Denis Van den Bulke

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Leaders in Law endorses Denis Van den Bulke as our exclusively recommended Acquisition Finance Law expert in Luxembourg. If you wish to get in touch with Denis please use the contact information provided above.

Denis Van den Bulke is the founding partner of VANDENBULKE (January 2005). Denis specializes in corporate finance, venture capital, group restructuring (along with cross-borders mergers and acquisitions and international tax), international and European banking and financial law (including investment funds and international equity compensation plans).

Before founding VANDENBULKE, he was partner in the international and corporate department of Dorsey & Whitney LLP and a member of the executive management, head of the financial structures, investment funds and financial engineering department at ING-Luxembourg SA, Luxembourg. Denis has also acquired senior experience with UN, and sponsored OCDE, OPEC and World Bank institutions, as financial expert.

Denis Van den Bulke is referenced by world professional directories as leading Luxembourg lawyer; Denis is nominated and recommended by Chambers Global as primary “Corporate/Commercial” and “Banking and Finance” lawyer in Luxembourg, is recommended in the fields of Banking and Finance, Corporate/Commercial, IP and Tax practices by Legal 500 and IFLR and designated by International Tax review as a leading Luxembourg tax lawyer. Denis is a former director of the Luxembourg Association of Luxembourg Fund Industry (ALFI) and still an active member of its Private Equity Commission. He is also active in various professional organization including ADVOC, the European Banking and Financial Association, Luxembourg Private Equity Association (LPEA), IBA, ABA or IFA.

Denis has authored number of articles in the field of corporate finance and international tax. He chairs and is an active speaker at various international conferences and seminars throughout Europe including inter alia Paris Chamber of Commerce and Cercle Montesquieu, International Faculty for Executives (IFE) in Paris, Brussels and Luxembourg or European Life Settlement Association (ELSA).

Denis Van den Bulke is a former lecturer at the Solvay Business School and at the University of Liège. Denis holds a M.A. degree in law (Liège, Belgium), a M.Sc. in Economics (CORE, center of operational research and econometrics) (Louvain, Belgium) and M.A. in Sociology and anthropology (Louvain and Liège, Belgium). He is graduated from Marysville (USA) and is member of the Brussels and Luxembourg Bars.

Firm Description

VANDENBULKE is an independent law firm specializing predominantly in the Corporate, Finance and Tax practices. The Firm has the continuing ambition to provide an elite and fully integrated service in these practice areas to international institutional and professional investors. It has been structured and designed to provide a comprehensive and cutting-edge approach for the most complex legal issues arising in Luxembourg’s corporate and financial markets.

In recent years, Luxembourg has seen a tremendous growth as a financial centre, requiring a dramatic increase in more international and sophisticated legal counselling. VANDENBULKE was specifically founded to address this demand and provide the latest local and cross-border legal expertise in international Corporate, Finance and Tax matters. VANDENBULKE has been constantly outperforming the Luxembourg law firms market and has consolidated its position as the unique corporate finance boutique in Luxembourg. The success of this niche strategy translated into an annual triple-digit growth over the last five years, resulting in a firm of twenty elite professionals providing assistance to Fortune 100 or 500 companies and international institutional investors.

Significant Market Recognition

Today, VANDENBULKE is undoubtedly THE leading Luxembourg niche firm specializing only in Corporate, Finance and Tax. Beyond the recognition of Chambers, The Legal500, and International Tax Review, the Firm has been recognized in 2010 and 2011 as the Best Tax Boutique Law Firm in Luxembourg (Corporate International) and shortlisted for the Best European Niche Law Firm of 2011 by The Lawyer.

Our lawyers bring additional creativity and fresh thinking. They combine boundless energy with the nimble minds needed to address, in an innovative way, legal issues encountered by foreign investors in Luxembourg’s somewhat complex financial and corporate market practices. Finally, the Firm develops a business-centric approach towards its clients. At VANDENBULKE, we pursue one sole aim: to provide the most quality-efficient legal service in Luxembourg, matching the international standards at the peak of the profession.

 

Olivier Lombardo

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Olivier Lombardo is a French, Luxembourgish and European trademark and design lawyer and heads the trademark department at Dennemeyer & Associates in Luxembourg. He graduated from the renowned Centre for International Intellectual Property Studies in France and holds an LLM in European business law.

