The Legal 500 EMEA 2021 edition published on 14 April recommends PwC Legal Belgium in 5 practice areas, namely EU Regulatory - Financial Services with a Tier 2, Environment with a Tier 3, Banking, Finance and Capital Markets with a Tier 4, Commercial, Corporate and M&A where the firm moves up to Tier 4 this year, and Tax with a Tier 4.
Our public real estate practice, which demonstrates strong capabilities advising on a broad range of environmental issues associated with the development of real estate projects, enters the rankings this year in the Environment practice. The ‘client-oriented’ team, led by the ‘very decisive’ Els Empereur is praised for its ‘professional approach with fast and clear communication’ and for working with ‘experienced lawyers with a broad experience in environmental legislation’.
Our Corporate and M&A lawyers Karin Winters, Pierre Queritet, Elise De Baerdemaecker, Bart Vanstaen, Ive Serneels, Christophe Wathion and Arno Debelle are noted as key practitioners as the practice moves up in the rankings to a Tier 4.
Bart Vanstaen gets highly recommended with clients quoting ‘Bart Vanstaen’s straightforward, transparent communication is the base for a trusted relationship’ and praising him for ‘a great availability and engagement towards us as a client’, while Elise De Baerdemaecker is recommended as ‘very customer-oriented combined with top legal expertise’.
Head of practice and Managing Partner Karin Winters is congratulated for having built ‘PwC Legal into an impressive full-service law firm over the past five years. It is a very professional outfit and, as part of the Big4 consulting firms, has access to great resources and capabilities’. Notably strong in corporate reorganisations and rationalisations, including those with a cross-border dimension, the practice is also recognised for its work in the start-up sphere, as it advises start-ups and scale-ups on matters ranging from early-stage issues to the internationalisation of their businesses. Its intervention in distressed M&A and insolvency matters as well as its representation of corporate and private equity investors operating in this space are also noted. The team is praised by clients for its ‘Great availability, very responsive, excellent case management’ and ‘hands-on approach’ while being a ‘flexible, complementary team, open for discussion, available’.
Our Banking & Finance team, which acts for financial entities, including asset managers and financial institutions, on various regulatory and restructuring matters gets recognised for combining ‘an impressive legal and technical expertise with strong business knowledge and commercial understanding’ and providing ‘detailed high-quality regulatory advice’. Ivan Peeters, who has ‘the unique capacity of continuously finding solid and practical solutions for complex problems’ gets a fantastic recognition being ranked in the Hall of Fame while Philip Van Steenwinkel is listed as a Next Generation Partner and recommended for being ‘a dynamic partner who is very much involved in his files and provides pragmatic advice’. Philip is praised for being ‘proactive and having a thorough understanding of the internal organization of his client and strong knowledge of the sector/environment in which his client operates’.
Senior Managing Associate Charles-Henri Bernard is recommended as a key lawyer with clients quoting ‘On asset management regulation and financing issues, the assistance of Charles-Henri Bernard stands out’.
Our Tax practice led by Senior Counsel Véronique De Brabanter (noted for her ‘out-of-the-box thinking’) maintains an honourable Tier 4 and is recommended by clients for being ‘very knowledgeable, available, supportive and very good from a technical perspective’. Supported by Managing Associate Gauthier Vael and Senior Associate Gilles Van Hulle, who are recognised as key practitioners, Véronique is praised for showing ‘excellent skills and experience as well as good judgement’.
We are extremely proud of these achievements and congratulate all our lawyers whose hard work and consistent delivery of top-quality services earned this prestigious recognition. We also extend our gratitude to our clients for their continuous trust and support and their favourable comments as part of the Legal 500 research.
