Chambers Review
Provided by Chambers
Employment - Belgium
What the Team is Known For
Claeys & Engels is a market-leading employment law boutique boasting a highly regarded team spread over six offices across Belgium. The law firm has particular experience handling all aspects of large collective dismissals and restructuring processes, including representing companies in consultations with trade unions, the transfer of employees to other countries and the negotiation of social plans, voluntary separation plans and collective bargaining agreements. Team members also have notable experience handling high-profile discrimination disputes. Claeys & Engels additionally advises clients on compliance with Belgian legislation regarding working conditions and remuneration.
Strengths
Claeys & Engels offers a good spread of specialist knowledge on all kinds of employment law topics, in combination with a healthy, service-minded position towards clients' needs.
Claeys & Engels offers high-quality expertise and good lawyers with common sense and pragmatism. The team understands clients' needs and is solution oriented.
Claeys & Engels really understands precisely all the details and aspects of a case, combining theoretical knowledge with practical insight. The team is a very credible, solution-oriented partner.
The strength of Claeys & Engels is the clarity and pragmatism of its advice.
We appreciate Claeys & Engels' expertise, responsiveness and open and structured communication. It gives the pros and cons of possible solutions, which helps in the decision-making process.
Notable practitioners
Chris Engels is always spot on, super reactive and provides pragmatic assessments that take all external elements into account.
Chris Engels is a highly technical and extremely pragmatic expert.
Sophie Maes is a person I fully trust.
Sophie Maes is a real international player.
Sophie Maes is an excellent lawyer who is nice to work with.
Bart Vanschoebeke listens with interest to the business context and offers a high level of legal knowledge and rich experience.
Bart Vanschoebeke is very skilled and has an eye on solutions.
Managing partner Olivier Wouters is a well-known employment lawyer who offers particular expertise in collective dismissals and corporate restructurings.
Olivier Wouters provides great support.