We are pleased to announce that our firm has once again achieved excellent rankings in the 2024 edition of Legal 500 EMEA, one of the world's leading legal directories.
In the newly published legal guide, Liedekerke is ranked in no less than 14 practice areas, maintaining our stellar positions in the Energy, Environment, Retail and Real Estate & Construction practice areas. The rankings also celebrate key individuals in the firm, with a total of 42 recognised in the Leading Individuals, Hall of Fame Individuals, Next Generation Partners, Rising Stars and Key Lawyers lists.
Recognised practice areas:
Environment - Tier 1
'I enjoy working with Liedekerke Environment team. They have a high level of expertise, are pragmatic, solution oriented and efficient.’
‘I’ve worked with François Tulkens. I value his expertise, his ability to understand one’s needs and to come up with creative and pragmatic solutions as well as his availability.’
‘Team members I’ve worked with are reliable, calm and confident, experienced lawyers.’
‘In my personal experience, Dominique Devos has in-depth knowledge of environmental law matters (Flemish Region) and more specifically of soil sanitation. Clients and even parties on the other side of the table strongly rely on that knowhow.’
‘The Liedekerke team is well equipped with a large team, working on both French and Dutch language cases. They provided us with a pragmatic advice and thorough assistance in legal procedures. ’
‘Dominique Devos (environment – Flemish region): Dominique has a long experience in environmental law matters, helping us mostly in environmental permitting and environmental compliance questions. He provides a clear advice, alerting us for possible legal risks but providing pragmatic solutions to go forward. We also appreciate him being readily available, especially with deadlines sometimes being short.’
‘François Tulkens (environment – Walloon region): As with Dominique, François too has a broad experience in environmental law matters. He has assisted us in complex permitting procedures as well as with more specific matters of environmental law. We deeply appreciate his pragmatic approach, providing to the point advice over an unnecessary theoretical discourse. He is one of the references in Walloon/Brussels environmental law, and for good reason.’
‘Filip De Preter (urban planning- Flemish region): Filip has assisted us in a legal procedure. He appreciated his proactive approach in that procedure and in the permit matters associated with that procedure. He has a deep understanding of Flemish urban planning law and his experience in other cases helped us build a strong defense and ultimately win a tricky case. ’
Energy - Tier 1
Testimonials:
‘Damien Verhoeven is a very sharp mind in providing advice and is outstanding in providing the right message in court pleadings. Lola Malluquin is an excellent and promising lawyer, with a real understanding of the client’s business and an ability to provide strong and efficient advice in very technical matters.’
Retail - Tier 1
Testimonials:
‘The team acts as a business partner, meaning that it understands the business and focuses on a pragmatic approach, finding easy to implement solutions to sometimes complex questions.’
‘Etienne Kairis knows how to approach difficult negotiations with a balance between precise knowledge of the case and a pragmatic solution-oriented mindset.’
‘Great multidisciplinary real estate team.’
Real Estate and Construction - Tier 1
Testimonials:
‘I work a lot with Yves Delacroix with whom I have a deep trust. He knows my exigence and is able to protect my interests during deal negociations.’
‘Liedekerke’s real estate and construction team is highly complementary, available and business-focused. It can quickly identify its clients’ needs and provide them with pragmatic, effective advice.’
‘Each member of the real estate team is available, highly professional, efficient and business-oriented. Each of them knows how to anticipate our expectations and needs.’
‘Liedekerke is a one-stop shop for all real estate related issues and has some of Belgium’s finest lawyers in the matter. Especially the combination of real estate matters/tax/public procurement is on point and at an exceptionally high level. Communication and coordination between departments is excellent, which is a strong point when dealing with complex and multi-layered issues. Advice is legally sound, but more importantly, every advice is accompanied with a pragmatic translation so that it is not merely an academic reflexion but also offers a practical solution. The team of Liedekerke is very approachable, responsive and offers swift advice and if needed and asked, is able to assist clients on short notice. Lastly, Liedekerke has taken several initiatives to promote gender balance and well being at work. ’
‘Yves Delacroix is an extraordinarily gifted law practitioner and belongs to the absolute top tier real estate lawyers in Belgium. What makes him stand out, is that he has the rare capability to combine his legal knowledge with a pragmatic approach and an understanding of of his client, whereby the client receives an advice that is legally well founded, practical and valuable to his business. Additionally, he is perfectly trilingual (French, Dutch, English), immensely friendly, thoroughly dependable and extremely efficient. Vincent Ost is an authority when it comes to public procurement.’
