Our team of about 60 lawyers specialise in the following areas:

• Competition/antitrust. We have assisted our clients in most of the recent prominent merger clearance matters,  when necessary through phase II and in the European  Courts.  We defend clients in cartel investigations and provide compliance advice.  We have an unmatched record in abuse of dominance cases.
• M&A and equity capital markets. We assist clients in private and public M&A, whether leveraged or not, and have vast experience with cross border transactions. We advise underwriters and issuers with all forms of equity and equity linked capital market transactions.
• Finance. Lenders and borrowers rely on us when setting up credit transactions.  We are very active in project finance and PPPs, in structured finance, and in the debt capital markets.  We offer a strong financial regulatory expertise and assistance to asset managers and financial service providers.
• Real estate.  We have assisted property investors and developers in many of the most significant transactions and projects over the last few years in the three regions of Belgium – Brussels, Flanders and Wallonia.  Our transactional experience is supported by a strong environmental and planning law expertise.
• Tax.  The focus of our tax practice is mainly on real estate investments and optimisation, corporate transactions and financial products.  We help in tax planning, in seeking tax rulings, and in defending against claims from the authorities.
• Litigation.  Our litigators fight and negotiate for plaintiffs and defendants in our niche areas: they have a broad scope of experience in finance, banking, corporate and general commercial litigation (e.g. alleged liability of financial institutions, M&A deals or joint ventures gone sour, failed real estate transactions, distributorship agreements, etc). They also have a specific expertise in white collar matters and in assisting European companies facing class action suits in the US.

The clients of the office include top local organisations – private or governmental – as well as international companies.  We offer them local expertise and connections together with the best international standards of service and the know-how of the entire firm.

We are committed to offering our clients the best legal advice by having a deep understanding of their industry, their company and the unique commercial drivers that affect them.  This commercial attitude has resulted in the formation of communities of Clifford Chance partners, lawyers and industry analysts with a detailed, specialist understanding of specific sectors from a business standpoint as well as a legal and regulatory one.  By working together across offices and legal areas, and through meeting regularly as a team, the sector teams share knowledge and information that benefit the clients we serve.  This helps us respond quickly to changes in the legal and regulatory environment, manage risk and achieve business success.  The Brussels office has a deep involvement, in particular, in the IT, energy and healthcare sectors.

Our strategy and achievements have been recognised by many awards: we were appointed "Belgian law firm of the year" by the International Financial Law Review in 2004, 2005, 2007 and again in 2009, and were selected as "Banking and Finance law firm of the year" at the Belgian legal awards in 2006 and 2007 and as "Regulatory law firm of the year" in 2010.  Our tax team was also appointed "Tax law firm of the year 2009 and 2010" at the Belgian legal awards.  Clifford Chance Brussels is consistently ranked among the leading law firms in the market in all directories.  This is a short selection of what independent market commentators say about us:

Clients state that the practice at Clifford Chance delivers ‘an outstanding level of service’ and boasts ‘partners and associates who are able to find the perfect balance between the strict interpretation of the law and the commercial aspects of a transaction’. Legal 500 2010

“Never change a winning team,” say observers of this major international player. Peers concede that this is “far and away one of the leading firms,” while clients prize the “great service and excellent quality of work” here, assets which manifest themselves in the practice’s “efficiency, technical skills, international connections and excellent knowledge of the Belgian legal system.” Chambers Global 2010

This compact team “excels in complex transactions – it provides superb advice and knows the Commission and how it works extremely well, which is a real bonus especially for difficult competition issues.” With an extensive European network and a strong Brussels team, the firm advises domestic and international clients on high-profile competition matters and has particular expertise in the IT, communications and pharmaceutical sectors. Chambers Global 2010