WilmerHale’s Brussels office opened in 1990, just as the European Community introduced its Merger Control Regulation and in anticipation of the impact of the single market in 1992. Since then, the office has contributed to the leading reputation of the firm in Europe and has gained widespread recognition as one of the premier law offices in Brussels.

Our lawyers are qualified in many of the major European and North American jurisdictions, including Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The breadth of European and American legal traditions represented gives us a pronounced pan-European and transatlantic orientation that is reflected both in the work and the culture of the office. Claus-Dieter Ehlermann, resident in the Brussels office, perhaps best personifies these qualities. Before joining the firm, Professor Ehlermann spent a large of part of his career developing and implementing policies to further European market integration, as Director-General of DG Competition of the European Commission and before that, Director-General of the Commission’s Legal Service. He then spent six years adjudicating the most contentious global trade disputes between the world’s nations as a Member and later Chairman of the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization.

With this extensive experience, Claus-Dieter Ehlermann and the other members of our competition, trade, and other regulatory practices are able to provide to the firm’s clients around the world unique insight into and guidance through the decision-making processes of European, US and other governmental institutions.