Mr Lombardo has worked in trademark management since 2002, when he worked in close cooperation with French Senator Pierre Lafitte, founder of Sophia Antipolis, one of Europe’s biggest technology parks. After completing his postgraduate qualifications in IP law, Mr Lombardo gathered experience in a German private practice and at the European Patent Office. In 2004, he co-founded a movie production company in Munich, gaining insight and experience in the media industry.

After five years of working as an IP lawyer and legal director, Mr Lombardo joined international law firm Dennemeyer & Associates in 2010 and was offered the position of head of trademarks Luxembourg in 2013.

Specialising in trademark and design law, Mr Lombardo has a wide range of experience in the enforcement of IP rights and the management of major multinational clients’ portfolios in the automobile, cosmetics and food-processing industries, among others. Mr Lombardo’s experience in dealing with various aspects of IP law and his strong understanding of the use of trademarks enable him to provide clients with business-oriented solutions and practice-oriented contracts.

Mr Lombardo also represents Dennemeyer & Associates at conferences and seminars and heads the Dennemeyer IP Breakfasts in Luxembourg. Mr Lombardo is fluent in French, English and German. He is among others a member of the Licensing Executives Society (LES), International Trademark Association (INTA), Association Benelux pour le Droit des Marques et Modèles (BMM), Association Internationale pour la Protection de la Propriété Intellectuelle (AIPPI Luxembourg), Association des Praticiens du Droit des Marques et des Modèles (APRAM).

Dennemeyer & Associates:

Dennemeyer Group has over five decades of experience in delivering quality IP legal services in a wide spectrum of jurisdictions. With offices on four continents and ten time zones, we are fully equipped to take on large-scale assignments while delivering unmatched local expertise.

Service areas include patent, trademark and design maintenance, filing and prosecution including EP validations, PCT nationalizations, recordals and much more. DIAMS iQ, our IP management software, is a secure and integrated gateway to your IP portfolio, and it also offers a high level of integration to our patent annuity and trademark renewal services. Thanks to a modular approach, DIAMS iQ is fully adaptable to your organization’s particular needs.

Whether you represent a corporation or a law firm, Dennemeyer’s services will help you reduce portfolio risk and maximize the value of your IP assets.

Gwendoline Licata

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Gwendoline Licata focuses her practice on financial services and investment management matters.

Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Licata was an associate in the Finance department at a global law firm, and she also interned at the Luxembourg office of an international firm.

Firm Overview:

Dechert is a global law firm.

We deliver deep legal expertise and practical commercial judgment for high-stakes matters in sectors with the greatest complexities, intricacies and regulatory demands.

Dechert is organized by practice area, not geography. Our 27 offices around the globe are seamlessly integrated.

This approach allows us to deliver a team responsive to unique project requirements and provide the resources needed to complete work with speed-to-market execution. Our lawyers understand the current marketplace, as well as rapidly evolving commercial and regulatory challenges, making us a preeminent full-service advisor.

We are a global, mobile workforce of diverse skills and areas of expertise. We use a project management approach to our workflow, enabling us to quickly adapt to changing client needs, maximize technology, drive efficiency and deliver value to our clients.

Our work is widely recognized within the legal industry, including top global-wide rankings for corporate investigations, international arbitration, investment funds and life sciences (Chambers Global, 2017).

Katia Manhaeve

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Leaders in Law endorses Katia Manhaeve as our exclusively recommended Technology Law expert in Luxembourg. If you wish to get in touch with Katia please use the contact information provided above.

Katia Manhaeve is a partner at Allen & Overy in Luxembourg where she heads the intellectual property and technology department with more than 20 years of experience.

She focuses on both contentious and non-contentious IP matters. She has important experience in trademark, copyright and patent issues, including litigation before the courts of the European Union.

Katia also specialises in distribution law, advertising, trade practices, e-commerce and TMT law, including data protection.

Katia is active in several working groups related to her fields of specialisation and is a regular speaker at conferences.

She is the president of the Luxembourg Chapter of the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI), a member of the International Trademark Association (INTA), of the Benelux Association for Trademark and Design Law (BMM) and of the MARQUES Trademark Law and Practice Team. Katia is also an appointed member and Luxembourg representative of the Benelux Council of Intellectual Property. She served as the former president of the BMM and was a longstanding member of this association’s board and legislative committee.

