DEPARTMENT PROFILE

Eubelius

Competition/European Law

3 ranked lawyers

Band 2

Belgium

Europe 2022 View ranking table

chambers review

department information

Ranked Lawyers

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What the team is known for

Eubelius is an esteemed Belgian law firm with a varied practice across merger control, Belgian Competition Authority behavioural investigations and state aid matters. It acts on appeals against BCA findings of cartels. The team advises on competition compliance mandates, including within the context of the roll-out of selective distribution networks or the potential competition law issues arising for joint ventures created among competitors in the financial services sector. It represents domestic clients in state aid matters concerning the Belgian excess profit ruling. The firm also acts for state bodies on the notification of new state aid measures.

Strengths

"The firm is of a size where I have direct interaction with partners and can have very specific discussions about things we are doing," states one interviewee, adding: "The lawyers are pragmatic, direct and client-oriented."

"That responsiveness and accessibility of the senior partners is great," says another client, going on to note: "The firm's advice is absolutely reliable and comes from the highest legal or academic standards. Whatever they produce, there is as much law in there as you could want without it being overbearing."

Work highlights

Assisted four Belgian banks with competition law questions relating to their creation of the Batopin country-wide ATM network.

Notable practitioners

Hans Gilliams is often held out as one of the best lawyers in Belgium to handle matters that involve interaction with the BCA. "He listens carefully to what his client is trying to achieve, and he is creative in bringing solutions so that the client gets what they want," says one source. "He is fantastic at explaining things in simple terms," says another interviewee, adding: "He knows how our management thinks and helps in distilling complex matters down to half a page, using their terminology and making a good estimate of their attention span." Gilliams also acts on high-profile state aid matters, including work for beneficiaries on the appeal of EU findings of illegal state aid.

Jan Bocken handles domestic BCA behavioural investigations and merger filings as part of his broader competition law practice. He also advises on the design of competition compliance programmes. Clients praise his "great knowledge of competition law" and his "business-oriented analysis."

Department Information

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Overview

Businesses are increasingly confronted with the complexity of the competition rules. Eubelius attorneys have developed vast expertise in counselling clients in matters ranging from cartels and abuse of dominance to merger clearance and State aid. We have in-depth knowledge of both the European and the Belgian competition environment and regulations, in an advisory context and with regard to litigation. We represent both private and government-controlled businesses. We have particular expertise in regulated sectors.

We also have long-standing working relationships with a multitude of foreign competition specialists, enabling us to offer advice not only in a Belgian and a global European context, but also in a cross-border context that is not governed only by the regulations applicable to the European Economic Area.

How can we help you?

Competition litigation
Compliance and audit services
Implementation of distribution systems and other forms of cooperation agreements
Investigations by competition authorities
Merger clearance
State aid matters