Corporate and Commercial

Overview

Businesses operating in Europe, whether they are SMEs or multinationals, face many challenges. Our Brussels corporate team provides advice and legal support regarding business formation, transactional matters, restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, shareholder rights, executive compensation, financing, and litigation.

How We Can Help

Our lawyers perform M&A, due diligence, and restructuring work for European clients and subsidiaries of multinational clients. Our focus is on medium-sized transactions and Belgian aspects of larger multinational deals, and our clients range from small tech start-ups to large international companies. We also represent trade associations and several branch offices of U.S. not-for-profit associations.

We have particular experience with companies in the following sectors: health care, pharmaceuticals and life sciences, technology, media and telecommunications, automotive, software and medical devices, services and consultancy, retail, defense, energy, and aviation.

Supporting Start Ups

We are delighted to have been able to work with growing companies across a wide range of industries and to share in the enthusiasm that comes with launching new ventures. What is more, this time spent investing in new companies helps us to support the next generation of established businesses, which we can then serve as a trusted advisor - having been there from the beginning.

Our Multinational Clients

We regularly assist our international clients with the establishment of new branches or subsidiaries in Europe. We provide guidance on business planning and offer the full-service corporate capabilities that emerging companies need after incorporation. This includes day-to-day corporate advice, company secretarial, commercial contracts, labor and employment law, privacy and data protection, products and services compliance, and restructuring. We also assist clients in post-acquisition litigation, shareholders’ disputes, and directors’ liability issues.

Collaboration Powers our Success

Close collaboration with our clients is a key priority. Depending on the needs of our individual clients, we can either work hand-in-hand with our clients’ legal departments or even, where necessary, take over all the work that a legal department would otherwise perform.

Furthermore, we can rely on many resources within our firm to ensure that our clients get the full service they require. We work closely with our excellent intellectual property and antitrust colleagues, both in Europe and globally, in order to ensure that we can assist our clients with the many issues that arise in corporate transactions.

In addition, we offer excellent support on an international scale thanks to our collaboration with a network of experienced colleagues in other jurisdictions, and we can rely on our U.S. Crowell & Moring colleagues for clients expanding their business in the U.S.

How We Can Help

Our lawyers perform M&A, due diligence, and restructuring work for European clients and subsidiaries of multinational clients. Our focus is on medium-sized transactions and Belgian aspects of larger multinational deals, and our clients range from small tech start-ups to large international companies. We also represent trade associations and several branch offices of U.S. not-for-profit associations.

We have particular experience with companies in the following sectors: health care, pharmaceuticals and life sciences, technology, media and telecommunications, automotive, software and medical devices, services and consultancy, retail, defense, energy, and aviation.

Supporting Start Ups

We are delighted to have been able to work with growing companies across a wide range of industries and to share in the enthusiasm that comes with launching new ventures. What is more, this time spent investing in new companies helps us to support the next generation of established businesses, which we can then serve as a trusted advisor - having been there from the beginning.

Our Multinational Clients

We regularly assist our international clients with the establishment of new branches or subsidiaries in Europe. We provide guidance on business planning and offer the full-service corporate capabilities that emerging companies need after incorporation. This includes day-to-day corporate advice, company secretarial, commercial contracts, labor and employment law, privacy and data protection, products and services compliance, and restructuring. We also assist clients in post-acquisition litigation, shareholders’ disputes, and directors’ liability issues.

Collaboration Powers our Success

Close collaboration with our clients is a key priority. Depending on the needs of our individual clients, we can either work hand-in-hand with our clients’ legal departments or even, where necessary, take over all the work that a legal department would otherwise perform.

Furthermore, we can rely on many resources within our firm to ensure that our clients get the full service they require. We work closely with our excellent intellectual property and antitrust colleagues, both in Europe and globally, in order to ensure that we can assist our clients with the many issues that arise in corporate transactions.

In addition, we offer excellent support on an international scale thanks to our collaboration with a network of experienced colleagues in other jurisdictions, and we can rely on our U.S. Crowell & Moring colleagues for clients expanding their business in the U.S.

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Our full-service corporate practice helps both small to mid-size companies setting up in Belgium and international companies wishing to establish new branches and subsidiaries in Europe. We also assist our clients post-incorporation with day-to-day corporate advice, M&A and due diligence, company secretarial work, and restructuring and refinancing. Our focus is on medium sized transactions and the Belgian aspects of larger multinational deals.
Our full-service corporate practice helps both small to mid-size companies setting up in Belgium and international companies wishing to establish new branches and subsidiaries in Europe. We also assist our clients post-incorporation with day-to-day corporate advice, M&A and due diligence, company secretarial work, and restructuring and refinancing. Our focus is on medium sized transactions and the Belgian aspects of larger multinational deals.
We support our clients in the smooth-running of all the aspects of their business. Our team advises on a wide variety of commercial law issues, including leases and licensing, outsourcing, consumer protection, product liability issues, licenses and permits, and sector-specific obligations.

