Van Bael & Bellis Partners Named as Thought Leaders for Competition Law

• 05/12/2017
• News

Three Van Bael & Bellis partners, Jean-François Bellis, David W. Hull and Kris Van Hove, have been chosen by Who’s Who Legal as Thought Leaders - Competition from among the world’s foremost experts in competition law for being lawyers worthy of special mention “owing not only to their vast expertise and experience advising on some of the world’s most significant and cutting-edge legal matters, but also their ability to innovate, inspire, and go above and beyond to deliver for their clients”.
 
 The inaugural edition of Who's Who Legal: Thought Leaders - Competition 2018 features interviews with the 20 lawyers who obtained the highest number of nominations from peers, corporate counsel and other market sources this year.
 
 All three of Van Bael & Bellis’ Thought Leader partners are included in this group. (Interviews are available for each of: Jean-François Bellis, David W. Hull and Kris Van Hove). No other firm has more partners featured within the top 20 Thought Leaders and Van Bael & Bellis is the only firm with three in Brussels.
 
 Who’s Who Legal describes our lawyers in the following terms: Jean-François Bellis “continues to be regarded as ‘one of the stars of the field’ and one of the foremost competition practitioners in the world”; David W. Hull “is highly sought after for his expertise in complex investigations, where he is a European leader”; Kris Van Hove “is an eminent name in the market and is recognised for his outstanding performance in merger control matters and cartel defence proceedings. One source describes him as a ‘rising star in the Van Bael & Bellis practice’”.
 
 Who’s Who Legal is affiliated with the Global Competition Review (GCR), which in April 2017 also honoured Van Bael & Bellis with the award for Competition Law Firm 2017 for Europe. 
 
 Seven Van Bael & Bellis lawyers are listed as experts for competition law by Who’s Who Legal, placing the firm in the top three overall for recognised experts in Brussels. In addition to the three Thought Leaders, four other competition experts at Van Bael & Bellis receive high praise from the guide: Porter Elliott is “a hugely experienced competition practitioner” highlighted for his tremendous understanding of merger control proceedings; Andrzej Kmiecik is “an experienced and impressive competition lawyer with wide-ranging expertise”. While also listed for competition, two lawyers in our firm have been identified as outstanding members of the next generation: the Future Leaders of the profession: Katharina Bongs has a reputation as an “extremely precise and rigorous, and very sharp” lawyer; Johan Van Acker “does not just provide clients with the legal analysis but will 'think with them' resulting in practical, relevant advice and guidance”.
 
 Seventeen Van Bael & Bellis lawyers  are ranked in the Who’s Who guides for Competition, Trade & Customs, Corporate M&A, Life Sciences and Litigation.