Our Brussels office, which opened in 1990, has contributed to WilmerHale's leading reputation in Europe and has gained widespread recognition as one of Brussels' top-tier EU, international trade and competition law practices. Part of the reason for the success of the office has been its unique development. Our Brussels office is neither an outpost of US lawyers temporarily stationed in Belgium, nor is it simply a wholesale acquisition of a local firm. Instead, WilmerHale has established its Brussels office through careful growth of an exceptional group of lawyers from across Europe and North America. True to the firm's reputation for deep experience in regulatory and government affairs, we maintain close and trusted relationships with the European Commission and with the other European institutions. Senior practitioners with WilmerHale's Brussels office have served in high-level positions with the EU.

Lawyers resident in Brussels are qualified in major European jurisdictions as well as the United States. The breadth of continental European and common law legal traditions represented gives WilmerHale in Brussels a pronounced pan-European and transatlantic orientation that is reflected both in the work and the culture of the office.

The Brussels office is especially known for its outstanding reputation in all areas of EU competition law, including major mergers, cartel investigations, Article 102 (abuse of monopoly power) investigations, counseling and related litigation. Our competition work encompasses a wide range of EU, national and international competition issues. We have worked on matters originating from around the globe and in conjunction with lawyers from our Berlin, Frankfurt, London, Boston, Washington DC, New York and Palo Alto offices. We also maintain a leading practice in international trade, including trade remedies and WTO work, in conjunction with our colleagues in our Washington DC office.

Lawyers in the Brussels office are part of the firm's European Regulatory Group, which includes more than 50 practitioners knowledgeable in key EU regulatory areas including Aviation and Logistics; Communications; Data Protection and Information Security; Energy and Climate Change; Environment, Waste and Chemicals; Financial Services; Food, Nutrition and Cosmetics; Life Sciences and Healthcare; Public Procurement and Government Contracts; and State Aid. The composition of the group allows us to service our European-based and international clients with equal ease. Our Brussels lawyers work with highly qualified and experienced professional support staff of several nationalities, further enhancing the diversity of the office.

In addition, we advise and assist US, UK, European and Asian multinational companies and/or their Belgian subsidiaries in respect of their corporate and business transactions in Belgium. We have regular experience of coordinating cross-border work for Benelux and Europe-wide projects. Our corporate, corporate restructuring and mergers and acquisitions practice includes experience in a wide range of sectors ranging from consumer goods, consulting services, construction and chemicals, to regulated industries such as financial services and telecommunications.

Our areas of focus include:

Competition Law:

• Abuse of dominance cases
• Cartel investigations
• Horizontal and vertical commercial agreements
• Merger control and worldwide merger filings
• State aid

International Trade and WTO Law:

• Trade remedies (antidumping, subsidies)
• WTO law
• Market access

EU Regulatory:

• Aviation and logistics
• IT and communications
• Data protection and information security
• Energy and climate change (including REMIT)
• Environment, waste and chemicals
• Financial services
• Food, nutrition and cosmetics
• Life sciences and healthcare
• Public procurement and government contracts

Transactional:

• Corporate and business transactions