Five partners, one counsel and two associates join firm; Competition, regulatory and trade capabilities anchor new office; Reed Smith now has five offices across continental Europe
Global law firm Reed Smith today announces the opening of an office in Brussels with the arrival of five partners, one counsel and two associates from five international law firms. All five partners are joining the firm’s Global Corporate Group.
The office builds on Reed Smith’s 15-year presence in continental Europe, having opened its first office in Paris in 2005 and its latest (before Brussels) in Frankfurt in 2015. The firm now has five offices across the region and 30 throughout the world.
The new partners focus their practices on competition/antitrust, regulatory and trade work across a range of industries that align with the firm’s five core sectors: energy and natural resources, entertainment and media, financial services, life sciences and health care, and transportation.
The new capabilities in Brussels not only strengthen the firm’s already robust European offering, but when combined with the firm’s established international antitrust, regulatory and trade practices, they also bolster Reed Smith’s global reach to serve clients seamlessly in the context of cross-border M&A deals, corporate compliance programs, risk mitigation, litigation, government investigations, commercial and contract negotiations.
The five new partners joining the firm are:
Christian Filippitsch, whose practice focuses on EU competition law, and on merger control and regulatory law for multiple industries with a particular emphasis on the energy, transport and automotive industries.
Geert Goeteyn, whose practice centres on EU competition, merger control and regulatory law for a wide range of sectors, with a particular focus on aviation and technology.
Yves Melin, whose practice focuses on trade remedies and investigations, customs compliance and investigations, export controls and sanctions, conflict minerals and other import controls, World Trade Organization dispute settlements and data protection.
Isabelle Rahman, whose practice focuses on EU competition law and merger control.
Wim Vandenberghe, whose practice focuses on EU regulatory law counsel and public policy advice across a range of industries, in particular life sciences, energy and technology.
In addition, Max Seuster joins as counsel. His practice focuses on EU competition, and on merger control and regulatory law. Associates Bérengère Vigneron and Jin Woo Kim, whose practices focus on international trade and customs, are also joining the firm.
Sandy Thomas, Reed Smith’s global managing partner, said: “As the de facto executive and legislative capital of the European Union, Brussels is a vitally important market for our clients who are seeking to navigate the complex regulatory environment in Europe. Establishing an office in Brussels expands the global reach of our esteemed regulatory and competition practices and further strengthens our capacity to advise clients on highly regulated transactions across the world. We are excited about the lawyers who are joining, because we know this team will elevate Reed Smith’s ability to drive progress for our clients.”
Tamara Box, Reed Smith’s EME managing partner, commented: “The opening of our Brussels office is led by client demand. While we have had a very strong presence in continental Europe for many years, the rapidly changing political and economic environment across Europe demanded that we establish an on-the-ground presence in the EU capital. Our new team is highly experienced in engaging EU policymakers on behalf of clients for their global competition, regulatory and trade matters.”
“We are extremely pleased to have this dynamic group of lawyers joining the firm. Their collective reputations and experience in advising clients on EU issues speak for themselves, and their sector experience perfectly aligns with our key industries focus. Combined with their client-first approach and willingness to take on the challenge of building our presence in an increasingly competitive market, I have no doubt they will quickly be success stories for our firm.”
Isabelle Rahman commented: “Reed Smith is an innovative and collaborative firm with a truly global reach. It encourages cross-practice and cross-office cooperation, enabling the firm to provide commercially driven advice to its clients worldwide. Collectively, my new partners and I have many years of experience working in Brussels advising multinational companies on their EU competition and regulatory matters. Our experience perfectly complements the firm’s well-established European, UK, US and Chinese antitrust practices. Together, we are dedicated to the efficient delivery of high-quality legal advice. ”
Yves Melin added: “In the current volatile trade environment, clients are increasingly seeking a single adviser who can help them understand the impact of duties and trade measures on their supply chains, mitigate the impact of such measures, and if necessary defend against them. Thanks to its long-standing and fully integrated global footprint, Reed Smith can provide a seamless service throughout the world. We are all very pleased to be joining the firm and further building our practices.”
Reed Smith’s European headcount (including the UK) now comprises 175 partners, over 400 other lawyers and 375 business support staff.
Reed Smith’s Global Corporate Group covers all aspects of corporate and commercial law and spans the firm’s 30 offices. The European corporate practice has undergone significant growth over the past few years with the arrival of: (1) a 50-strong multijurisdictional team from King & Wood Mallesons specialising in corporate, M&A, private equity, capital markets and tax at the start of 2017; (2) a tax team from Winston & Strawn in Paris later that year; and (3) the addition of Florian Hirschmann in Munich in 2018. More recently, life sciences transactional partner Iqbal Hussain joined in London in September 2019, Martin Bünning joined in Frankfurt in December 2019, and Sam Webster joined in London in January 2020.
The office opened 6 January. The team will initially be based on Rue Belliard and move to a permanent location later in first quarter of the year.
Delphine Currie, co-chair of Reed Smith’s Global Corporate Group, is leading the integration effort in Brussels.