Interview with: Gerald Van Walle, Managing Partner

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KPMG Law in Belgium

Gerald Van Walle, Managing Partner at KPMG Law, explains what sets KPMG Law apart from its competitors and what the future holds for the law firm.

What do you see as the main points that differentiate KPMG Law from your competitors?

What differentiates KPMG Law from its competitors is that we work – side-by-side with our clients – with passion and purpose, integrating innovative legal methods and deep sector and industry expertise to deliver real results. With a hands-on approach, we offer legal advice tailored to our clients’ needs.

Another point that sets us apart is that KPMG Law is people focused and we radiate that towards the market. We have a strong belief that our people make the difference. Our clients appreciate that and, as a result, trust us with their most complex legal challenges both at a local and global level.

Which practices do you see growing in the next 12 months? What are the drivers behind that?

I believe that all our practices will grow over the next 12 months given our strong team, our recent name change to KPMG Law, as well as our steady growth over the past years. This growth will, amongst others, be driven by changes. Particularly, changes in legislation, such as the upcoming new civil code or the new code on real estate rights.

What’s the main change you’ve made in the firm that will benefit clients?

Actually, in February 2021, our name changed from K law to KPMG Law and we are now a member firm of the KPMG global organization of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Limited. This means we’re part of the KPMG Global Legal Services network of more than 2700 lawyers operating in 80 jurisdictions.

This name change further strengthened our ability to provide complete multidisciplinary solutions by combining legal expertise with access to insight, technology-enabled solutions and knowledge from across the KPMG network.

Businesses are operating in an increasingly complex, global and fast-moving legal environment. The world is changing, ever more so under the COVID-19 pandemic, and so is what businesses need from their legal adviser. By becoming KPMG Law, we are now even better equipped to help clients manage these challenges.

Is technology changing the way you interact with your clients, and the services you can provide them?

Definitely! We are constantly focused on acquiring the latest innovations and investing in new technology. These investments include both technology platforms and internal operating systems and software in order to enhance and upgrade our client service experience and also to fundamentally improve how we operate. Our investments allow us to stay up-to-speed with the high velocity of change impacting our profession, and also to meet a clear client demand.

Can you give us a practical example of how you have helped a client to add value to their business?

Often, we add value by providing our clients with a multidisciplinary solution. For example, not only can we tackle the legal and tax issues, but at the same time, we consider the operational or financial consequences of the transaction or restructuring. From a purely legal perspective, our lawyers have deep technical expertise as well as relevant sector knowledge.

Are clients looking for stability and strategic direction from their law firms – where do you see the firm in three years’ time?

I strongly believe that our clients want us to be a stable and technology focused law firm that provides them, through highly experienced and acclaimed lawyers, with a client centric approach and with solutions to their problems that work. As we are part of a global multidisciplinary network, our people have a unique perspective that goes beyond simply considering the legal ramifications of our clients’ issues. We have a broader business outlook that supports our clients by considering their strategic questions and the wider business implications of our recommendations. In three years’ time, I believe that KPMG Law will still be considered one of the best and larger law firms in the country.