ASTREA CVBA

Barbara Terriere is a partner at the Antwerp office of Astrea. She is an expert in distribution and competition law and has specific experience in the automotive sector. She assists clients in all legal matters regarding their distribution networks (choice of network, choice of selection criteria, drafting of distribution agreements, bonus programs etc.) and supports them in connection with litigation connected to the functioning of their networks. Furthermore, Barbara is specialized in matters related to commercial agency, franchise, intellectual property, e-commerce, trade practices, group purchases, consumer law, product liability, privacy law and ICT law. Over more than 20 years, she has assisted domestic and international clients, by giving advice and assisting them in negotiations, litigation (before the courts and arbitrators) and in legal surveys. She has published several articles on distribution law and is a regular speaker at seminars and symposia. Barbara has been appointed as a Country Expert Distribution Law for Belgium by the International Distribution Institute (IDI). Barbara has been a member of the Antwerp Bar since 2000. She speaks Dutch, French and English fluently and has basic knowledge of Spanish and German.

Ciska Servais KC

Ciska Servais is a partner at Astrea and as Astrea’s head of the real estate sector, she specializes in construction law, environmental law and permits, and administrative law. With more than 25 years of experience on the counter, she has in-depth competence in spatial and urban planning, environmental law and soil decontamination, project development, expropriations, government liability and enforcement. Major project developers such as Cores Development, LIFE and Condominium, real estate parties, SMEs and municipal authorities are therefore happy to call on Ciska to handle their legal cases. Ciska is an out-of-the-box thinker and is committed to offering its clients practical, tailor-made solutions in addition to sound advice. In addition to her work as a partner at Astrea, Ciska is also an independent director at Montea and CFE. In addition, she is an enthusiastic member of the Voka entrepreneurial organization and the female entrepreneurial group Plato Ladies.

Dieter Veestraeten KC

Dieter Veestraeten has more than 20 years of experience in advising large Belgian and foreign banks, companies and multinationals in the field of international financial transactions (including acquisition finance, real estate finance, project finance, asset based lending, general corporate finance), restructuring and financial regulatory advice. Prior to joining Astrea in 2014, Dieter worked for International Top Tier Law firms in Antwerp and Brussels. Over the years he was involved in multiple Belgian and international transactions. Dieter is heading the Banking and Finance team which is integrated in Astrea's Corporate and Finance department. He is also member of Astrea’s German Desk focusing on German speaking companies operating in the BeNeLux and Belgian companies operating in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Filip Desmedt KC

Filip Desmedt is a partner at Astrea and specializes in commercial and economic law, distribution and agencies, IT and media, and collection, seizure and insolvency. He advises actors in the industrial, commercial and retail sectors on the conclusion of national and international trade contracts and assists them in legal proceedings. His many years of experience in (inter)national distribution contracts ensure that Filip is particularly competent in litigation regarding the (non-)execution of commercial contracts, although avoiding litigation is of course his preference. Filip closely monitors changes in the European legislation are closely followed, looking for possible opportunities for the client. Filip is committed to communicating the often highly technical content to his clients in a practical and understandable way.

Frédéric Verspreeuwen KC

Frédéric Verspreeuwen is a partner at the Antwerp office of Astrea since 2009. He co-heads the Corporate and M&A practice of Astrea focusing on corporate transactions and restructuring matters in Belgium for multinationals, family-owned businesses, funds and family offices. He has more than 20 years of experience advising in English, Dutch and French, domestic and international clients on national and international matters, also including complex corporate litigation matters. Frédéric is personally recommended in Chambers Global, Chambers Europe and Legal500 and is ranked as a Highly Regarded Lawyer in the IFLR 1000.

Ilse Cuypers KC

Ilse Cuypers is a partner at Astrea and specializes in environmental law and spatial planning for many years. She has been a lawyer at the Antwerp Bar since 1990. Both companies and private individuals can turn to her for support in matters concerning urban development, real estate and administrative law, environmental permits, soil pollution and waste processing. Throughout her career Ilse has advised many leading parties in the petrochemical, logistics and chemical sectors. Ilse wants to be a trusted partner for her clients and sees it as a challenge to arrive at practical and purposeful solutions in symbiosis with the client.

