Crowell & Moring LLP

Competition law (Belgian, EU and Global), technology, media and telecommunications, European regulatory and compliance

Partner

Thomas De Meese serves as co-managing partner of the firm's Brussels office and has been a member of the Brussels bar since 1993. He focuses on competition and unfair competition, telecommunications, media and technology law and gambling regulatory matters. Thomas' experience includes day-to-day counselling on distribution issues, technology licensing, patent pools, joint bidding, standard setting, dominance issues, the activities of trade associations, etc. He has developed and implemented pan-European antitrust compliance and training programs for multinational companies. He represents parties in competition investigations and merger proceedings with both the Belgian Competition Authority and the EC Commission. Thomas regularly litigates competition cases before national courts.

Thomas assists clients on e-commerce and Internet-related issues such as ISP-liability, data protection, online services, distance selling, and e-advertisement. He regularly drafts and negotiates complex telecommunication agreements such as MVNO deals or interconnection agreements. He is involved in complex litigation in the media and telecommunications sector. He regularly represents one of the main players in the field of internet, telephony and interactive digital TV in Flanders in contentious and non-contentious matters.

Thomas has inter alia successfully represented gambling software vendors and online and land-based bookmakers in litigation against government-owned incumbent operators.

Thomas frequently speaks at professional and academic conferences and has published several articles on e-commerce, commercial communications, and competition law.

Dutch, French, English, German

Member of the Dutch-speaking Brussels Bar. Registered foreign lawyer with the Law Society of England and Wales. Member of the International Bar Association; Ligue Internationale du Droit de la Concurrence; Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB).

University of Antwerp (Licence en Droit 1992); College of Europe (Master of Advanced European Studies, 1993).