Katia is ranked as a Notable Practitioner in Band 1 by Chambers Europe 2017, as an IP star by Managing Intellectual Property 2017 and as a World Leading Trademark Professional by World Trademark Review 2017.

Law Firm Overview:

At a time of significant change in the legal industry, we are determined to continue leading the market as we have done throughout our 88-year history. We will do this by ensuring we always challenge ourselves to bring new and original ways of thinking to the complex legal challenges our clients face.

Over the past year we have worked with some of the world’s leading businesses on transactions that have changed their industries. These include advising: HSBC globally on the project to restructure its legal and business structure to meet the post-crisis regulatory reform agenda and is the single largest project undertaken by the UK financial services industry to date; 21st Century Fox on its proposed acquisition by The Walt Disney Company; the second restructuring of Edcon Holdings Ltd and Edcon Ltd, one of the market’s most significant restructurings, which brought together experts advising on South African law, English law and New York law; and Worldpay on its merger with Vantiv, which involved lawyers from 20 A&O offices.

Building on our long heritage enables us to attract the most talented people and continue to deliver this level of innovation with and for our clients.

To support our clients’ international strategies, we have built a truly global network now spanning 44 offices in 31 countries. We have also developed strong ties with relationship law firms in over 100 countries where we do not have a presence. This network makes us one of the largest and most connected law firms in the world, with a global reach and local depth that is simply unrivalled.

Global coverage in today’s market does not simply mean having offices in important cities around the world. For us, it means combining our international resources and sector expertise to work on cross-border transactions directly in the markets and regions important to our clients.

Bernard Beerens

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Leaders in Law endorses Bernard Beerens as our exclusively recommended Corporate Finance Law expert in Luxembourg. If you wish to get in touch with Bernard please use the contact information provided above.

Bernard Beerens is an equity partner in AKD Luxembourg. He is a lawyer since 2002 and a partner with AKD since 2016. Bernard is currently heading AKD’s Luxembourg office and AKD Luxembourg’s corporate practice group.

Before joining AKD, he worked for a major UK-based law firm then at the Luxembourg office of another leading Dutch law firm, advising clients on various corporate and finance transactions. During 2008 and 2009, he headed the Luxembourg desk of the corporate and finance department of the same firm in New York, mainly serving US and Canadian clients on Luxembourg legal matters. After having established his own firm Beerens & Avocats in 2010 and managed the growth and success of his firm for 6 years, Bernard and his team joined AKD in 2016.

Bernard advises multinational clients, including major private equity firms, hedge funds and non-regulated real estate funds, and high net wealth individuals on structuring and financing of international transactions, formation of joint venture and securitization vehicles, corporate organizations and reorganizations, mergers and acquisitions, exit strategies and corporate governance matters.

Bernard resolves complex commercial questions to structure and restructure clients’ businesses. He also provides expert advice on financing activities with a focus on financial, banking, securitization and (re)structuring transactions. He represents lenders and borrowers in all types of financing transactions and advises on collateral arrangements, financial instruments and related transactional documents.

Bernard considers that legal matters demand representation with impeccable credentials, specialized knowledge, a wealth of experience and responsiveness, focused on client service. Bernard focusses on building long-term relationships with his clients by staying true to his commitments and supporting them in the development of their business. His clients value his responsiveness, business-mind, in-depth knowledge of the financial markets and his result-oriented culture with a constant dedication to achieve their commercial objectives.

Bernard holds a Master’s degree in law from the Université Catholique de Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium). He has also studied at the Universita Degli Studi di Milano (Italy).

He regularly publishes articles on M&A, corporate and banking and finance topics in legal magazines such as Corporate International, Global Legal Insight, Kluwer and the International Comparative Legal Guide.

Bernard is a member of the Luxembourg Bar. He is also a member of the International Bar Association (IBA) and American Bar Association (ABA).

Practice:

AKD is one of the largest law firms in the Netherlands. With a team of 250 committed lawyers, civil-law notaries and tax lawyers, AKD delivers high quality legal services and tax matters in nearly all legal fields, based on a full-service approach. Our client base varies from very large multinational companies to stock-listed Dutch entities, from large corporates to family owned businesses, from financial institutions to municipalities and hospitals.

