GSJ Advocaten

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

• ‘It is a law firm with various specialized departments. Depending on the problem at hand, there is always a specialist to help.The new buildings are very centrally located in Antwerp and easily accessible.’

• ‘Christophe Lenders is very customer-oriented and actively searches for practical solutions. He can analyze more complex legal issues well and can assess the risks exceptionally well.’

• ‘I know GSJ Advocaten as counselors of adverse parties. About half of the partners are public / real estate experts. All very able and well respected lawyers. When I have a deal / litigation were they are involved, it is clear that the aim for the best result for their client, but allways trying to act towards a deal with the adverse party avoiding unnecessary costs for thier clients.’

• ‘Hands-on creative team, very knowledgeable and experienced.’

• ‘They stand out in reactivity, knowledge and correct value for money.’

• ‘GSJ Advocaten is a very trustworthy, pragmatic, market-focused and dedicated law firm with a growing team and reputation.’

• ‘Christophe Lenders is a top Real Estate and public law counsel, with a large knowledge of the market of construction companies, developpers and PPP projects. He is extremely focussed on delivering exceptional client service and is deal driven. He always put the client first but has enough diplomatic skills to listen to the counterparty and structure solutions. - Yves Loix is a reference in the field of public law and environmental & permitting law. He knows the in and outs of often very complex environments.’

• ‘The public procurement and construction team has two strong partners. Christophe Lenders and Joris Wouters are very accessible to provide practical advice quickly. There is a good balance between deliverables and invoicing. No hours machine. Christophe understands the construction sector and our needs very well.’

• ‘Availability, responsiveness, perseverance. - Specific SPOCs per topic.’

• ‘Christophe Lenders assures a perfect follow-up and always goes the extra mile. Yves Loix is thorough and punctual.’

• ‘The team of GSJ advocaten is litteraly always on stand-by. They give legal advice around the clock. There are very few lawyers that I know of, that don't mind helping you "after hours". The threshold for communication with them, is non existant. I must say that there isn't any other law firm that connects with the person behind the client, as GSJ. For instance: they know my hobbies, my likes and dislikes. ’

• ‘Joris Geens is the best environmental law attorney I know. His advice is always correct. He is also honest when something is not possible according to his client's wishes. He presents the truth. Moreover, he fights like a lion to defend his client's interests to the maximum. For me, he is a unique mix of knowledge, truth and courtesy. In addition, he teaches classes for our organization that are highly appreciated by the public.

• 'Joris Wouters is the gentle giant. A man brimming with work ethic that ensures he can move mountains for his clientele. Joris makes you feel like you can ask him anything. His answers are comprehensive and adapted to the level of the questioner.'
• 'Christophe Lenders is a public procurement genius. He knows not only the legislation, but also the preliminary works of the legislation, the case law and the views of the different judges within a court. Moreover, he has been giving a Masterclass in Public Procurement for our organization for more than a decade and every year he knows how to draw the audience into his story. He pairs his knowledge and enthusiasm with tremendous verbal power. This makes him one of the best courtroom advocates I know.’

• ‘GSJ Laywers combine a highly specialized and individual approach while being a multidisciplinary and well organized legal office. We experience them as result driven and with a high added value in mind.’

• 'The Real Estate and Construction practice of GSJ stands out for its in-depth knowledge of the law but also for its great experience which was built up in the last 30 years. Besides this this practise group works closely together with the colleagues of the practise group Administrative Law. As far as I know in the Belgian market (especially for Flanders) there is no other lawfirm that has such a big and impressive footprint in those combined fields of law. GSJ works for most - if not all - of the relevant construction firms and has earned a great reputation doing so. In this field of work the relevance of GSJ can not be exaggerated.'

• 'Stephanie Wernaers: very responsive and extremely knowledgeable. Christophe Lenders: a very quick thinker and a lawyer that always keeps his eyes on the ball. Floris Sebreghts: a very reputable lawyer who has earned his reputation while working for the most prominent parties in his field of work.'

• 'The real estate and construction team of GSJ is highly experienced on all area\'s concerning real estate. They have all the necessary knowledge on construction law, public law, environmental law and procurement. I know that they service the largest construction and development companies in Belgium and also a lot of municipalities, like Antwerpen. They are very responsive and have the capability to service you on a high level on an instant basis. I am very satisfied with the work they deliver and the responsiveness.'

• 'Christoph Lenders is my main contact at GSJ. The reason that he is my contact is that he is a very smart, experienced and very responsive lawyer. You can reach him nearly 24 hours a day. I also know that he will check the work of the less experienced associates before the work is send to me. Furthermore he knows what is important for the business. That is a special quality.'

• ‘Although being a large and multidisciplinary office, the teams are organized in smaller, specialized expert centers. There are sufficient partners with a high level of expertise and seniority in their field. We greatly worked together with Christophe Lenders and Joris Wouters for all public and private tender contracts and specialized real estate and building topics. We worked with Yves Loix and Olivier Verhulst as specialist in spatial planning procedures and environmental laws. We worked with Bart Goossens and Geert Philipsen for author rights, deal structures and contracting issues. All of the partners stand out in their knowledge and availability.’

• ‘One of its strengths is that it has all the disciplines needed to conduct our business. Moreover, there are good relationships and short connections between the various departments. In other words, there is efficient and intelligent internal cooperation. In addition to a good flow of information between departments, I note that there is also good sharing of information within a department. People are well informed and well trained.’

• ‘I work on a regular basis with several partners in various discplines (contract law, spatial planning, M&A). In these collaborations, I find that these partners are distinguished by their exceptional expertise and personal commitment.’

• ‘The team has extensive expertise in construction law, covering both private and public contracts, as well as issues relating to the award and performance of public contracts.’

• ‘Christophe Lenders and Joris Wouters are highly qualified and have a very good knowledge of the construction sector in the broadest sense. They offer an excellent service at very good value for money.’

• ‘Mid-scale law firm specializing in real estate law in all its aspects, with personal involvement of the partners. Good value for money.’

• ‘Christophe Lenders is a true expert in his domain and prepared to go the extra mile in defending the interest of his clients. He also shows genuine interest in the (often technical) aspects of a case, which makes him a very good choice for typical construction litigation.’

• ‘Looking at things differently, not the details.’

• ‘Christophe Lenders : Dedication and engagement high commitment and involvement.’

• ‘Knowledge and reaction time.’

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