Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance appoints two new partners in Brussels and scoops the "Belgian law firm of the year" and "M&A deal of the year" awards at the prestigious IFLR Europe Awards

Leading international law firm Clifford Chance is delighted to announce the appointment of 24 lawyers to its partnership, including Niek De Pauw and Alexandre Ooms in Brussels.

Niek De Pauw becomes a partner in the Firm's Corporate Practice specialising in domestic and international M&A transactions, general corporate law and equity capital markets. Niek has extensive experience in public and private acquisitions and disposals, restructurings, joint ventures, private equity transactions, IPOs, public offerings and private placements.

Alexandre Ooms becomes a partner in the Firm's Tax Practice specialising in international tax, mergers and acquisitions and finance tax. Alexandre is a recommended tax lawyer in the international legal directories with an extensive experience in real estate transactional work, private equity and restructurings.
Both promotions will take effect from 1 May 2016 and will bring the total number of partners in the Brussels office to 11.

Clifford Chance has today also announced that the Brussels office has won the "Belgian Law Firm of the Year" and the "M&A Deal of the Year" awards at the prestigious IFLR Europe Awards 2016.

The "Belgian Law Firm of the Year" award reflects the recognition of Clifford Chance as a leading international firm in Belgium. Clifford Chance Brussels distinguishes itself as a strong player in matters at the interface of corporate and banking & finance law as well as one of the top performers in the competition law, real estate and tax markets.

"The Clifford Chance lawyers are outstanding individuals who provide fantastic support to their clients; their skill, experience and client focus are without compare." "I have been impressed with the firm's focus on delivering the right advice at the right level of detail."[1]

“The team are practical and to the point, very much on time and going beyond expectations regularly.” […] “They are a very professional team,” says one senior financial client. “They are able to deliver high quality advice in very short deadlines and are pragmatic and solution minded.” [2]

One of the recent highlights for the Brussels office was its role on the AB InBev / SABMiller deal, one of the biggest M&A transactions ever. Newly promoted partners Niek De Pauw and Alexandre Ooms advised the key AB InBev shareholders on the Belgian corporate and tax aspects of the transaction with particular involvement on the deal structuring side.

Clifford Chance won "The M&A Deal of the Year" award for its antitrust work on the acquisition of the power and grid businesses of Alstom by General Electric, including the submission of a remedies package to the European Commission. The team was led by antitrust partner Tony Reeves in Brussels, and comprised counsel Jim Back and associates Katharine Missenden and Pierre Cavaillé.

1 Chambers Europe 2015 – Competition Belgium

2 Finance and Corporate – IFLR1000 2016