong culture of professionalism and teamwork’, and has a practice focusing on tech-related IP and data privacy law. ‘Standout attorney’ Deven Dobbelaere is noted.

The practice CMS advises on sports, gaming, and e-sports, particularly in relation to financing, sports rights marketing, and regulatory requirements. The practice works closely with offices of the firm in other jurisdictions, allowing it to handle EU and international media and sports law issues. Tom Heremans leads the practice, with vast expertise spanning copyright, trademark and patent law, along with Dirk Van Liedekerke, who also heads the team. Van Liederkerke’s practice centres on EU and Belgian competition law.

The multidisciplinary fintech team from CMS draws on the firm’s banking and finance, IT & telecom, and digital teams. Its particular strength lies in matters related to cryptocurrencies and blockchain-backed financial services. Benoît Vandervelde is particularly focused on regulatory advice for payment service providers, fintech companies, banks, and insurance companies, including on Belgian market entries. Vandervelde co-heads the team with Dirk Van Liedekerke, who specialises in electronic communications and EU and Belgian competition law, and Tom De Cordier, who brings a focus on data privacy law.