Brussels

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Brussels Contacts/Directions Hogan Lovells International LLP Pericles Building Rue de la Science 23 Brussels 1040 Belgium Phone +32 2 505 0911 Fax +32 2 505 0996

As one of the European Union’s key administrative and regulatory hubs, Brussels is a pivotal city for companies doing business in Europe, where an in-depth understanding of the European Commission, European Parliament, and European Council can be of vital assistance to clients. Businesses need the best legal representation to ensure they secure favorable results when dealing with European authorities governing anti-trust, trade, environmental, and consumer affairs.

Hogan Lovells’ Brussels office handles the most challenging and complex projects at the cutting edge of antitrust, competition, regulatory, and international trade law. Our multidisciplinary and multilingual lawyers enjoy strong professional and personal contacts with European regulatory and legislative bodies, offering clients up-to-the-minute knowledge of procedures and policy priorities at the European level.

We provide a broad array of legal services in the following spheres:

• Antitrust and competition law
• Merger control
• Cartel investigations, abuse of dominance, and restrictive practices
• State aid
• International trade and World Trade Organization law
• Customs, export controls, and sanctions
• Public procurement and government contracts
• Life sciences law
• Food law and policy
• Communications law and policy
• Environmental law and policy
• Privacy, data protection, and data security
• Advocacy before EU regulators
• Litigation and advocacy before European courts

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Awards and Rankings

• The Brussels office is ranked "Highly recommended" by Global Competition Review 2012
• Endorsed for its exceptional knowledge of antitrust laws and its excellent manner in dealing with competition authorities, Chambers Global, 2011
• ...very professional in trade defence, including on the political structuring of issues within Customs, trade, WTO and anti-dumping, Legal 500, 2011
• Hailed by Global Competition Review as a top 10 Global Elite antitrust and competition practice, Global Competition Review, January 2012
• Ranked first tier within EU Regulatory: Food, Environment, Pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, and Telecoms, Legal 500, 2011
• Nominated for "Competition Law Firm of the Year", The Belgian Legal Awards, 2011
• Ranked first tier for State aid, Chambers Europe and PLC Which Lawyer?, 2011
• Hogan Lovells International LLP has the size to meet the workload demand and react speedily, with practical and efficient guidance; it is well suited in large, complex, global mergers, being well integrated and organised, Legal 500, 2011
• Ranked first tier within EU Regulatory for Environment, Food, Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology, Chemicals (REACH), Telecoms and Data Protection, Legal 500 EMEA, 2010
• ...Hailed as Global Public Procurement Lawyer of the year 2010, International Who's Who of Business Lawyers
• ... The [Brussels team] is recognised for its international reach and capabilities on multi-jurisdictional files. The team is particularly famed for its skills in State aid and EU litigation cases, Chambers Global, 2010

Leadership Positions

• Lourdes Catrain, officer on the International Bar Association’s Trade and Customs Committee
• Jacques Derenne, professor of State aid law at the University of Liège and at the Brussels School of Competition as well as member of the Executive Committee and the Scientific Council, the decision-making body of the College of Europe’s Global Competition Law Centre
• Ciara Kennedy-Loest, steering committee member of the Procurement Lawyers’ Association in the UK
• Hugo Paemen, Co-chair of the European-American Business Council
• Christopher Thomas, member of the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE), Permanent Delegation to the Court of Justice and the General Court of the European Union and the EFTA Court

Former Leadership Positions

• Ciara Kennedy-Loest, consultant on the European Commission’s PHARE Programme
• Gerry Oberst, Chairman of Europe’s Satellite Action Plan Regulatory Group
• Hugo Paemen, European Union Ambassador to the United States, European Chief negotiator during the eight-year Uruguay Round trade talks
• Christopher Thomas, référendaire at the General Court of the European Union, non-governmental advisor to the International Competition Network
• Elisabethann Wright, référendaire at the European Court of Justice, hearing officer at the EFTA Surveillance Authority