‘Yves makes detailed analysis of the matter and guides his client through this complex and fast evolving matter by accompanying his advice with clear executive summaries. His sense of humour and wittiness make that it is always a pleasant experience to work with. Pierre Desenfans is a very knowledgeable real estate tax specialist with a no nonsense and hands on approach. He is very responsive and to the point. Not only does he know the ins and outs of the tax regulations, he maintains contacts with tax stakeholders so that he remains up to date of the possible changes and policy that is being followed. ’
‘The Real Estate team is characterised by a very good legal knowledge, enabling them to work quickly and provide support in making the right choices. The inter-company relations between the different departments are very smooth, which is an important added value in complex files with different legal facets. Last but not least: in billing, we feel we got value for our money. ’
‘Yves Delacroix has an engaging personality and quickly manages to gain your trust as a client. He handles difficult legal cases with a fresh perspective and the necessary creativity (based on his excellent legal knowledge and years of experience) without ever losing sight of his client’s commercial interests. He is a strong communicator and negotiator. Yves is an easy point of contact and follows all of his cases closely. He is the perfect “ambassador” for the Liedekerke Real Estate Department. ’
Commercial, Corporate and M&A - Tier 2
Testimonials:
‘The M&A team led by Damien Conem is very client-driven and pragmatic. The team is very efficient while providing very to-the-point and sharp advice.’
‘Hands-on team: flexible, deal-oriented, focused and skilled.’
‘Damien Conem provides very good advice. Damien has the ability to come up with pragmatic solutions which make the deal work and go further. He thinks out of the box. ’
‘My main contact is Christel Van den Eynden. Very nice person, very responsive and professional. It is always a pleasure working with her.’
‘Liedekerke has all the necessary M&A skills and has enabled us to cover all the legal, tax and structuring aspects required to complete our investments successfully and securely.’
‘Jacques Meunier is a highly competent and experienced lawyer perfectly suited to M&A operations and negotiations in complicated contexts.’
‘Not only a high standard in professional skills but also extremely good in partnering with the client. Furthermore, their professional network and negotiation skills are outstanding. The team is a good combination of different personalities, with Christel van den Eynden in particular sticking out.’
‘Professional skills combined with really understanding the client and the legal Belgium network. ’
Competition; Belgian Law - Tier 2
'Available, very hands-on.’
‘I appreciate their deep expertise in Belgian competition law.’
‘Vincent Mussche has exceptional understanding/expertise in competition law. Strong dedication to clients, making himself available at short notice.’
Dispute Resolution - Tier 2
Testimonials:
‘Excellent lawyers, who will go to the very end to defend their client’s interests.’
‘Always available. Excellent lawyers, working as a team.’
‘Olivier Vanden Berghe is the highly respected leader of the team. Jonas Vansevenant is also a good litigator.’
‘Great quality commercial and civil litigation team, advising their clients wisely so as to achieve the best possible outcome.’
‘Arnaud Nuyts is a star.’
‘There is a good coherence between the team and any team member is able to provide a relevant update at any point in time. They balance their innate legal knowledge with a quick learning of industry/sector knowledge of the client.’
‘Arnaud Nuyts is definitely one of the most hands-on senior partners and head of practice lawyers that I have worked with. An absolutely exceptional arbitration lawyer.’
Employment - Tier 2
Testimonials:
‘They are easy to work with, they have a very good client base, they know their clients and pay attention to their needs.’
‘A significant and excellent employment practice with a number of high-profile partners.’
‘The Liedekerke employment team are very knowledgeable, responsive and take a practical, commercial view to all matters. In terms of how they frame and provide advice, they operate in the role of a true business partner and always try to understand and articulate the commercial implications and outcomes of any particular scenario. As a general counsel, this approach is extremely helpful in managing issues and articulating potential legal/commercial risks to our business.’
‘Vincent Busschaert and Siemen Buttiëns are easy to deal with, experienced and have a very good all-round knowledge of the legal implications of any scenario and how that is likely to play out in a commercial context. Understanding the potential commercial implications for your client and being able to articulate that concisely and effectively is a key differentiator.’
‘Liedekerke has a strong team. Good variation of levels. Good quality and pragmatic. Work very easy internationally and understand international dynamics.’
‘Paul Geerebaert is a down to earth and top-notch attorney.’
‘The Liedekerke labour law advisers offer deep advice and understand the context and our needs as an organisation. We observe a very professional and customised approach.’
‘I appreciate every contact I have with the team of Liedekerke. They are all top professionals, very aware about new laws and rules that may apply to our industry. I do appreciate both verbal and written communication. I think that what makes the difference is that we have built a trustful and interpersonal relation where we can easily understand and express our issues and need for advice.’
EU Regulatory: Financial Services - Tier 2
Testimonials:
‘Very good responsiveness. Concise and practical advice. Access to the ‘regulatory dashboard’ on a daily basis is a great tool, allowing us to save time while remaining aware of constantly growing legal developments.’
