K&L Gates Adds Brussels Office with Hire of Competition, Corporate Partner Team
1st February 2011
K&L Gates Adds Brussels Office with Hire of Competition, Corporate Partner Team
February 1, 2011
Brussels and New York – Global law firm K&L Gates LLP continues its European expansion with the opening of the firm’s 37th office worldwide in Brussels, the Belgian capital and administrative center of the European Union. Joining K&L Gates in establishing the office as founding partners are Philip Torbøl and Patrice Corbiau, who both arrive at the firm from McDermott Will & Emery.
“It is emblematic of the 21st Century that law firms must offer their clients solutions to challenges arising from governmental regulation. Capabilities in Brussels are essential to fulfill this role, as the European Union is at the forefront of leading governmental initiatives designed to regulate the private sector,” said K&L Gates Chairman and Global Managing Partner Peter J. Kalis. “With these enhanced EU capabilities, and the added competencies in domestic Belgian legal matters, our firm takes a major step forward in fulfilling its global mission.”
“We are delighted to be establishing a Brussels office with two highly experienced partners in such key areas,” commented Martin Lane, K&L Gates’ Managing Partner, Europe. “The creation of this new office will significantly enhance K&L Gates’ EU regulatory coverage as well as provide further European transactional capability.”
With a practice focused on EU competition law, State aid, and government strategies, Philip Torbøl advises European, U.S., and Asian clients on such matters as cartel investigations, merger control, and anti-competitive conduct. Having begun his career in the European Parliament in Brussels, Torbøl also provides strategic regulatory and legislative counsel on EU matters to both domestic and non-European companies and trade associations.
“Launching K&L Gates’ Brussels office is the type of opportunity of which most lawyers can only dream,” stated Torbøl. “I look forward to being a part of the firm’s already well-established European competition group, and believe that, with its significant position in Washington, D.C., and elsewhere, K&L Gates has both the ambition and the ability to become the leading regulatory firm in Brussels as well.”
Patrice Corbiau advises Belgian and multinational corporations on a wide range of corporate and commercial transactions and related matters, including mergers and acquisitions, distribution and licensing in multiple EU jurisdictions, and dispute resolution. He has advised investment funds and companies in the high-technology, textile, automobile, and pharmaceutical sectors, among others.
Corbiau said: “I am excited about the opportunity to help establish the K&L Gates Brussels office and to develop the firm’s Belgian corporate practice. The firm provides an exceptional platform for M&A and corporate services and I look forward to working with its transactional team to further develop this leading practice both locally and internationally.”