Crowell’s Brussels office has a team of experienced contract drafting lawyers who are known for their clarity, consistency, and attention to detail. They work in English, Dutch, and French and have extensive experience in the negotiation and drafting of all types of commercial agreements. In addition, they can when needed rely on the support of our excellent intellectual property, labor and employment, and international trade colleagues.

We have particular experience in drafting the following:

Complex agreements in the telecom sector (e.g., full MVNO agreements, international roaming agreements, roof right licenses)

Outsourcing contracts

Manufacturing and supply contracts as well as research and development contracts, often in the pharmaceutical sector

Distribution and agency agreements

Tailor-made service, collaboration, and framework agreements

Contracts in the real estate sector such as commercial lease agreements and service agreements for the use of flexible office spaces

Public-private partnerships

General terms and conditions of sale

Website terms and conditions
We support our clients in the smooth-running of all the aspects of their business. Our team advises on a wide variety of commercial law issues, including leases and licensing, outsourcing, consumer protection, product liability issues, licenses and permits, and sector-specific obligations.

Crowell’s Brussels office has a team of experienced contract drafting lawyers who are known for their clarity, consistency, and attention to detail. They work in English, Dutch, and French and have extensive experience in the negotiation and drafting of all types of commercial agreements. In addition, they can when needed rely on the support of our excellent intellectual property, labor and employment, and international trade colleagues.

We have particular experience in drafting the following:
- Complex agreements in the telecom sector (e.g., full MVNO agreements, international roaming agreements, roof right licenses)
- Outsourcing contracts
- Manufacturing and supply contracts as well as research and development contracts, often in the pharmaceutical sector
- Distribution and agency agreements
- Tailor-made service, collaboration, and framework agreements
- Contracts in the real estate sector such as commercial lease agreements and service agreements for the use of flexible office spaces
- Public-private partnerships
- General terms and conditions of sale
- Website terms and conditions
Our principal aim is to help our clients solve matters amicably so that business relations can be maintained. However, if litigation is unavoidable, our Brussels team includes experienced litigators across different disciplines. We offer pragmatic advice to our clients based on a thorough understanding of their business, and we represent our clients in their commercial disputes before all the civil and criminal Belgian courts and before the Court of Justice of the European Union. We are particularly strong in resolving multi-jurisdictional cross-border disputes both within Europe and involving the U.S. We also act before all the relevant administrative bodies and are well known for our arbitration experience.

The vast experience gained in commercial litigation allows us to advise our clients with in-depth and practical knowledge of contentious hurdles and pitfalls.
Our principal aim is to help our clients solve matters amicably so that business relations can be maintained. However, if litigation is unavoidable, our Brussels team includes experienced litigators across different disciplines. We offer pragmatic advice to our clients based on a thorough understanding of their business, and we represent our clients in their commercial disputes before all the civil and criminal Belgian courts and before the Court of Justice of the European Union. We are particularly strong in resolving multi-jurisdictional cross-border disputes both within Europe and involving the U.S. We also act before all the relevant administrative bodies and are well known for our arbitration experience.

The vast experience gained in commercial litigation allows us to advise our clients with in-depth and practical knowledge of contentious hurdles and pitfalls.
We help our clients to comply with the numerous rules and regulations that affect their businesses. In particular, our product risk management team assists clients at every stage in their product’s lifecycle, from design to production to marketing, up to any post-market concerns, including identifying and complying with legal requirements for products manufactured and distributed in the European Union.

Data protection and HR privacy has become an important issue for all businesses. Our privacy and cybersecurity lawyers advise national and international clients on a wide-range of matters including international transfer of data and data access.
We help our clients to comply with the numerous rules and regulations that affect their businesses. In particular, our product risk management team assists clients at every stage in their product’s lifecycle, from design to production to marketing, up to any post-market concerns, including identifying and complying with legal requirements for products manufactured and distributed in the European Union.

Data protection and HR privacy has become an important issue for all businesses. Our privacy and cybersecurity lawyers advise national and international clients on a wide-range of matters including international transfer of data and data access.

Collaboration

The collaboration with our Crowell colleagues across disciplines and across the globe is an important factor in our success. We are particularly well-placed to assist our clients with the establishment of new branches and subsidiaries for international businesses expanding into Europe. We provide a one-stop shop for our European and global clients by working closely on trans-border or foreign matters with our trusted network of European law firms and with our Crowell colleagues in the U.S., Asia, and London.

Furthermore, the strength of our business law practice is in large part due to the close working relationships that we develop with our clients. This synergy allows us to work from the inside – often literally carrying out the work that an in-house legal department might perform – and in this way we can find creative and innovative solutions to our clients’ business needs and resolve their issues pragmatically and efficiently.