Marc Van Looveren KC

Marc Van Looveren is a partner at Astrea, specializing in liability and dispute resolution. He has extensive experience in advising on complex international disputes often involving liability insurance. In addition, he assists clients in general commercial disputes and judicial investigations, including arrest warrants and injunctions for the cessation of infringements. As head of the transport and logistics team, case law regarding collisions at sea, cargo claims, ship and bunker arrests, interim junction proceedings and disputes with charter parties is nothing less than day to day business. He also assists clients with drafting logistics service agreements. Within Astrea’s highly regarded Transport & Logistics department, Marc is known as a partner who dares to take calculated risks. He is also a member of the Antwerp Bar, the International Bar Association (IBA), the International Association of Young Lawyers (AIJA) and the Belgian Association of Shipping Lawyers.

Micha Van den Abeele KC

As a partner at Astrea, Micha Van den Abeele specializes in corporate law, national and international mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, private equity and venture capital transactions. Micha has in-depth experience in corporate real estate, setting up joint ventures, and assisting in acquisition and investment transactions of project developers. She advises not only on the transaction, but also on pre- and post-closing, such as joint ventures and agreements with shareholders, landowners, managers and architects. In addition, Micha and her team support start-ups, scale-ups and listed companies in their legal obligations, ranging from drafting complex contracts to advising boards of directors on general corporate law and business organizations. With her technical background Micha is part of Astrea’s corporate team. She is also a member of the International Bar Association (IBA) and the Women’s Law Network (WLN).

Olivier Van Fraeyenhoven KC

Olivier Van Fraeyenhoven is a partner at Astrea and specializes in distribution law in the broadest sense of the word. His area of specialization includes concessions, commercial agencies and franchises, competition law, market practices, brands, advertising and all aspects of after-sales service. He has extensive experience in advising Astrea’s clients on the protection of privacy (GDPR). Olivier advises his clients on restructuring, disputes between manufacturers and resellers and advertising campaigns and consumer disputes, particularly in the field of product liability. The automotive sector is a particular area of interest of Olivier. In addition to his activities at Astrea, Olivier is a guest lecturer at the University of Namur, where he teaches distribution law. He is also often asked as a speaker at conferences and is a member of the Antwerp Bar.

Philippe Van Wesemael KC

As a partner at Astrea, Philippe van Wesemael specializes in real estate and environmental law. He has more than 20 years of experience in administrative and public law, town and country planning, construction law, environmental law, public procurement and expropriations. Philippe is registered at both the Brussels and the Antwerp Bar. He also contributes to the editing of the “Tijdschrift voor Omgevingsrecht en Omgevingsbeleid” (TOO). Philippe is extremely pragmatic and is committed to offering his clients a fast and practical service and to providing them with concrete, tailor-made solutions. Thanks to his transparent communication and no-nonsense approach, Philippe is known by his clients as a man of his word.

Rudi Desmet KC

Rudi Desmet is a partner at Astrea. He has over 30 years of working experience of which more than 25 years of experience as an Employment lawyer. He heads the Employment law practice of Astrea, counseling national and international clients with respect to individual and collective employment law, social security, immigration and international employment, restructuring, mergers and acquisitions (TUPE), and outsourcing, (supplementary) pensions, privacy (GDPR) and sports law. He has considerable experience in advising, litigation and (collective) negotiation. Rudi will plead cases at the bar in all Belgian labour courts, both in Dutch or French language. Rudi has worked during six years as a legal counsel. He then incorporated a new recognized payroll office and has managed this start-up the next four years. In that period he acquired an Executive MBA at the Vlerick Management School. Rudi returned to the Antwerp bar in 2000. His employment law team consists of six employment law specialists. He is recognized by international directories as an expert in employment law.

Ruud De Houwer

As a partner at Astrea, Ruud specializes in commercial law, maritime and transport law, international trade law, commercial agreements, and attachment and enforcement law. He has extensive experience in advising national and international companies and governments in collision, salvage, seizure, liability and various other matters relating to transport by water. His area of expertise also includes logistics service agreements and road transport files. In addition, Ruud has extensive experience in all aspects of national and international trade, commercial agreements and insurance matters. His personal interest is in the cultural and audio-visual sector. Ruud is referred to as a Next Generation Lawyer by Legal 500.

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