‘Working with Tom Van Dyck is a pleasure, he is very responsive, with very good command of complex regulations, very fluent and agreeable communication.’
Fraud and White-collar Crime - Tier 2
Insolvency and Restructuring - Tier 2
Testimonials:
‘Very practical and hands-on approach. To the point advice and very responsive. A real help for companies facing difficulties.’
‘Roel Fransis is exceptional and extremely intelligent. With his knowledge and experience, you feel very comfortable, and adverse parties and courts really listen to him. He has the quality to convince people easily based on real knowledge.’
Intellectual Property - Tier 2
Testimonials:
‘Liedekerke are experts in their field, and are responsive and pragmatic.’
‘We have worked with Liedekerke for various counselling matters and have always been pleased with the clear and concise advice we got. They know the law and the practice and more importantly, they have a very good way with communication.’
‘We have worked with Sarah Van Den Brande. She is a brilliant lawyer with exceptional communication skills. She responds very quickly and is very result-oriented. ’
‘The team is very knowledgeable when it comes to IP, also when a deep dive is required.’
‘Etienne Kairis is very pleasant to work with; Dorien Taeymans has excellent legal skills; Sarah Van Den Brande is approachable and hands-on.’
‘The Liederkerke team is young, highly educated and extremely friendly. It’s fantastic how they manage to combine tradition and modernity.’
‘I have been working with Sara Van Den Brande and with Bernard Vanbrabant for years. Two absolute top professionals with outstanding academic merits. They are not only my preferred contact for IP matters in Belgium. I also call on them from time to time to structure Pan-European projects. I couldn’t imagine more pleasant contacts for the Benelux.’
Banking, Finance and Capital Markets - Tier 3
Testimonials:
‘The team is ambitious and versatile. They are strong in both banking & finance (team headed by Freya Mareels) and capital markets (team headed by Wim Dedecker). They have a proactive diversity policy.’
‘I mostly work together with Wim Dedecker, who stands out in responsiveness, is pleasant to work with and has a pragmatic approach.’
‘Team dedicated, available, hands-on, giving very useful & practical advices ’
‘They raise concerns/issues proactively, provide useful advice and are well deal-oriented.’
‘Liedekerke is a very good Belgian firm with outstanding expertise.’
‘Wim Dedecker masters both ECM & DCM, which is somewhat unique on the Belgian market. He has a very strong market and technical knowledge. He is able to work both in French & Dutch, which is also key on the Belgian market.’
‘The team is very reactive and assisted us with pragmatic advice. ’
Transport - Tier 3
Tax - Tier 3
Testimonials:
‘Knowledge of the sector and its various tax challenges at each level.’
‘Pierre Desenfans is hands-on and available.’
‘Lievin de Wulff is very experienced and highly skilled. My go-to person in Belgium.’
‘The team is technically skilled, very practical and quick in replies. Besides that, it is also fun working with them.’
‘Lievin de Wulf is a great guy. Understands the business of the clients.’
Jasper Bossuyt is technically skilled and nice to work with.’
Hall of Fame
Aimery de Schoutheete
Vincent Busschaert
Yves Delacroix
Christel Van den Eynden
Leading Individuals
Alexandre Emond
Arnaud Nuyts
Damien Conem
Damien Verhoeven
Dominique Devos
François Tulkens
Magda Vandebotermet
Paul Geerebaert
Stefaan Raes
Olivier Vanden Berghe
Tom Van Dyck
Roel Fransis
Freya Mareels
Next Generation Partners
Filip De Preter
Wim Dedecker
Vincent Mussche
Sarah van den Brande
Rising Stars
Céline Tallier
Jean Pierre Kesteloot
Thomas Vanthournout
Margot Vandebeek
Key Lawyers
Filip De Preter
Bert Van Herreweghe
François Tulkens
Thibaut Hollanders
Lola Malluquin
Jonas Van Orshoven
Sarah van den Brande
Vincent Busschaert
Alexandre Emond
Maurits Arnauw
Wim Dedecker
Aimery De Schoutheete
Bruno Hardy
Jonas Vansevenant
Jasper Bossuyt
Jacques Meunier
Céline Tallier
Vincent Mussche
Olivier Vanden Berghe
Leen Holvoet
Loic Timmermans
Bruno Aguirre
Siemen Buttiëns
Louise Verstraete
Margot Vandebeek
Myrtle Gevers
Dorien Taeymans
Christel Van den Eynden
Bernard Vanbrabant
Thomas Vanthournout
Collectively, these rankings reflect the depth and breadth of our firm’s expertise across a wide range of practice areas.
We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to our clients for their valuable feedback and trust, and congratulate all ranked practice groups and lawyers