Pragmatic Approach & No-Nonsense Culture:

AKD has a pragmatic approach to business issues and provides tailored solutions for a variety of client needs by taking current legal, economic and political reality into account. Recognized for its ability to solve complex legal and tax challenges creatively and successfully and driven by the ambition to consistently seek proactive ways to add value to our legal and tax services, AKD prides itself on professional excellence and dedication to its clients. AKD has an open, no-nonsense culture and seeks to create a transparent and inclusive environment.

Diversity:

AKD is a place where people of all backgrounds, races and cultures work together and thrive. In order to meet the needs of the variety of clients we serve from different backgrounds, our legal team consists of people who speak the same language as our clients and are sensitive to cultural differences in outlook or work processes. AKD has an Asia desk, a Turkish desk, a German desk and an US desk.

International:

AKD is the independent legal and tax advisor for everyone who does business which involves the Benelux countries. With offices in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, AKD offers integrated, international legal services in stable jurisdictions. Business arrangements, financial structures and digitalization readily transcend international boundaries. But in practicality, there are still numerous legal systems to deal with. This calls for in-depth insight into what is possible, what is permitted and what is obligatory. AKD has top-class specialists who look across borders and beyond the confines of their own disciplines to ensure seamless end-to-end service. Outside the Benelux, AKD partners with an extensive network of highly reputable law firms to form fully integrated teams who comprehensively assist our clients in doing business around the globe.​

 

Marco Caldana

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Leaders in Law endorses Marco Caldana as our exclusively recommended Business Law expert in Luxembourg. If you wish to get in touch with Marco please use the contact information provided above.

Marco is Chairman of the Board of SELECTRA Management Company S.A., CEO of FIA ASSET MANAGEMENT S.A. and Managing Director and insurance broker of FARAD International S.A. After graduating with a degree in Banking, Finance and Insurance from the Università Cattolica of Milan, Marco has acquired extensive experience in the financial sector in several international firms.

Firm Overview:

Established in Luxembourg in 2001, FARAD Group positions itself among the leaders in the insurance and financial markets in Europe.

Thanks to its B2B and B4B2C services platform developed during 15 years of activity, the Group provides tailor-made solutions to the different needs of its institutional clients. Being independent, the Group works with an open architecture approach providing highly innovative solutions in both its insurance and financial areas of expertise.

FARAD Group, headquartered in Luxembourg, holds a Branch and two Representative Offices in Milan. Its well-established position on the European market reflects the Group’s activities in many countries: France, Luxembourg, Belgium, United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Switzerland and Italy.

FARAD Group’s international, multilingual and multidisciplinary team is composed of more than 50 professionals, working together to ensure valuable services to its clients. In order to better support the daily activities of its core businesses, FARAD Group has set up specialized departments in the following areas: Management, Legal and Compliance, Project Management, Marketing, IT, Administration and Accounting.

 

Francis Hoogewerf

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President at Hoogewerf & Cie; General Director, OCRA Luxembourg.

Areas of expertise:

Tax consulting (financial structures), offshore companies.

Fluent in English, French, Spanish.

FIRM DESCRIPTION:

Hoogewerf & Co was set up by Francis Hoogewerf, a UK chartered accountant, in 1970. Hoogewerf & Co practices as a “Réviseur d’Entreprises”, “Expert comptable”, domiciliation agent, international tax advisor and projects.

Hoogewerf & Co have always been cross border tax specialists, working with colleagues, tax lawyers and accountants all around the world.

Not only do Hoogewerf & Co advise on tax structures they will also coordinate the constitution and administration of appropriate tax advantageous entities and companies, virtually anywhere in the world.

Holding Companies

Hoogewerf & Co form, administer and domicile holding companies.

Tax Consultancy

Hoogewerf & Co’s specialty is to advise on tax treaty networks for dividends, interest, royalties and capital gains, especially in relation to holding companies.

Other Services:

  • Company structures worldwide (mainly holding companies).
  • Stock exchange listings
  • Shipping register
  • Aircraft register
  • Semi regulated Funds such as SICAR, SIFS, SPV
  • Offshore companies
  • Accounting
  • Audit
  • Tax Information
  • Special Projects

Representatives Abroad:

  • Switzerland – Geneva
  • China – Shanghai
  • Monaco – Monte Carlo
  • Iceland – Reykjavik
  • Malta – Valletta

Shanghai – China:

Hoogewerf & Co are represented in Shanghai by Rupert Hoogewerf, a UK qualified Chartered Accountant.

