Arbitration and mediation

Partner

Herman Verbist

Herman Verbist is a lawyer at the bars of Ghent and Brussels. Until 31 December 2020, he was chairman of the arbitrators of the Belgian Court of Arbitration for Sport (BCAS). Since 2021, he is chairman of the department training and documentation of the BCAS. He specialises mainly in arbitration and is registered on the list of arbitrators of several arbitration institutions (including CAS, VIAC, SIAC, HKIAC, AIAC, KCAB, ThAC and ICDR). He is also a member of the executive board of CEPANI.

Herman is also an accredited mediator and is registered on the list of mediators with institutions such as WIPO, the Energy Community, ICSID and the Energy Charter Treaty.

For 17 years, he was a visiting professor for the course on international commercial arbitration at the University of Ghent. Since 2020, he has been a professor for the course ‘Case Study Investment Mediation’ at the European Institute of the University of Saarland.

He has written and co-authored several books and articles on arbitration and mediation.

Partner

Frank Burssens

Frank Burssens graduated in 1990 with a master’s degree in law at the University of Ghent and in 1991 obtained an LL.M. in internatinal business law at London University (Queen Mary and Westfield College).

In 2007, Frank, together with some co-partners, founded the firm Burssens & Partners Ondernemingsadvocaten, which now operates under the name Everest. As a lawyer working in the Ghent office of Everest, Frank specialises in property law (legal assistance with the purchase and sale of land and buildings, share transactions of project companies and urban planning and environmental issues), construction law (both public contracts and private construction law) and energy law. He assists his clients in the areas of both contracts and judicial proceedings and arbitration.

Moreover, he also has an extensive track record in the area of general commercial and company law, especially as regards company takeovers. He has also been appointed as an arbiter with the Belgian Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Partner

Mario Van Santvoort

Mario Van Santvoort obtained his master’s degree in law with honours in 2000 at the Roman Catholic University of Leuven (1995-2000). He completed an EEP year in France at the University of Rennes (Brittany) and was sworn in as a lawyer at the Brussels bar on 6 November 2000. In 2002 and 2003, he further specialised in corporate law via an additional master’s degree in business law (GGS) at the University of Antwerp.

In 2004, he was registered at the Brussels bar (Dutch-speaking section). He has been a partner of the firm since 2007 and is a co-founder of Everest. Since 2018, he has also been registered at the Antwerp bar.

Mario is a managing partner of Everest Antwerp where his specialities include company law, arbitration and mediation and real estate, construction and energy law.

Partner

Lucien Kalenga

Lucien Kalenga obtained a master’s degree in law and a specialist qualification (D.E.S.) in economic law at the Roman Catholic University of Leuven.

Lucien practises company law, international law and dispute settlement in the Brussels office of Everest.

He was a member of the Council of French-speaking Lawyers at the Brussels bar from 2011 to 2014.

Lucien Kalenga also held office as president of the Brussels Young Bar Association during the period from 2008 to 2009.