Our team of over 50 lawyers specialise in the following areas:

Competition/antitrust
We assist our clients 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.

Corporate/M&A
We assist clients in private and public M&A, whether leveraged or not, and have vast experience with cross-border transactions. Our corporate practice is supported by our specialists in all aspects of employment, commercial, IP, environment, administrative law and regulatory matters.

Banking, finance and capital markets
Lenders and borrowers rely on us when setting up credit transactions. We are 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. We also advise underwriters and issuers with all forms of equity and equity linked capital market transactions.

Real estate
We assist property investors and developers on prominent transactions and projects 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 corporate transactions, real estate investments and optimisation, 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 were recognised by many awards: we were appointed "Belgian law firm of the year" by the International Financial Law Review in 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009 and again in 2011, 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 and our real estate team received the "Real Estate and Construction Law Firm of the Year 2011"  award.  Clifford Chance Brussels is also 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
"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
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 [...]

Chambers Global

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