Formed by the political and economic union of three neighbouring states in Western Europe: Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, the Benelux region is a strong economic force, integrated by a customs union formed in 1944 and solidified in 1958 with the signing of the Treaty of the Benelux Economic Union. Benelux has since benefitted from becoming the first completely free international labour market as well as facilitating free movement of capital and services – qualities that have broadened and deepened economic cooperation. With 28 million inhabitants and occupying a significant geographical scope, today Benelux generates approximately 8% of Europe’s total GDP.
With the new Benelux Treaty signed in June 2008, the focus of this cooperation has shifted to the three key themes of internal market and economic union, sustainable development and justice and home affairs. These areas are substantively assisted by the Benelux in-house legal community, which works in tandem with business colleagues and other stakeholders to ensure regulatory and legal processes are followed through ethically, sustainably, and in alignment with strategic goals.
General counsel in the region are also noticeably exhibiting a shared interest in building and developing the future generation of young in-house lawyers, providing and encouraging dynamic training opportunities and building diverse and highly-talented teams. Such initiatives and the plethora of corporate legal talent across the three countries mean the region is in good stead regarding its immediate and more long-term future.
In this inaugural GC Powerlist: Benelux we are pleased to highlight some of the region’s leading corporate counsel. To put together the list, we canvassed opinions from both law firms’ partners and in-house counsel in Benelux. We identified lawyers who are not only technically gifted and highly trained, but have also utilised their legal knowledge strategically alongside keen business insight to make a positive impact towards their organisation’s success.
Sara Mageit
Senior research analyst, GC Powerlist series