K&L Gates GP

The Firm

K&L Gates’ Brussels office is multilingual, is qualified in several jurisdictions, and brings together significant international experience. The office’s practices have both an international and national focus on EU competition, EU regulation across a variety of sectors, public policy and market access issues, and corporate and commercial matters. The firm provides comprehensive international, domestic, and cross-border advice across a broad range of areas, often involving a combination of practice areas, bespoke to the needs of clients and the particular matter at hand.

K&L Gates is one of the largest law firms in the world, with offices located in key capital cities and world commercial and financial centres. Its many offices operate as one firm, offering clients local market knowledge and access to both national and international capabilities.

Main Areas of Practice

EU Competition and Regulatory:

The Brussels competition team advises on the full range of EU competition law and national competition law, including merger control, cartel investigations, anticompetitive behaviour, sector inquiries, and state aid. The team, which works closely with lawyers in other European offices, has a wealth of experience handling cases before the European Commission and national competition authorities. Clients include private equity funds, industrial and conglomerate groups, financial institutions, and iconic brands. The EU regulatory team offers strategic legal advice across a variety of sectors, assisting companies not only in operating effectively through the maze of regulatory obligations while ensuring compliance, but also on how to influence and take advantage of the regulatory framework.

Public Policy and Market Access:

The EU public policy and market access team advises clients on how to better understand and shape regulatory and legislative actions affecting their businesses. They have an in-depth understanding of the regulatory and policy procedures of the European Union and access to EU and national decision makers. The team assists clients in a variety of sectors, including financial services, digital services, international trade, transportation, and fashion and luxury. The practice also helps international clients navigate the European and global financial services policy and regulatory landscape with all banking and capital markets regulations.

Corporate and Transactional:

The Corporate and Merger and Acquisition (M&A) practice of the Brussels office advises companies on the full range of corporate and commercial transactional matters. The team is fully integrated with the firm’s international Corporate and Transactional practice, one of the most substantial in the world with more than 400 lawyers. The Transactional team advises multinational and Belgian corporations on a wide range of corporate and commercial transactions and related matters, including cross-border, private, and public M&A deals; commercial contracts; capital markets; private equity; venture capital; joint ventures; corporate restructurings; general corporate law; and dispute resolutions. Our transactional team also has extensive experience representing companies in complex national and international commercial litigation and arbitration cases. On the finance side, the office advises Belgian and international financial institutions on acquisition and real estate finance, structured finance, security packages, and regulatory and general banking law. Clients include investment funds and companies in the high-technology, logistics, textile, automobile, and pharmaceutical sectors.

Commercial:

The Transactional team provides general contract support and handles major projects and business-critical contracts for companies across many sectors. The team drafts and negotiates a wide spectrum of contracts ranging from routine to highly complex strategic contracts, including terms and conditions of sale and purchase, supply, lease, leasing, services, outsourcing, licensing, real estate transactions, collaboration, and consortium agreements across many different sectors. Advisory services are frequently provided on legal matters relevant to clients’ businesses, such as competition law, fair trade practices, consumer protection, advertisements, product safety, Internet sales and e-commerce, data protection, and anticorruption issues.

Distribution:

Lawyers in the Brussels office have deep experience advising on national and international distribution matters, including the drafting of complex distribution, commercial agency, and franchise agreements; the reorganization of distribution networks; and the potential risks and liabilities related to the termination of distributors, commercial agents, or franchisees. The team also has experience representing companies before the courts regarding disputes related to distribution issues.

Transportation and Logistics:

The EU Transportation and Logistics industry group provides sophisticated and practical advice and support for all aspects of international and European transport legislation, including air, road, and maritime transport business; ground handling; logistics; and express transport. It handles major projects and critical business contracts for companies. The team has a strong sector-specific focus in transport, aviation, and airport matters.

Brussels Managing Partner: Tony Griffiths (Managing Partner, Brussels, Dubai, and Doha Offices and Managing Partner, Europe and Middle East)

K&L Gates Offices:

Austin, Berlin, Boston, Brisbane, Brussels, Charleston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Doha, Dubai, Dublin, Fort Worth, Frankfurt, Harrisburg, Hong Kong, Houston, Kansas City, London, Los Angeles, Luxembourg, Melbourne, Miami, Milan, Munich, Nashville, Newark, New York, Orange County, Palo Alto, Paris, Perth, Pittsburgh, Portland, Raleigh, Research Triangle Park, San Francisco, Seattle, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney, Taipei, Tokyo, Washington, DC, and Wilmington.