Ranked in 2 Practice Areas
1

Band 1

Corporate/M&A

Belgium

15 Years Ranked

4

Band 4

Capital Markets

Belgium

1 Years Ranked

Ranked in Guides

About

Provided by Deborah Janssens

Europe

Practice Areas

Deborah is a corporate partner with over 20 years of experience advising Belgian and international corporate clients, private equity funds and financial institutions. She specialises in cross-border and domestic M&A, finance and capital markets transactions, and provides the full spectrum of corporate and financial law advice, including market abuse, corporate governance and company law.

Career

Deborah is a partner since 2014.

Professional Memberships

Member of the Brussels and New York bar and member of the Supervisory Board of the FSMA between 2015 and 2021.

Personal

Deborah studied law at the universities of Leuven, Namur and Heidelberg, and obtained an LL.M from the New York University School of Law. She is a part time lecturer in corporate law at the University of Leuven.

Languages Spoken

She speaks English, Dutch, French and German.

Industry Sector Expertise

Deborah works across a variety of sectors, including regulated industries, such as telecom, energy, transportation, financial services and healthcare. She is global co-head of Freshfields’ Industrials sector group, which is responsible for clients in the chemicals, manufacturing, packaging, automotive, defense and other industries. In addition, as a member of the Tech, Media and Telecom (TMT) sector group at Freshfields, she also handles projects requiring tech expertise in a digital transformation context for TMT and industrial clients.

Awards

2025 Client Choice Award (M&A and Governance)

Lexology

2025

Chambers Review

Provided by Chambers

Chambers European Guide

Corporate/M&A - Belgium

1
Band 1
Individual Editorial

Deborah Janssens has an impressively broad M&A practice, advising market-leading Belgian clients, as well as international private equity houses, on sales and acquisitions in Belgium. She is also highly experienced in restructuring and joint venture matters.


Capital Markets - Belgium

4
Band 4
Individual Editorial

Deborah Janssens draws on her corporate law expertise to assist clients with ECM transactions in Belgium. She equally advises on note and bond issuances, as well as the updating of EMTN programmes.

Strengths

Provided by Chambers

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