Competition: EU and global

Jean-François Bellis

Jean-François Bellis is a founding partner of Van Bael & Bellis. Before setting up the firm in 1986, he clerked for Lord Mackenzie Stuart, the British judge at the European Court of Justice, and was a partner in the European law department of a major Brussels law firm. Jean-François has several decades of experience in competition and trade law, representing clients in numerous cases before the European Commission and the EU Courts. In the field of EU Competition law, Jean-François assists clients on all aspects of competition law with particular expertise in cartels, abuses of dominance and merger control.  He has acted in landmark competition case including United Brands, Woodpulp, Michelin I and II, Microsoft and Intel. In the field of EU and International Trade Law, Jean-François has assisted clients in numerous anti-dumping and anti-subsidy cases in proceedings before the European Commission and in related litigation before the EU Courts and the WTO dispute settlement system. He was appointed by the WTO Director-General as a member of the WTO panel in the Automotive Leather dispute between the US and Australia.

Frank Montag

Robbert Snelders

Marixenia Davilla

Carole Maczkovics

Counsel

Marjolein De Backer

Christopher Cook

Esther Kelly

Partner

Alfonso Lamadrid

Partner

François-Charles Laprévote

Anna Lyle-Smythe

Francesca Miotto

Tone Oeyen

Miguel Rato

Andreas Reindl

Partner Andreas Reindl focuses on European competition law. In particular, he has significant experience advising clients in the energy, transport, pharmaceutical, high-tech and other sectors on the full range of EU competition law issues.  He has worked on high profile merger investigations initiated by the European Commission and national competition authorities, including the German Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt).  Andreas has represented several clients in abuse of dominance investigations. He also advises companies holding a dominant market position on how to avoid abusive behaviour (such as through pricing and rebate policies).  Andreas has broad experience advising clients on online distribution, licensing, and other collaboration agreements. He also prepares compliance programmes and assists companies with their implementation.

Milena Robotham

Counsel

Sascha Schubert

Johan Van Acker

Partner Johan Van Acker specialises in EU and national competition law.  His practice covers a wide range of sectors including aviation, consumer products, basic industries, steel, chemicals, electronics, information technology and real estate. Johan is particularly experienced in merger control, and he has successfully assisted clients in numerous merger cases before the European Commission and national competition authorities. For instance, Johan has been involved in several high profile EU merger control cases, including Fincantieri/Chantiers de l’Atlantique, Energizer/Spectrum Brands, Essilor/Luxottica, Halliburton/Baker Hughes, BHP Billiton/Rio Tinto, Motorola/Vertex Standard, Boeing/Lockheed Martin, Canon/IRIS and Novartis/Chiron, to name but a few.  Johan also represented Skype in the unconditional EU approval of its acquisition by Microsoft, which received the 2011 Global Competition Review Matter of the Year award for Europe.  He also regularly advises clients on other aspects of competition law, including cartels, horizontal and vertical agreements, abuse of dominance and state aid.  For instance, Johan was part of the Van Bael & Bellis team that handled the successful opposition to the 2010 joint production agreement between BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, which received the Global Competition Review Matter of the Year award in 2010.   Johan also represented Japan Airlines in the cartel damages litigation in Europe following the European Commission’s Airfreight cartel decision.  The Airfreight litigation was given the Matter of the Year award by Global Competition Review in 2016 and also won the American Lawyer’s International Litigation award in 2016. Johan was singled out by Global Competition Review (GCR) in its 2015 “40 under 40” feature as one of the 40 best competition lawyers worldwide under the age of 40, and one of the six best in the highly-competitive Brussels market. GCR also nominated Johan for an award in 2019 as one of the eight best competition lawyers worldwide under 40. Johan was also listed as one of the six “most highly regarded partners” in Europe in Who’s Who Legal’s “Future Leaders in Competition Law”, a peer review listing the best competition lawyers worldwide under the age of 45. Legal 500 has singled Johan out as a “Next Generation” leading EU competition lawyer in Europe. Chambers Global notes that clients describe Johan as "very bright and capable of solving difficult problems and analyses" and Who’s Who Legal cites client feedback that Johan is a “top competition expert” who “does not just provide clients with the legal analysis but will ‘think with them’ resulting in practical, relevant advice and guidance”.  He regularly lectures and writes on competition law matters.

