Brussels office

Our practice

From our Brussels office, we advise our clients on all aspects of EU law, including competition, state aid and data protection, as well as foreign direct investment regulations.

We assist clients on their dealings with the European Commission and national authorities, and have a strong track record in acting before the EU and national courts. Being in the heart of the European Union, we maintain excellent contacts with policymakers and authorities.

Our response to regulatory investigations is swift and effective. We have teams in different time zones and are able to handle multi-jurisdictional cases (including mergers, cartels, litigation and data protection cases) which span many jurisdictions across the globe.

Our clients and recent work
Our clients include corporates, financial institutions, digital platform and private equity companies from around the world. Our recent work includes advising:

• GrandVision in obtaining merger control clearances worldwide in respect of Essilor/Luxottica’s acquisition of 76.72% of the shares in GrandVision
• Takeaway.com on public bid for all shares in Just Eat
• Inter Ikea Systems in relation to the European Commission’s investigation into alleged state aid
• DAF Trucks in relation to the European Commission’s trucks investigation and coordinating multi-jurisdictional follow-on proceedings across Europe and other countries
• Philips in connection with the European Commission’s investigation into consumer electronics which has resulted in a EUR 20 million settlement with the European Commission
• A major financial institution in a multi-year investigation by the European Commission into PSD2 compliance
• A leading Silicon Valley tech firm in a landmark follow-on class action lawsuit initiated by a US claim vehicle, based on the new regime for class actions under EU privacy law
• A large digital platform on its response to a Request for Information by the European Commission on the intersection of competition and data protection law, regarding a major inquiry into a market-leading digital platform.

Our team
Maikel van Wissen is resident partner of De Brauw Brussels. Maikel and the team in Brussels form an integral part of De Brauw’s Competition, Data and Regulation Practice which numbers more than 40 lawyers. Partners Jolling de Pree, Geert Potjewijd, Bart de Rijke and Helen Gornall, and senior associate Axel Arnbak divide their time between the Amsterdam and the Brussels offices.

The team closely collaborates in our shared office with Slaughter and May, Hengeler Mueller, Bredin Prat, BonelliErede and Uria Menendez. Together with those firms our team consists of more than 40 Brussels-based lawyers, making it one of the largest practices in Brussels. Our competition presence in seven EU Member States consists of approximately 180 lawyers, which also makes us one of the largest European competition practices. Importantly, we cover all of the major European jurisdictions and are also ranked as the best by the legal directories in these jurisdictions.

Careers

All our international trainees start their careers in our Brewery programme in Amsterdam. Internships for LL.M. students are available in both our Brussels and Amsterdam office.

We are always looking for experienced and qualified associates for our growing EU practice, with 3-5 years of relevant working experience. We offer an inspiring and inclusive workplace for associates who want to be at the forefront of global competition, data and regulatory law developments and are eager to further grow professionally. The complexity of the cases in combination with a culture of professional growth and the continuing expansion of our practice creates attractive career opportunities. Practically all of the group’s matters are conducted in English. Knowledge of Dutch is not a requirement for this position, or for subsequent positions at the firm. For more information and the application procedures, please visit our career page: www.careersatdebrauw.com.

If you are interested in joining our team, please send your CV to Mathias Machtens (brussels@debrauw.com) for an informal and confidential meeting with one of the partners or senior associates in Brussels. At this meeting, we will exchange thoughts on what could be a mutually beneficial relationship. After this meeting, you decide if you want to submit a formal application.

In addition to the career opportunities at De Brauw, our European ‘Best Friends‘ offer further opportunities to work in Brussels, as well as elsewhere in or outside Europe.

For more information and the application procedures, please visit the relevant career pages:

• BonelliErede– how to apply
• Bredin Prat– how to apply
• Hengeler Mueller– how to apply
• Slaughter and May– how to apply
• Uría Menéndez– how to apply