Rupert Hoogewerf speaks Mandarin, Japanese, English, German, French and Luxembourgish. Rupert Hoogewerf is well known in China for having initiated and published the China Rich List for the Hurun Report.

Sissi Zhao, a Chinese lawyer, can help clients wishing to break into the Chinese market by:

1) Representing the client in China,
2) Organizing market research, legal services, accounting etc,
3) Business intelligence, such as high level potential joint venture partners and research into market access through private entrepreneurs known to Rupert Hoogewerf,
4) Introductions to the media world Rupert Hoogewerf feels he can be of particular assistance to clients from Germany, France, Luxembourg, England and Japan.

 

Jonathan Burger

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Jonathan Burger is one of the Founding Partners of the firm and a member of the Luxembourg Bar since 2006.

Jonathan specialises in the structuring, setting up and operation of the full spectrum of regulated and unregulated investment funds, including UCITS and Alternative Investment Funds (SIFs and SICARs), financial holding undertakings, securitisation vehicles and private asset management companies. Within the framework of his practice, he advises national and international fund promoters, Alternative Investment Fund managers, distributors, investment banks, asset managers, custodian banks, government authorities  and other agents providing fund-related services.

Before joining LEXTRUST, he spent some ten years with a Big 4 audit firm, a magic circle UK firm and a leading Luxembourg business law firm.

Jonathan is “maître en droit” from the Université Panthéon-Assas Paris II, holds a “D.E.A.” (“Diplôme d’Etudes Approfondies”) in Tax Law from the Université Panthéon-Assas Paris II, and a “Doctorat en droit privé” from the Université Nancy 2.

WHY LEXTRUST:

  • Because our law firm’s goal is to achieve yours.
  • Because we know that your legal affairs require innovative and practical advice.
  • Because we know that our absolute commitment is essential to achieving your goals.
  • Because we do not only respond, but also anticipate to your legal issues.
  • Because we know that your solution is likelynot to be found on the beaten tracks.
  • Because our multilingual and multicultural specialists know how to deal with complex and demanding national and international affairs.

 

Michel Molitor

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Leaders in Law endorses Michel Molitor as our exclusively recommended Insurance Law expert in Luxembourg. If you wish to get in touch with Michel please use the contact information provided above.

Michel MOLITOR started his law career in banking after obtaining a law degree from the University of Strasbourg (France) and a PhD in political sciences from the University of Vienna (Austria). For the past 30 years he has been the contact partner for many of the firm’s national and international clients in numerous industry sectors. Michel is known for his technical competences in Luxembourg financial law and is particularly active in Banking and Finance.

Michel has been listed by Chambers Europe where he “is commended for his expertise, efficiency, reliability and client-focused service” and compared “favourably to the market’s larger players, especially noting his technical competence in Luxembourg financial law”. In The Legal 500 2016 he is ranked as a leading individual and praised for his excellent response times, ‘especially at critical moments’. Best Lawyers Luxembourg has also ranked Michel for his expertise in Litigation and Corporate.

Furthermore, IFLR1000 listed Michel as a leading insurance lawyer and for over 10 years he has been continuously ranked among the top insurance lawyers in Who’s Who Legal: Insurance and Reinsurance Lawyers.

Firm Overview:

We are a top independent business law firm in Luxembourg with 28 lawyers serving local and international corporate clients doing business in the Grand Duchy. Our clients include banks and financial institutions, multinational corporations, commercial companies, industrial groups, government and public administration. Top tier law firms particularly from the USA, UK, Continental Europe, Asia and Canada rely on us for legal matters and disputes involving Luxembourg law. We work closely with a growing number of international law firms and we have built enduring relationships with regulators, government and the local Luxembourg administration.

 

Wim Ritz

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With a master’s degree in Law (LL.M), Wim began his career in a private equity house, where, over the course of five years, he gained extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions.

He lectured in corporate and real estate law at a Belgian business school for seven years, and was also a member of the Belgian Bar Association as an attorney-at-law for ten years.

Wim joined Vistra in 2010 as partner and he currently heads up the Luxembourg office as the Country Managing Director.

His everyday responsibilities include a supervisory and business development role for the maintenance of Luxembourg KPI’s. Moreover, Wim also takes up management positions in client structures as he guides them through the life-cycle of their cross-border investments.

Furthermore he is a lecturer at the University of Luxembourg on “International Structuring and Estate Planning” within the “Wealth Management Master Program”.