Ashwin Van Rooijen

Melissa Van Schoorisse

Richard Blewett

Porter Elliott

Partner Porter Elliott specialises in all aspects of competition law, with particular expertise in merger control proceedings. He is a key member of Van Bael & Bellis’ exceptional EU competition team. He has successfully represented clients in numerous complex cases before the European Commission, as well as national competition authorities in Europe and elsewhere. He also regularly counsels clients on matters involving dominant market positions and the analysis of agreements under the EU competition rules. During his career, Porter has been involved in some of the most notable deals in the market. His extensive experience in EU merger control includes assisting the Japanese steel industry in its successful opposition to the joint venture between BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto. He also assisted Skype in obtaining the unconditional EU approval of its acquisition by Microsoft. Both cases won GCR Matter of the Year awards. He also acted as co-counsel for Halliburton in the EU merger control filing and review of its proposed $34.6 billion acquisition of Baker Hughes, one of the largest and most complex transactions ever to be subject to an EU merger control proceeding. Recently, he has been involved in Boeing/Embraer, Fincantieri/Chantiers de l'Atlantique and Take-Two/Codemasters. Porter has been recognised as a leading competition law expert by all major legal directories for several years, on the back of praise from both clients and peers. Clients praise his hard-working, results-oriented approach and describe him as ‘super-responsive, organised and thoughtful’ (Chambers & Partners). He is also highlighted for delivering results and explaining ‘complex nuances of EU competition law in a manner that clients can easily comprehend and use to effectively manage their business’ (Legal 500). He has received particular praise for his "excellent communication skills, presence and [...] willing[ness] to make the points strongly and in a very crisp manner in front of high-stakes audiences." Further, he has been named a "Thought Leader" by Who's Who Legal, where peers describe him as “an outstandingly good merger specialist, who knows the Commission well”. Porter frequently conducts merger control training sessions for clients and national competition authorities in Europe, Asia, North America and South America.  His practice covers a wide range of industries, including aerospace, consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, steel, forestry products, shipbuilding, video games and oil and gas.

Thomas Janssens

Andrzej Kmiecik

Partner Andrzej Kmiecik focuses on competition law, with particular expertise in merger control, cartels, dominance, distribution, pricing, intellectual property and State aid. He represents clients before the European Commission, the EU Courts and in national competition law proceedings.Andrzej’s practice covers a wide range of industries, including the automotive sector, pharmaceuticals, paper and board products, office equipment, consumer electronics, aerospace, shipping, petrochemicals, clothing and footwear, and financial infrastructure.Some of the high profile EU merger control cases he has handled include: Boeing/McDonnell Douglas; Enso/Stora; Boeing/Hughes; Caemi/Mitsui/CVRD; Boeing/Lockheed/ULA; SABIC/Huntsman; SABIC/GE Plastics; DFDS/CRO Ports/Älvsborg; and Canon/IRIS (Art. 22 referral).His experience in EU cartel investigations includes acting as defence counsel in: Newsprint; Amino Acids (also on appeal); Carbonless Paper (also on appeal); Publication Papers; Fine Papers; and Car Parts.Andrzej has also successfully defended clients against complaints of exclusionary conduct before the European Commission, including Canon (ink jet consumables) and Honda (racing engine technology).His experience extends to acting as counsel in major EU antitrust investigations involving the life sciences sector, including: Becton Dickinson/Novo Nordisk (diabetes care); Lederle/SKB (vaccines) and Chiron/DRK (blood screening). He was actively involved in the Commission’s pharmaceutical sector inquiry.He has also developed a niche practice in the field of motor vehicle distribution. He counsels and defends a number of manufacturers, combining extensive experience with in-depth industry knowledge.He regularly lectures and writes on competition law matters.

Dieter Paemen

Christian Riis-Madsen

Trevor Soames

Anastasios Tomtsis

Antoine Winckler

Johan Ysewyn